Older dog licking the puppys gums

[MartMan86]

Hey gang, quick question for ya.

Lately I've been finding Kage's teeth around the house, which I expected, but what I didn't expect is our older chow, Nadia, to be trying to get in Kage's mouth. When she does she's licking his mouth, I suspect his gums? Kage doesn't seem to mind it but I've been telling Nadia no just because I'm not sure what she's doing exactly and if it's even normal.

Anyone have any insight or advice on this?

[Rio]

Could Kage be showing her signs of teething distress and she is mothering him? I would have no idea if that is normal. From a feline point of view our neuter (who we suspect has OCD) always 'helps' our other cats out with grooming and such.
I am sure someone with more experience will shed some light on this situation for you. ( it does sound rather cute though)

[Victory]

Firesong did the same when Dreamdancer was teething, in fact I never found any baby teeth, I think she swallowed them. Kage is just trying to help, its kind of like a teething ring for a human child, she's massaging his gums with her tongue. If she were hurting him he'd try to back away or yelp, but if he's not doing any of those things it feels good to him. I never stopped Firesong from doing it, once I observed what she was doing, and it stopped after Dreamdancer had all his adult teeth.

[Rory's Dad]

Yep, she is mothering. Nice sign for your Chows to be getting along.