Puppy teething with small kids at home

Teething is one of the most intense periods of puppyhood — and with small children's toys scattered on the floor, an 8-week-old Weimaraner is basically surrounded by temptation. Having the right chew toys available makes a genuine difference: ones that are firm enough to satisfy the urge to gnaw, safe for tiny developing teeth, and ideally chillable to ease sore gums. To point you toward the best option — how old are your kids, roughly, and is the main worry the puppy destroying their toys, or are you also thinking about biting during play?

Completely familiar situation. Weimaraners are already a strong, mouthy breed, and at 8 weeks the teething drive is at its peak — she's not being naughty, she just needs something in her mouth constantly. The problem with kids' toys is that they're often soft, squeaky, or plastic in exactly the ways that feel satisfying to a puppy. What you need is something that feels better than the alternatives. Can I ask — do you have a freezer you could use to prep chew toys in advance? That's going to influence what I'd recommend.

Perfect — then the KONG Puppy is exactly what I'd put in front of you. It's made from a softer rubber compound specifically for milk teeth, so it won't damage her developing jaw or gums, but it's still firm enough that it properly satisfies the urge to chew. The key move is to stuff it with a little puppy-safe paste or wet food and freeze it — that makes it last longer, keeps her focused, and the cold actively soothes inflamed gums. A frozen stuffed KONG given when the kids are playing on the floor gives her something better to do than investigate their toys. Get two so you always have one ready in the freezer while she works through the other. It's available in a puppy-specific pink or blue version on Amazon UK.

At 8 weeks they are indiscriminate — everything is interesting. But a frozen, food-stuffed KONG has something a Duplo brick doesn't: it smells incredible and rewards her for engaging with it. Within a few days most puppies will actively seek out the KONG because it's associated with food and relief. Pair it with calmly removing her from kids' toys without fuss when she picks them up, and you'll start to see a preference forming. The other thing worth doing is designating a low basket where the kids' soft toys live — even a 3 and 5 year old can be taught that toys on the floor are fair game for the puppy, which shifts responsibility in a useful way.