Best Puppy Teething Toys: Safer Picks by Age and Size

The Best Puppy Teething Toys, Straight Up

The best puppy teething toys share three traits: they're soft enough for baby teeth, sized so they can't slip past the back of the mouth, and built for cold. For most puppies, a puppy-specific rubber toy (like the KONG Puppy), a soft puppy-formula nylon chew, and one freezable soother cover the whole teething window — roughly 3 weeks to 6 months of age. Everything else is a variation on those three jobs: something to gnaw, something to work on, and something cold for sore gums.

Here's the short list before we get into the why:

• Best overall: KONG Puppy — softer rubber, stuffable, freezable, and sized by weight
• Best gnawing chew: A puppy-formula nylon chew (Nylabone Puppy line is the best-known example)
• Best for sore gums: A freezable rubber teething ring or stick
• Best DIY option: A frozen wet washcloth, knotted and supervised
• Best for early food-puzzle habits: A soft rubber stuffable like the West Paw Toppl in the smaller size

One rule sits above every pick: supervise chew sessions and size up when in doubt. A toy that's right for a Yorkie puppy is a choking hazard waiting to happen in a Lab puppy's mouth. No toy on this list — or any list — is indestructible or safe to leave with an unsupervised puppy.

Why Teething Toys Are a Different Category

Puppy teeth are not small adult teeth. The 28 deciduous teeth are thin, sharp, and loosely rooted, and the adult set — 42 teeth — pushes through the gums over a period of months. That process makes gums sore, and sore gums make puppies chew on whatever offers relief: your hands, chair legs, shoes, or — if you've planned ahead — a toy designed for the job.

Adult chew toys are often too hard for this stage. A toy tough enough for a power-chewing adult can be firm enough to damage fragile puppy teeth. That's why nearly every major toy brand makes a distinct puppy line in softer material, and why our picks skip "extreme" and "tough chewer" products entirely. If you're shopping for an adolescent or adult dog who's past teething and destroying everything, that's a different guide — see our best chew toys for aggressive chewers.

What we looked for

• Puppy-appropriate softness. Give the toy a fingernail press. If it doesn't flex or dent slightly, it's likely too hard for baby teeth.
• Size safety. The toy must be too big to swallow and too big to lodge behind the back teeth — for the size your puppy is now.
• Cold tolerance. Cold numbs sore gums. Toys that can go in the freezer (or hold frozen stuffing) earn extra credit.
• Cleanability. Teething toys live in a wet mouth all day. Dishwasher-safe or easily scrubbed designs win.
• Engagement. A toy your puppy ignores protects nothing. Stuffable and textured designs hold attention longer than plain shapes.

Top Picks Compared

1. KONG Puppy — Best Overall

The classic KONG shape in a softer rubber formulation made for puppy teeth, and it earns the top spot by doing the most jobs at once. Empty, it's a bouncy, erratic chew. Stuffed with softened kibble or puppy-safe spreadables and frozen, it becomes a long-lasting cold soother that also teaches your puppy that settling down with a toy is rewarding — the foundation habit for puzzle toys later on.

KONG sizes its toys by dog weight, which takes most of the guesswork out of buying. Follow the chart, and when your puppy sits between sizes, go up.

Worth knowing: puppies grow through KONG sizes fast. The toy your 10-week-old pup starts with may be undersized — and therefore unsafe — within a couple of months. Budget for at least one size upgrade during the teething window, and move to the standard (red) adult rubber once teething ends, because the puppy formula is too soft for strong adult jaws.

2. Puppy-Formula Nylon Chew — Best Dedicated Gnawer

Some puppies don't want a toy that does things; they want something to work over with their molars for twenty minutes. For those pups, a nylon or softer-composite chew from a dedicated puppy line is the answer. Nylabone's puppy range is the best-known example, and several other established brands make comparable versions. The key is the label: it must say puppy. Adult and "power chew" nylon is typically much harder and isn't appropriate for baby teeth.

