At some point of owning a dog, you will need to stop dog chewing problems in their track before it causes damage to you or your furniture.
Puppies and dogs will chew on things all the time because this is just a behavior that is natural. However, there is a problem when they chew on things that can be dangerous or your items around the house.
If it fits in your dogs mouth, there is a good chance your dogs will chew on them. My dog loves to chew on the couch as well as my shoes.
What Causes Our Dogs To Chew?
- Being lonely or very bored.
- If you work away from the house for long hours at a time, it could be because of separation anxiety.
- During teething.
- If your dog has a phobia or a fear.
- Your dog may be seeking to gain your attention.
- Some dogs will chew on things because they anticipate you coming come.
You will need to stop your dog chewing because it can be dangerous for them as well as very frustrating for you, the owner. Think of the damage if your dog decided that chewing through some rat poisons or electrical wires would cause. If you make sure your dog is safe, then chewing on items that should be chewed on, such as toys can actually be very beneficial to your dogs development and health.
Prevention Of Dog Chewing
As nearly every dog behavior problem we have discussed on this site, it is always going to be easier to prevent the action before it becomes a problem or a habit. Here are some steps to help you get your dogs chewing under control.
- Take away any temptation your puppy has for chewing by puppy proofing your house.
- Give them some toys that they will love. This lets them know that they can chew on these toys, but ONLY these toys. I like to get at least one toy where I can put treats inside and let them try and get them out.
- When you are away from your house, to make sure your dog is secure. Place a few chew toys inside their little space so that they can chew if they want.
- When you are at your house, give your dog all the exercise they want. This comes in the form of mental as well as physical.
I should mention what exactly my dog loves to chew on! His first favorite toy is the , which you are probably familiar with. The next are !
How To Stop Dog Chewing Problems
- If your dog is like mine and likes to chew on the couch or any other furniture, try covering that object with a bad tasting substance that is not going to be toxic for your dog. I find that a . I have found this to be a very effective method to teach your dog not to chew on a certain object, but it will not actually teach your dog to stop chewing.
- If you find that your dog is in the middle of chewing, be firm and tell them NO! This is where you want to replace that bad behavior with a chew toy. When he switches over to chew the toy, praise them. Remember not to punish your dog if you do not catch him in the middle of the act. If you punish them outside of a few second window from catching them, your dog will have no idea what he is in trouble for.
- Another good solution to stop your dog chewing or any other problem that your dog is having is to apply an obedience training regimen with them. You want to make sure that you establish yourself as a leader in your relationship with your pet. This helps build a healthy relationship with your dog that is based on mutual respect. I recently went through an obedience home dog training course from which was a fantastic experience.
- After teaching my dog the command, getting my dog to stop behavior before it starts was much easier.
To change your dogs chewing habit that is probably driving you crazy, all you need to do is follow some of these training methods that I touch on above. Be patient when you are training and it should go a long way to teaching your dog what is right and what is wrong to chew on.