How To Stop Dog Chewing- A Furniture Saving Guide
By: Graphic Elements
Tags: Dog Training, Dog Behaviour Training, Dog Care, Dog Care Tips, Dogs

Dog With Chew Toy

Chewing is something that comes naturally to every dog. Every dog feels the instinctual need to sharpen its teeth and hone his biting skills. Chewing on the right things, like specially designed chew toys for instance, can even help your dog clean its teeth and remove plaque. Even though chewing is natural and healthy, that does not mean that your dog should be given carte blanche and allowed to chew everything in sight. Here are some tips on how to stop dog chewing.

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Let’s start by looking at the three main reasons why dogs chew:

- Most dogs have a natural desire to chew. Its fun, it passes the time, and its a self-rewarding, self-reinforcing activity (for example, if they’re chewing on something that tastes good.)

- Chewing provides a nervous, bored, or lonely dog with an outlet for their emotions. To an anxious dog, the repetitive act of chewing is soothing, it’s the doggie equivalent of comfort food.

- Underexercised dogs often use chewing as a way of burning up nervous energy and giving themselves something to do.

How To Stop Dog Chewing : Teach Your Dog What To Chew

Common targets in the home include books, eyewear, clothing, shoes, garbage, and small crunchy appliances like cameras, cell phones, and remote controls.

It is vital for every dog to learn the difference between the things it is OK to chew on, like toys and ropes, and the things that are off limits, such as carpets, shoes and other items.

When working with a new puppy, it is advisable to keep the puppy in a small, puppy proofed room for at least a few weeks. This is important not only to prevent chewing but to properly house train the puppy as well.

Older dogs should also be confined to a small area at first. Doing this allows your dog to slowly acquaint him or herself to the smells and sights of the new household.

When you set up this small, confined area, be sure to provide the puppy or dog with a few good quality chew toys to keep him entertained while you are not able to supervise him. Of course your dog should also be provided with a warm place to sleep and plenty of fresh clean water.

However don’t set your dog up for failure by blurring the boundaries between their stuff (OK to chew) and your stuff (not OK to chew). Don’t offer your dog cast-off clothes, shoes, or towels to chew and play with: realistically, you can’t possibly expect he/she to be able to tell the difference between your current shoes and the one they’ve got in their mouth that you gave them five minutes ago.

How To Stop Dog Chewing : Positive Reinforcement Rather Than Punishment

As your dog is slowly moved to larger and larger portions of the home, there may be more opportunities to chew inappropriate items. As he/she is given freer access to the home, it is important to keep any items that your dog or puppy should not chew, things like throw rugs, shoes, etc. up off of the floor. If you forget to move something and come home to find that your dog has chewed it, resist the urge to punish or yell at your dog. Instead, distract your dog with one of its favorite toys and remove the inappropriate item from its mouth.

Your dog should then be provided with one of its favorite toys. Praise your dog extensively when it picks up and begins to chew its toy. This will help to teach your dog that it gets rewarded when it chews certain items, but not when it chews other items.

Teaching your dog what is appropriate to chew is very important, not only for the safety of your expensive furniture and rugs, but for the safety of your dog as well. Many dogs have chewed through dangerous items like extension cords and the like. This of course can injure your dog severely or even spark a fire.

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How To Stop Dog Chewing : Ensure That They Have Adequate Mental And Physical Exercise

Most dogs learn what to chew and what not to chew fairly quickly, but others are obviously going to be faster learners than others. Some dogs chew because they are bored, so providing your dog with lots of toys and solo activities is very important.

Outside of boredom, look for signs of separation anxiety. Dogs suffering from separation anxiety often whine, bark, cry, howl, dig, chew and scratch at the door the entire time their family members are away. Well meaning owners often unwittingly encourage this misbehavior by rushing home to reassure their dog, but it is important for the well being of both dog and owner that your dog learn to deal with extended periods of separation.

How you leave the house can often contribute to separation anxiety issues. A long and drawn out period of farewell can make matters worse by making your dog feel even more isolated when you finally leave. These long types of farewells can get your dog excited, and then leave him with lots of excess energy and no way to work it off. These excited, isolated dogs often work off their excess energy in the most destructive of ways, such as chewing up a favorite rug or chewing a piece of furniture.

Excess energy is often mistaken for separation anxiety, since results are often the same. If you think that excess amounts of energy may be the problem, try giving your dog more exercise to see if that eliminates the problem.

Try To Understand Your Dog

Many dogs become very nervous when their owners leave, and some dogs become concerned each time that the owner may never come back. This stress can cause your dog to exhibit all manners of destructive behavior, including chewing soiling the house.

If separation anxiety is truly the problem, it is important to address the root causes of that anxiety. In order to prevent separation anxiety from occurring, it is important for your dog to feel happy, safe, secure and comfortable while the owner is away for the day. It is important, for instance, to give your dog plenty of things to keep it busy while you are away. This means providing it with lots of toys, such as balls or chew toys. A pet companion is often effective at relieving separation anxiety as well. Giving your dog a playmate, such as another dog or a cat, is a great way for busy pet parents and pets alike to cope with the stress of being left alone.

Setting aside scheduled play times, during which the pet is given your undivided attention, is another great way to alleviate boredom and separation anxiety. Playing with your dog, and providing it with sufficient attention and exercise, is a proven way to avoid a stressed and anxious dog. A happy dog that has been well exercised and well conditioned will generally sleep the day away happily and patiently wait for the return of its owner.

It is important to schedule one of these daily play sessions before you leave the house each day. It is important to give your dog a few minutes to settle down after playtime before you leave.

For dogs that are already experiencing separation anxiety and associated misbehaviors, it is important to get him accustomed to your leaving gradually. Be sure to practice leaving and returning at irregular intervals, several times during the day. Doing so will get your dog accustomed to your deparartures and help him realize that you are not leaving him forever. Dogs that have been previously lost, or those that have been surrendered to shelters and readopted, often have the worst problems with separation anxiety. Part of treating this problem is teaching your dog that your leaving is not permanent.

Dog training can be a fun and rewarding experience…as long as all of your favorite things aren’t chewed up in the process! Keep calm and be patient to achieve good results.

So there are our tips on how to stop dog chewing, with a little strategy and patience you can be well on your way to a better behaved pet.

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This post contains affiliate links. Meaning I may obtain a comission if your purchase items through some of the links on the page at no additional cost to you.