Cocker Spaniels go through 2 different stages when it comes to their teeth and the amount of teeth they have depends on their age.
A fully grown adult Cocker Spaniel will have at least 42 adult teeth. They will have 12 incisors and 4 canines. The top jaw will have 4 molars and the bottom 6 molars. Both jaws will have 8 adult premolars each.
Cocker Spaniels are well known for have a few extra teeth so if you little pooch as more than 42, it’s perfectly normal.
When Cocker Spaniels first come into this world, they are born with no teeth at all.
Temporary Puppy Teeth – 3 Weeks Old
Puppy teeth, or milk or deciduous teeth, start to make their first appearance when your puppy is around 3 – 4 weeks old. Once your puppy’s teeth start to come in, they tend to come in groups.
In most cases, the first to appear will be the incisors. These are the tiny teeth at the front of your puppy’s mouth. Most puppies will develop 12 incisor teeth, 6 on top and 6 on the bottom.
As i said, the incisors are usually the first to appear but like humans, not all puppies are the same so occasionally other teeth may come in at the same time or even sooner.
Your puppy’s 4 canine teeth will be up next. These come in either side of the incisors, 2 up top and 2 on the bottom.
The molars and premolars will be the last to emerge. there will 12 of these in total. 6 on the top and 6 on the bottom (3 on each side if that makes sense) which will give your puppy a grand total of 28 lovely white gnashers.
Most people who decide to buy a new puppy from a breeder will not get to take their new family member home until the little guy is around 8 weeks old. As a result, all your puppy’s milk teeth will already be in.
If you have never had a puppy before, let me give you a little warning. A puppy, as cute, cuddly and adorable as he or she may look, will have the sharpest little teeth you will ever have come across and you will feel what I mean in no time at all.
Your puppy will be in full blown teething mode around this time and will be in some discomfort and looking to sink those little sharp teeth into anything they can fit their mouth around……it’s funny how your hand and fingers always seem to find their way into a teething pups mouth.
I won’t talk about how to help ease your puppy’s teething as this page is about how many teeth a Cocker Spaniel has. If I do write a post on teething and teething help, I will update this page and link to that post.
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Losing Their Milk Teeth – 12 To 28 Weeks Old
On average, most puppies will start to lose their milk teeth at roughly 12 -13 weeks old. Over the next 12 to 16 weeks, all puppy teeth should have dropped out or be close to dropping out. This will allow the new adult teeth to come through when the time is right.
When you start to notice your puppy is losing his milk teeth, you may start wondering where they are.My wife and I have some of our Cocker Spaniels baby teeth kept safe. We found a few lying around on the floor as he was losing them but when I say a few, I meant something like only 3 or 4. We found a few more of our Springer Spaniels teeth when he lost his baby teeth.
Please don’t be worried if you don’t find many or any at all. It’s very common for baby teeth to come out when your puppy is chewing and playing. Often they get stuck in a toy or fall out and are vacuumed up before you even notice.
The most common thing to happen to a puppy’s baby teeth though is to be swallowed by the puppy itself. This is perfectly natural and also harmless to your little one.
When a puppy’s adult teeth come in, they end up with quite a few more than when they had their baby milk teeth. Remember how I said a puppy would have 28 baby teeth? Well, on average, most breeds of dogs have 42 adult teeth.
Again this number can vary with some breeds, especially Cocker and Springer spaniels in particular which are renowned for often having a few more teeth than average.
If you find your little one has a few extra, it’s nothing to be alarmed about.
Ok so how many of each type of teeth does a Cocker Spaniel have?
The 12 milk incisors are replaced by 12 adult incisors. Pretty much like for like.
The 4 milk canine teeth are replaced by 4 adult canine teeth, again like for like.
The 6 milk premolars will be replaced by 8 adult premolars in both jaws. The 6 milk molars will be replaced by a total of 10 adult molars. 4 molars will be in the top jaw with 6 in the bottom.
Usually, a Cocker Spaniel is around 8-9 months old by the time all of the adult teeth have come through. There’s no exact set in stone timescale for this though so if your young dog doesn’t have all his teeth until he’s around 10 month old and he has more then 42, it’s perfectly normal.
Remember, dogs, just like humans, can develop at different rates to the norm.
Recap – How Many Teeth Does A Cocker Spaniel Have?
So let’s have a recap about how many teeth does a Cocker Spaniel have in general.
When the little one is born, he / she will come into the world toothless. Around 3 weeks in, baby teeth will start to appear.
By the time your puppy has reached 6 to 8 weeks old, he should have a full set of milk teeth in, 28 teeth in total
By the time you Cocker reaches 28 weeks old, most, if not all milk teeth should have fallen out and started to be replaced by adult teeth.
By 8 to 9 months old, you Cocker Spaniel should have 42 adult teeth but like I said, do not be alarmed if the dog has a few extra.
What I will say though is, it’s wise to regularly check your dogs teeth as the adult teeth come in. In particular, you want to check that all the puppy teeth have come out. Some puppy teeth can stick around longer than they should and this can cause problems for the adult teeth trying to come through.
Some issues can be the adult teeth will be forced into the wrong place due the milk teeth not dropping out. By wrong place, I mean they could come in left, right, back or front of the stubborn puppy tooth. If this looks like it may be happening with your Cocker, please take him to the vets to get it checked out. The milk tooth will probably have to be removed by your vet.
It’s worth noting that through proper nutrition and dental care such as dog toothpaste, that’s a link to Amazon by the way, your Cocker Spaniel can maintain healthy gnashers all of it’s life.
Ok so I hope that helps answer your “How Many Teeth Does A Cocker Have” question.
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