stop dog chewing

Nearly all puppies chew

Owning a puppy that likes to chew can be very expensive especially if they chew your personal things and your furniture. Most puppies will chew unfortunately there is not much we can do about that, but we can find the reasons that they chew and make sure that they chew only what we want them to not our latest pair of shoes or the kitchen table leg.

The main reasons puppies chew

  • loneliness and boredom

  • attention seeking

  • stress and anxiety

  • teething

click here to learn how to stop dogs chewing

Loneliness and boredom

If the puppy is by himself during the day or if he is ignored he will chew out of loneliness or boredom, puppies need to be stimulated with play constantly they would normally be playing with their mother or siblings that’s how they learn ,if your puppy suddenly finds he is the only dog in the house he will look to keep himself amused and vent his energy usually by chewing .

Stress and anxiety

If a puppy is stressed or anxious he will chew, a puppy who is not comfortable in his surrounding or an owner who is too harsh and punishes the puppy make cause him to chew to relive stress.

Attention seeking

Attention seeking if your not paying your puppy constant attentions some puppies will chew especially if they see you come running when he chews something he should not.

Teething

Teething puppies may chew when they are teething this is normal even for young babies giving a puppy a chew toy should remedy this quiet quickly.

Dangers of puppies chewing

There are some obvious dangers to puppies chewing the most obvious being electric wires and cables that power household appliances or televisions.

So it is wise if you have a puppy that chews to puppy proof your house putting all leads and expensive items out of puppy’s reach.

Puppy anti chew spray

This is a spray you can buy to coat larger objects such as furniture with a foul tasting coating that will put the puppy off chewing due to the taste.

What can you do to stop your puppy chewing

There are some good rules of thumb that will help to stop a puppy chewing they are

  1. Make sure he has lots of chew toys so that he does not have to chew household objects

  2. Praise him when he chews the toys instead of the furniture.

  3. Keep his interest some chew toys have room for hidden treats inside and the puppy will play for hours finding how to get the treat out.

  4. Make a separate area to put your puppy when you are not there with him ie a crate or a separate room.

  5. No puppy should be left too long by themselves make sure the time they are left alone is minimal.

  6. And lastly if it is convenient and affordable another dog or animal in the house will often absorb puppy’s attention and take his mind off of chewing.

Obedience training

Obedience training in general will is the only surefire way to train a dog or puppy and will thorough learning the correct way to act using dog friendly treat and reward techniques enable many dog and puppy behaviors to be corrected

Click here to find out about obedience training and other stop dog chewing techniques