How to Stop Puppy Chewing
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Puppies must chew. It’s how they deal with the uncomfortable process of teething. However, what happens with your puppy chews your carpet, furniture, or shoes? Or worse yet, when he chews electrical cords? Or he chews through a bag of fertilizer in the garage? Luckily, there are ways to train your dog not to chew your things and concentrate on his own toys. But before we learn how to stop puppy chewing we’ll need to know why puppies chew.
A dog will chew for many reasons, including loneliness, boredom, separation anxiety, fear, anticipation, or just to get attention. Identifying the triggers that cause your dog to chew will help you eliminate the problem. For example, if your dog is bored, new and exciting toys may help keep him entertained. Have a wide variety of toys for your dog and rotate them out so the old toys will be forgotten and seem new again in a few weeks.
It’s much easier to prevent a chewing problem than to stop one that’s already becoming a habit. You can do this by puppy proofing your home. Use baby gates to confine your dog in an area where he can’t do much damage by chewing. Give him plenty of chew toys, including ones that taste good like rawhide. Crate your dog if you’re only going to be away for a short time.
It’s hard for a dog to chew when he’s asleep! Properly exercising your dog will get rid of his extra energy and make him sleep when you’re away. Go for frequent walks, play fetch, whatever you have to do to expend that energy!
Your dog has no idea how much your shoes cost, so if you want them to be safe, put them in a place where your dog can’t get to them. For other chewing targets like furniture, you can coat the surface with an anti-chewing spray like bitter apple, or sprinkle it with cayenne pepper. Keeping appropriate chewing toys near his inappropriate favorites will help him turn his attention to a good toy when he realizes the table leg tastes foul.
If you catch your dog chewing something he shouldn’t, say “No!” in a firm voice and give him a toy he should chew. When he starts chewing the good toy, praise him. Don’t ever discipline your dog for chewing after the fact. This won’t teach him not to chew – it will teach them to be anxious around you.
Obedience training will help you become the pack leader in your household. As the pack leader, your dog will trust and respect you. He will want to please you. At that point you can teach him commands like “Leave it” and your dog will eventually learn exactly what he should and should not chew.
