Chewing In Your Dog

Having your dog chew up and destroy your stuff is incredibly frustrating and can become an expensive sport. Fortunately, inappropriate chewing is a behavior that can be controlled or even eliminated. Dogs chew on things for a variety of reasons. Some include: boredom, pent-up energy, teething, or curiosity.

To help curb inappropriate chewing you should never give your dog (or puppy) you old stuff, for example: shoes or socks, to play with. Your dog cannot distinguish between what is old and something that can be played with and what is new and is not something to play with. When your dog is chewing on something that you do not want him to, try some of the following suggestions:

• Distract your dog with a favorite treat or toy.

• Remove as many of the things that you do not want chewed on out of his range.

• While you are not with him, put him in a crate or in an area where all of the things that should not be chewed on removed.

• Always supervise him where he can find things to chew on that he should not be.

• Give your dog a lot of appropriate toys and treats.

• There are products that are sold, for example Bitter Apple, that when sprayed on an object and the dog chews on it, he will not like the taste and will eventually relate the chewing to something unpleasant and will stop chewing on that object.

• Only correct your dog when for inappropriate chewing when you catch him doing it. Take what he is chewing away from him and give him an appropriate toy. Always give plenty of praise when you see him chewing on what he should be.

Like any other problematic behavior that you are trying to change, this will also take time and patience to stop the inappropriate behavior.

GO BACK