Dog Chewing Problems

Puppies love to chew when they are teething to ease the discomfort. In dogs however, chewing may be due to reasons such as the dog being bored, to exercise his teeth, or just out of anxiety.

If the behaviour is not corrected early enough, the dog tends to develop destructive tendencies. An adult dog left unsupervised may make a shredded mess out of a 5-seater sofa and turn your living room into a scene from a hurricane.

To stop dog chewing, do not encourage it in the first place. Do not give your dog shoes or clothes to chew on and more importantly, do not let your dog chew on furniture when you are present. If the dog starts to chew on unacceptable things, put a stop to it by commanding him to “stop” in a firm voice and giving him a chew toy that will interest him.

Dogs suffering from separation anxiety should be crated when you are not in the house to avoid any destructive behaviour. If you are in the house, ensure that you can see what the dog is doing at all times, this will help keep the dog out of trouble.

You can make the objects that your dog tend to chew on unpalatable for your dog by applying a bitter tasting substance on them. This will discourage the dog from chewing on such objects in future. One further note that you should pay attention to is that this substance shouldn’t be toxic to the dog.

If the dog has a liking for shoes, you can put them out of his reach by placing them on high shelves or locking them in the closet. Old shoes should be disposed in a garbage bag that is well wrapped.

Provide your dog with lots of exercise so that the energy is well spent doing something constructive. If you are not around to provide your dog with much needed exercise, you may hire a pet sitter to do it for you or ask a close friend or relative to take the dog out.

Dogs should learn when they are young; what to chew on and what not to sink their teeth in. Proper training enforced when the dog is still a puppy will solve you some of these problems early. The dog should have things he can chew on that will not harm him and keep his need to chew under control.

Of course, you can easily get products at the pet shop that you can buy for your dog to chew. You should buy only high quality toys that do not pose danger for the dog. Avoid buying dog toys made of plastic as they may splinter and ultimately lead to some pieces being swallowed by the dog.

Never miss a chance to praise your puppy for chewing on his toy instead of furniture or shoes. When buying toys, buy a toys that the dog will love. Oherwise, the dog will just leave the toy and go back to his destructive habits.

Good examples of such toys available are rope toys, stuffed animals and bones. On that note, do not offer dog bones that are likely to splinter such as chicken bones or fish bones; Instead, give string natural bones that the dog cannot break off such as marrow bones.

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