How do I stop my dog from chewing my stuff?
When you are trying to prevent your dog from destructively; chewing, its critical that you start by identifying the cause of the chewing by addressing any of the issues listed above.
After that, focus on redirecting your dog to chew on more desirable things like chew toys.
Making sure your pup receives an adequate amount of daily exercise is the key to a happy and healthy dog. Making sure that you dog gets the exercise they need before you leave the house for long periods of time is one of the best ways to curb their destructive chewing habits. Higher energy breeds like German Shepherds, Springer SPaniels, Border Collies and Brittnays require at least two hours of exercise every day. More laid-back breeds like Pugs, Shih Tzus and Pomeranians will do just as well with 40 minutes or less of exercise every day.
In order to help to reduce your dogs separation anxiety when they are bored or spending extended periods of time alone, try training your dog to associate alone time with positive experiences. When you leave home, give them a puzzle stuffed with food or a number of special toys they only get to play with while youre gone. This can help retain the novelty of these experiences for your pup.
Providing your pooch with lots of interesting toys will not only create a positive association with alone time, but it will also serve as a distraction from the objects that you dont want your dog to chew on.
Removing other temptations for chewing can be helpful in ensuring that your dog only chews on designated objects. Make sure to place valuable objects well out of your pups reach, your laundry is stored away and that childrens toys or books are stored away too.
When you find your dog chewing on an item that they shouldnt be, tell them “no” and take it away. Replace it with a chew toy and then be sure to provide them with plenty of praise when they chew on that instead. If thew suggestions weve provided arent successful in curbing your dogs destructive chewing, you may want to even consider spraying objects you want to discourage your pup from wrecking with a dog deterrent spray.
How can proper chewing be encouraged?
To get your dog’s chewing headed in the right direction, begin with a few toys having a variety of tastes, odors, and textures to determine what appeals most to the pet (see Behavior Management Products). Although plastic, nylon or rubber toys may be the most durable, products that can be torn apart such as rawhide or pig’s ears may be more like the natural prey and wood products that attract most dogs. Coating or stuffing toys with liver or cheese spread, peanut butter, or bits of food may also increase their desirability. There are numerous durable rubber toys that are designed to be stuffed or filled with food or treats, which your dog will then need to chew or manipulate to obtain its “rewards.” There are even flavored products that have been designed to stuff into the toys. Placing soup, meat products or canned dog food into the toys and freezing them can make them retain their interest and last a lot longer. In fact, if you are looking for ways to keep your dog occupied and amused when you cannot play or supervise, then it might be useful to provide some or all of your dogs meals inside these feeding toys, so your dog can work (and play) for its food (see Working for Food and Play and Exercise).
Another option that might help reduce your dogs undesirable chewing, as well as helping maintain healthy teeth and gums, is to provide toys, food and treats that are designed to promote good dental hygiene. Although some dental foods and treats contain ingredients that help to reduce tartar; the ones that are likely to be the most beneficial to the dog with a need to chew are the ones that have a texture, consistency and size that encourages chewing and gnawing. Food and treats that are soft, small enough to be swallowed whole, or break apart with little or no chewing, are less likely to satisfy the chewing need.
To ensure that your puppy is encouraged and rewarded for chewing on its own toys, and discouraged from chewing on all other objects, it must be supervised at all times. Whenever supervision is not possible, you should prevent access to any object or area that might be chewed, other than the pet’s toys.
For dog owners, the following scenario may be all too familiar: You get home from a long day of work only to find your favorite slippers in tatters on the floor, scattered pieces of foam torn from the sofa cushions and teeth marks running up the legs of your wooden chair.
Wooden furniture can be similarly appealing, particularly to puppies, Tennant said. If a dog chews on a wooden stick in the garden or a in a park, humans dont complain. The animal, however, cant distinguish between an “allowed” piece of wood (that stick in the park) and a “forbidden” piece of wood (your favorite chair), Tennant said.
And that holds true even if your dog looks guilty when you yell at it. The most harmful misconception is for people to believe that dogs understand the consequences of their past actions, Tennant said. The guilty look confuses owners, but its there only because the dog doesnt like being scolded, Tennant said.
“The most common misconception people learn from the internet is that they just need to buy the dog some toys and [the chewing] would stop,” Tennant said. “It wont. A toy would smell of plastic, which is not necessarily a pleasant smell for a dog, [whereas] the shoe stinks of a human, which is a fantastic smell [for a dog]. They love it. There is no contest.”
“Chewing, for a dog, is like a human opening a door and looking into a room,” said Colin Tennant, the chairman of the U.K. Canine and Feline Behaviour Association. “People are nosy, and so are the dogs. But they investigate with their mouths, because they dont have hands.” [Why Do Breeds Look So Very Different, But Cats Dont]
Why dogs need to chew
Dogs, especially puppies, are extremely playful and investigative. While play with people and other dogs is an important part of socialization and social development, exploration and object play are important ways for dogs to learn about their environment. Therefore, it is a normal behavior for puppies to investigate their environment by sniffing, tasting and perhaps chewing on objects throughout the home. Dogs that chew may also be scavenging for food (as in garbage raiding), playing (as in the dog that chews apart a book or couch), teething (dogs 3 to 6 months of age that chew on household objects), or satisfying a natural urge to chew and gnaw (which may serve to help keep teeth and gums healthy). Some dogs may chew because they receive attention (even if it is negative) or treats from the owners each time they chew, but by giving attention, the owners are inadvertently rewarding the behavior. Chewing and destructive behaviors may also be a response to anxiety. Dogs that are confined in areas where they are insecure may dig and chew in an attempt to escape. Dogs that are in a state of conflict, arousal, or anxiety, such as separation anxiety, may turn to chewing and other forms of destructiveness as an outlet.
First, determine why the dog is chewing. If the dog is a puppy or young adult dog that is chewing a variety of objects in the household, it is likely that play and investigation (and perhaps teething) are the motives.
Dogs that raid garbage and steal food off counters are obviously motivated by the presence and odor of food. Dogs that chew at doorways or the doors of a cage may be attempting to escape confinement while others may be chewing as an outlet for anxiety. Determining the cause and motivation for chewing is essential in developing a treatment strategy. One of the best ways of determining why the dog is chewing and how the behavior might be resolved is to keep a diary of the pet’s daily activities to determine when and where it is chewing, what occurred immediately prior to the behavior and what do family members do when they catch the dog chewing. In addition, the diary can help to determine whether the dog’s daily schedule provides enough enrichment and a regular routine that serves all of the dog’s needs. Although the goal of treatment is to stop undesirable chewing, the focus should be on providing sufficient enrichment and outlets and in rewarding desirable behavior. If the chewing occurs while you are gone, setting up a videotape may help determine if anxiety is the cause of the behavior.
Directing the chewing into appealing alternatives, providing sufficient play and exercise, and preventing inappropriate chewing are needed for the exploratory dog. You must also ensure that you are not inadvertently rewarding the behavior. Ignoring the dog, or using a device to interrupt the chewing may be useful for these dogs. With puppies, this behavior may decrease in time, provided you provide enough daily play and exercise and you direct the chewing to proper outlets. Dogs that are garbage raiding or food stealing need to be treated by supervision, prevention (by keeping food inaccessible) and booby traps, since the behavior itself is self-rewarding. Dogs that are destructive when trying to escape from confinement must learn to become comfortable and secure in the cage or room where they are to be confined (see Why to Crate Train and How to Crate Train). In some cases, a new confinement area may have to be chosen. Dogs that are destructive due to anxiety will need to have the cause of the anxiety diagnosed, and the problem appropriately treated (see Separation Anxiety).