Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 6/24/2008

Question
my husband was playing ball with our 5 month old puppy and he found a canine tooth from out dog.do puppies have canine before the adult teeth come in?

Answer
Puppies certainly do have canines before the adult teeth erupt.  It sounds as if your puppy was simply shedding one of his puppy teeth.  Baby teeth (called deciduous teeth) are usually visible at about seven to eight weeks of age.  Dogs will begin to shed deciduous teeth at about four months.   Permanent teeth should be in place at about seven months; however in some breeds permanent teeth do not erupt until the one year mark.