Worth knowing: nylon chews wear down into a bristled texture by design, and those tiny shavings are generally considered passable in small amounts — but a chew that's lost significant mass, developed sharp edges, or shrunk toward swallowable size needs to be thrown out. Check it weekly. If your puppy is a rare heavy-jawed gnawer who splinters rather than shaves the chew, drop nylon and stick to rubber.

3. Freezable Teething Ring or Stick — Best for Sore Gums

Multiple brands make rubber rings, sticks, and bone shapes designed to be frozen — some solid rubber, some designed to hold water or be soaked before freezing. During peak teething, usually somewhere in the 12-to-24-week range, a cold chew can visibly change a puppy's comfort level within minutes. Rotate two: one in the mouth, one in the freezer.

Worth knowing: water-filled and gel-filled designs must be inspected before every single use. A punctured toy can leak, and even "non-toxic" fill isn't food. Solid rubber that you chill is the more durable, lower-maintenance route; filled toys tend to be colder longer but live shorter lives. Either way, retire anything with a puncture immediately.

4. The Frozen Washcloth — Best DIY

Soak a clean cotton washcloth, wring it to damp, twist or knot it, and freeze it. That's it — and during a rough teething week it can outperform toys costing far more. The fabric texture lets puppies work the cloth back along their gums right where erupting teeth hurt.

Worth knowing: this is a supervised-only, session-only tool. Once the cloth thaws, it's just fabric — and a bored puppy will shred and swallow fabric, which is a genuine obstruction risk. Hand it over frozen, take it back thawed, wash and refreeze. If your puppy is already a determined fabric-shredder, skip this one entirely.

5. Soft Rubber Stuffable — Best for Food-Motivated Puppies

A soft, open-topped rubber toy — West Paw's Toppl in its smaller size is a widely available example — bridges teething relief and early enrichment. The wide opening makes it easier for a novice puppy to succeed at getting food out, which builds confidence for harder food puzzles later. Frozen with soaked kibble, it doubles as a cold soother. Many toys in this style are dishwasher-safe, which matters when a toy is basically a food bowl your puppy licks all day.

Worth knowing: that same easy opening means a clever puppy finishes it fast. As skills grow, freeze the contents solid or layer in obstructions to extend the session — or graduate to more challenging setups from our dog enrichment ideas guide.

Sizing: The Part People Get Wrong

Toy sizing is the single most common safety mistake, and the fix is one rule: the toy must be clearly larger than your puppy's mouth, sized for the puppy you have today — and re-checked as they grow. A useful mental test is the tennis-ball question: could your puppy get the whole toy past their back teeth? If it's even close, size up.

Two cautions on top of the chart. First, weight ranges on packaging are a starting point, not a verdict — a lean, big-mouthed puppy needs bigger toys than the label suggests. Second, growth outpaces memory: put a monthly "toy size check" reminder on your phone during the first year. Our full guide on how to choose safe dog toys goes deeper on materials and hazard signs.

When Do Puppies Stop Teething?

For most puppies, the adult teeth are fully in by around 6 months of age, with the sharpest discomfort usually falling somewhere between roughly 3 and 5 months. After that, the pain of teething ends — but adolescent chewing doesn't. Many dogs chew intensely well into their second year out of habit, energy, and jaw strength rather than sore gums, which is when you transition from soft puppy toys to sturdier adult gear.

Two things are worth a vet visit rather than a shopping trip: a baby tooth still firmly in place alongside its adult replacement (retained deciduous teeth are common in small breeds and can affect bite), and any reluctance to eat, pawing at the mouth, or bleeding that goes beyond the light spotting that's normal during teething.

Supervision and Safety, Briefly

• Teething toys are for supervised sessions, not crate babysitting — especially anything fabric, filled, or already worn.
• Inspect weekly. Cracks, punctures, missing chunks, or a toy shrunk near mouth size all mean retirement.
• Rotate three to five toys rather than leaving a pile out. Novelty keeps the toys more interesting than your baseboards.
• Redirect, don't just remove. When your puppy chews something forbidden, trade for an approved toy so the lesson is "chew this," not just "stop."

No toy makes teething painless and none is risk-proof — but the right rubber, the right size, and a freezer turn three chaotic months into something you can both manage.