As adults, Rottweilers are big dogs with strong bites, but they sure don’t start out that way.
A Rottweiler puppy is completely toothless and might weigh as little as one pound, according to von der Rottweilers’ breeder.
By the time your Rottie puppy comes home with you, the super-sharp puppy teeth are rapidly growing in – and boy are they sharp!
In this article, we review exactly what you need to know about when Rottweiler puppies lose their teeth, what to watch for, and when to contact your dog’s veterinarian for guidance.
When Do Rottweiler Puppies Lose Their Teeth?
As the American Kennel Club (AKC) explains, the timeline for puppy teething stays remarkably consistent across different dog breeds.
A typical Rottweiler puppy will start to lose their puppy teeth between 12 and 16 weeks (there and four months) of age.
However, it can take up to six months before all the puppy teeth have fallen out. In some cases, puppy teeth won’t ever fall out. If this happens to your Rottie, your dog’s veterinarian can help to remove them safely and hygienically.
Rottweiler Gets Teeth Brushed For First Time
In this laugh-worthy YouTube video, you can watch a Rottweiler owner doing all the right things to socialize her growing Rottie to tooth brushing.
And you can watch the Rottie reacting just like any puppy would – rolling around and licking and trying to play – because the whole experience is so weird.
Rottweiler puppies have to do a lot of growing up very early in life, and losing puppy teeth and growing in new adult dog teeth are just one part of that. Patience will be key for you to get through this process.
What Your Rottweiler Veterinarian Can Learn From Looking at Your Dog’s Teeth
Interestingly, as Embark Vet points out when a dog’s exact age is uncertain, veterinarians often look at a dog’s teeth to figure out the answer.
For puppies, in particular, the order in which the teeth grow can also provide important clues about the puppy’s age.
For adult Rottweilers, veterinarians may have less success guessing a Rottweiler’s exact chronological age, but they can still get surprisingly close by examining the amount of wear and tear, looking for tooth rounding, and examining tooth condition.
A Timeline of Rottweiler Puppy Teeth and Adult Teeth
As Merck Veterinary Manual explains, dogs get two sets of teeth in their lifetime (just like people!).
Rottweiler puppies will grow 28 puppy teeth, which are sometimes also called “milk teeth.”
Then the puppy teeth will fall out. And then the Rottweiler puppy will grow in 42 adult dog teeth.
In this section, we will take a look at the timeline for when you can expect all of this dental activity to be taking place.
If you are curious, Tooth Vet has provided this handy chart of where the incisors, canines, premolars, and molars (both puppy teeth and adult teeth) are located in your puppy’s mouth as well as what they look like.
Three to four weeks old
At three weeks old, your Rottweiler puppy is still dependent on the mother dog for food through nursing.
This is also when the sharp puppy teeth start to grow in, which means it is no surprise that the mother starts the weaning process around this time (these teeth are often called “fangs” for a reason)!
The incisors – the sharp corner teeth – are the first to grow in.
Four to six weeks
Between the age of four and six weeks old, your Rottweiler’s baby canines and premolars will grow in.
12 to 16 weeks (3 to 4 months)
According to VCA Animal Hospitals, by the age of 12 weeks old, all those puppy teeth that your Rottie just grew in will already be starting to fall out again.
As fast as the puppy teeth fall out, however, your Rottweiler’s adult teeth will be starting to grow in.
The first adult teeth to grow in are the incisors once again.
16 to 28 weeks (4 to 7 months)
By the age of 24 weeks (six months) old, all of the puppy teeth should have fallen out.
And by the age of 28 weeks (seven months) old, all of the adult dog teeth should have grown in, including the premolars and the molars.
But what if your Rottweiler puppy’s mouth doesn’t seem to be following this linear timeline? That is what we will talk about in the next section here.
What If Your Rottweiler Puppy Seems to Have Extra Teeth?
As you might already suspect, the actual process of puppy teething rarely goes so smoothly as the timeline you just reviewed would indicate.
Rottweiler puppies may be early or late for timeline milestones depending on their individual genes, diet, and overall health.
One very common experience Rottie owners have is opening their puppy’s mouth one day and discovering their dog seems to have extra teeth in some places!
Why on earth would this happen? Is it just because adult Rottweilers have 14 extra teeth than puppies?
The answer is “no.” Rottweiler puppies should not retain any puppy or deciduous teeth into adulthood. In other words, none of the puppy teeth will be needed to make up the 42 adult dog teeth.
What usually happens is that some of your Rottweiler puppy’s baby teeth don’t fall out. They can be retained in the mouth.
This in turn can cause overcrowding in the jaw. Sometimes the adult teeth are pushed further back because the puppy tooth is still in place, causing the teeth to look like they are double-parked in a single space.
When this occurs, your dog’s veterinarian can simply extract the puppy teeth to make room for the adult teeth. The best time to do this is when you schedule your Rottweiler for their normal spay or neuter procedure.
If you are not planning to spay or neuter your Rottweiler, the best time to do this is when your dog gets sedated for their first routine tooth cleaning at the veterinarian.
You might be wondering if it is okay to simply leave the baby teeth where they are. Here, canine veterinarians say this is not a good idea.
Just as with people, when there are too many teeth in the mouth this can cause a condition called “malocclusion” which basically translates to mean “misaligned bite.” A bite that isn’t aligned properly can cause pain, decay, and gum disease.
These are expensive conditions to treat and can sometimes become life-limiting. It is far more affordable in every way to simply have the extra baby teeth removed.
FantastikRott Rottweilers breeder has some great diagrams to show you what a proper adult Rottweiler bite should look like for health and dog show purposes.
If you are planning to enter your Rottweiler in dog shows and your dog has extra puppy teeth that remain, you will definitely want to have those removed before your first show.
What Are the Little White Things All Over the Floor?
Many Rottweiler owners get their first clue that their new puppy is teething when they start finding tiny white triangles on the floor.
Believe it or not, these are your Rottie puppy’s baby teeth!
They are very, very small and are nothing to worry about.
However, if you don’t see any baby teeth on the floor and your puppy still seems to be losing their baby teeth, it is equally likely that your puppy is simply swallowing them as they fall out.
This is also nothing to worry about. It is quite normal and should not harm your puppy at all.
Managing the Difficult Teething Process for Your Rottweiler Puppy
As we mentioned earlier in this article, your Rottweiler puppy’s baby teeth are called “fangs” for a reason.
Your puppy wants to bite anything and everything because the teething process can be very uncomfortable. And as it turns out, it quickly becomes very uncomfortable for you too because those puppy teeth are very sharp.
Is there anything you can do to ease your puppy’s pain – and your own?
One of the best things to do is to give your Rottweiler puppy chew toys to chew on. You can freeze a Kong toy, make puppy-safe dog popsicles or chill a puppy-safe flavored teething ring.
Be careful not to give your puppy anything too hard to chew on, as this can actually cause damage to the puppy teeth and the gums. If your puppy swallows the object, it may also cause a dangerous intestinal impaction or even internal perforation.
As for your own comfort, the best option is to purchase one of those gardening sleeve gloves that guards against thorns and abrasion and wear that when you are playing with your puppy.
Wearing long-sleeve shirts and gloves can also help protect your hands and wrists from those tiny sharp puppy fangs.
