How To Stop Your Dog's Destructive Chewing

All dogs chew. It is perfectly normal behaviour.

Dogs will chew for any number of different reasons. Teething puppies will chew in order to relieve their discomfort and all dogs instinctively chew as a means of learning about their surroundings. Most dogs will indeed chew simply for fun! Sometimes dogs will chew to relieve stress or anxiety and nearly all dogs will chew to entertain themselves if they are bored. This last reason is more often than not the single most common cause of destructive chewing by dogs.

Appropriate chewing of items such as chew toys and sterilized bones which you give to your dog should be encouraged at all times as it plays a vital role in maintaining oral hygiene and healthy jaws.

Your dog's chewing will however become a problem if he takes to chewing inappropriate items such as shoes, clothing, furniture and even walls in a destructive manner. Often dogs will enter a phase of such inappropriate and destructive chewing once their housetraining is complete because at this stage they are no longer subject to such close supervision and are usually given greater freedom around the house.

In order to prevent your dog indulging in inappropriate and destructive chewing you will need to train him by both managing and supervising his chewing habits. Help your dog to avoid temptation by ensuring that wherever possible all items that you do not want him to chew are either put away or out of his reach. For those items you are unable to move to safety, such as furniture, apply a Bitter Apple Solution or similar deterrent to prevent your dog from chewing them. You must then provide your dog with his own appropriate items to chew upon such as chew toys or sterilized bones. Please however ensure that any chew toys you give your dog are safe, durable and if possible fun.

Do not confuse your dog by allowing him to chew an old pair of shoes which you no longer use. Your dog will not be able to differentiate between the old pair of shoes and your best ones. Your decision to let your dog chew your old shoes will invariably end in disaster!

As already mentioned, most dogs participate in inappropriate and destructive chewing because they are bored. Try to prevent boredom by ensuring that your dog gets plenty of exercise. You should also play games with him to ensure that he gets not only the physical but also the mental stimulation he needs. Remember, a regular and well exercised dog will have less energy for chewing.

During the course of training your dog you will without doubt find him from time to time chewing upon inappropriate items. When you do you should not punish him. It is unlikely that your dog will connect any such punishment with the chewing of the inappropriate item and is more likely to associate the punishment with you. As a result he will probably learn to simply chew inappropriate items in future when you are not there to punish him. This will only serve to make your task much more difficult.

When you do see your dog take an inappropriate item to chew, or indeed catch him chewing it, firmly issue him with the "leave" command. This should startle your dog and attract his attention towards you. Once you have your dog's attention offer him one of his own appropriate chew toys or sterilized bones. Praise him and reward him with a quick rub behind the ears as he takes it and lets you have the inappropriate item.

As with all dog training a degree of patience is required and some dogs will take longer to train than others. However, by putting the time in now and applying the rules to teach your dog appropriate chewing habits you will reap the rewards of having a well behaved pet for many years to come.

Want more help and advice on how to train your dog including access to online audio and visual training material? Check out the website at www.train-your-dog-online.com or read the puppy and dog training online review blog here.


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