This is a specific conversation about Puppy teething — surviving it and protecting your home — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Teething is one of the most intense periods of puppyhood — and when you're working from home, it lands differently, because you're right there watching the chaos unfold in real time. Having the right chew toys available makes a genuine difference: ones that are firm enough to satisfy the urge to gnaw, safe for developing teeth, and ideally chillable to soothe those sore gums. So, how old is your puppy, what breed are they, and is your main concern the chewing itself or protecting specific things around the house?
She's 9 weeks old, a Havanese. I work from home and the big issue is that I need her to actually be occupied for stretches of time — like, I need to get on calls without her screaming or destroying something every 20 minutes.
inparticular.ai
That's the classic work-from-home puppy challenge — you need independent occupation, not just distraction for 90 seconds. Before I point you toward something specific, a couple of quick questions: does she have any food allergies or sensitivities you know of yet? And have you tried any chews or toys with her so far, or are we starting from scratch?
No allergies that I know of. We've only had her five days so basically starting from scratch. She has one soft plush toy but she just carries it around — she's not really chewing it.
inparticular.ai
That makes sense — soft plush gives her nothing satisfying to bite against, so it becomes a comfort object rather than an outlet. For a 9-week Havanese, you need something with a bit of resistance but still gentle enough for tiny puppy teeth. My recommendation is the KONG Puppy toy — specifically the small size in the pink or blue rubber, which is their softest compound and designed exactly for this age. The key is what you do with it: stuff it with a little wet puppy food or plain yogurt and freeze it overnight. That gives her 20 to 30 minutes of focused, quiet work to get the food out, the cold soothes her gums, and she genuinely has to concentrate. One frozen KONG in the morning and one after lunch covers most of your call schedule. It's on Amazon UK for around £8 for a single, or you can grab a two-pack so you always have one frozen and ready.
That sounds really manageable actually. Is it safe to freeze every day, and how much food should I be putting in it?
inparticular.ai
Completely safe to freeze daily — the rubber holds up fine indefinitely. For a 9-week Havanese, keep the filling small: a teaspoon of wet puppy food or plain full-fat yogurt is plenty. You want it to be achievable in 20 to 30 minutes, not so packed that she gives up, and not so easy that it's gone in five. Smear a little around the inside walls, drop a few small kibble pieces in, then cap the small hole with a dab of food and freeze it solid. That layering is what makes it last. Just make sure whatever you're using is puppy-safe — plain yogurt is fine, peanut butter only if it's xylitol-free, and avoid anything with onion or garlic.
Perfect, I'm going to order the two-pack now. Thank you — this feels like an actual solution rather than just something to try.
inparticular.ai
It really is one of the more reliable ones — the frozen KONG is a staple for a reason. One last tip: introduce it when she's already a little calm, not when she's at peak zoomies energy. If she's wound up, she'll bat it around and walk off. Give it to her right after a short play session when she's ready to settle, and you'll get the full benefit. Good luck with the calls — Havanese are smart little dogs, she'll figure out the routine faster than you expect.
