Dog Chewing Problems

Dog chewing problems can drive owners to distraction. In many cases these chewing problems begin when a dog is a puppy. The puppy may never learn that there is a difference between appropriate and inappropriate things for chewing. Puppies explore the world with their mouth and with their teeth. For some puppies they don’t know when to stop. Other puppies (and later dogs) may even continue to chew things to seek attention. They can chew out of boredom or frustration. This can all be a real headache.

There are things you can do to help solve these problems. Using positive reinforcement with puppies, you can teach the puppy not to chew. If you have a puppy who tries to chew on something he shouldn’t, such as woodwork, or even on a shoe, be prepared for his behavior. When he starts to chew use a can or some kind of shaker with pennies in it to startle the puppy into stopping. When he stops say, “No Chew!” and praise him. Give him a treat. He won’t know what the praise and treat are for at first. Let him do it all again, repeating the shaker noise when he starts to chew to startle him into stopping. Again say, “No Chew!” and praise him. Give him a treat. You are teaching him that it’s good to not chew. That’s why he is being rewarded. If you continue this game a few times your puppy will catch on that this is the desired behavior. Eventually you will be able to transfer the “No Chew!” command to other things in the house and your puppy will understand the meaning.

With this lesson notice that you haven’t had to resort to punishing the puppy for doing something. Instead you are rewarding him for his positive behavior. That’s a much better lesson for your puppy to absorb. This lesson will also work with an adult dog.

You can help your puppy avoid dog chewing problems as an adult dog by keeping temptation out of his reach, too. Owners and their family members should try to keep tempting items, such as shoes, remotes, cellphones and other things in places where puppies can’t reach them. It may take some time before your puppy proves that he is reliably to be trusted around such items.

It also helps puppies and dogs that are new to a household stay out of trouble if you provide them with plenty of their own toys and safe things to chew on. It’s much better for them to play with their own things than with yours.

Dog chewing problems can also be minimized if you spend lots of time playing with your puppy or dog. Play and making sure that your puppy or dog is getting plenty of exercise will make your puppy or dog feel more like napping when you’re out of the house, and sleeping dogs are less likely to get into trouble.

Don’t forget that puppies will also go through a stage when they are cutting their permanent teeth between the ages of three and six months old (usually around four months). At this time, like babies, they want things to chew on, so make sure you provide them with lots of their own things that are acceptable for chewing.

Most dog owners have lost some prized possessions because of dog chewing problems. It can be a big problem. Fortunately, there are ways to it and even to prevent them from developing the behavior in the first place.

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