Destructive Chewing
Chewing is a matter of individual preference among dogs: some derive great pleasure from chewing and others just do it when they are extremely bored.
The phrase “destructive chewing” may sound redundant, because – by its very nature! – all chewing can tear things up. With a mouthfull of sharp, pointy teeth: just about everything will show the effects of her chewing. So just to clarify, when I use the phrase “destructive chewing”, I’m referring to inappropriate chewing: the kind of chewing that’s focused on your own possessions and household items, instead of on your dog’s own designated toys and chews.
The three main reasons why dogs chew:
– All dogs have a natural desire to chew. And really it’s fun and passes time a self-rewarding, self-reinforcing activity.)
Chewing is an outlet for a nervous bored or lonely dog. To a dog the repetitive act of chewing is soothing just like we eat comfort food.
– Under exercised dogs often use chewing as a way of burning up nervous energy and giving themselves something to do.
– How to prevent destructive chewing -
Dogs can learn not to chew your things – you just need to work at it.
1. Take control of the situation: manage your own possessions. Just like with a child you need to dog-proof your home. Even if she is well-behaved there is no reason to test her self-control – after all dogs explore the world with their mouth.
Dog-proofing means if you want it then make it unavailable for her to get. Consider her size and agility when deciding whether something’s out of reach: can she jump? Can she climb, or leap onto something else to reach the desired object? When standing on her back legs how tall is she?
Small crunchy appliances such as cell phones, cameras and remote controls and eyewear, shoes and garbage are often targets in the home.
when food is at stake you will be surprised how easy she can get to it, all food needs to be put securely away!), put all food into containers or the pantry. Make sure you scrape out plates and rinse them before leaving them by the sink.
2. Don’t let her learn the joys of illegal chewing. The more times she manages to snatch a jaw full of a forbidden substance – a chair-leg, a pillow, a running shoe – the more readily she’ll target those items in future. If you can prevent her from chewing your stuff in the first place, it’s a lot easier for her to understand what you expect of her. Practically speaking, this means confining her in a dog-proofed area until you’re confident of her understanding of the house rules.
3. Don’t set her up for failure by blurring the boundaries between her stuff (OK to chew) and your stuff (not OK to chew). If she has gotten caught with household articles then don’t give her similiar castoffs to play with, there is no way she would know the difference.
4. Give her lots of different, good tasting alternatives to your things. If she doesn’t have anything to play with, you can hardly blame her for targeting your possessions. Remember, most dogs need to chew; if she’s an adolescent (under three years) or a puppy (under one year), her needs will be even more pronounced. Go on a toy and chew shopping spree, then give her two or three to play with at a time. Rotating the available toys every few days will keep things novel and interesting for her.
5. Spend a lot of time in one on one supervision. Yes, it might be easier for you to just keep her penned up in her crate, run, or the yard – but that’s boring and horrible for her, and hardly much fun for you either (if you wanted a pet that you don’t need to interact with, you’d have got a goldfish, right?) She can not learn all that you expect of her if you keep her all boxed up in a dog-proof zone: she needs to be able to explore and have challengies so that she can understand what is appropriate and what is not.
6. Make a loud noise like clapping your hand or make an “Ah-ah-aaaah” when you catch her chewing something you don’t want her to chew!” noise. Then, immediately hand her a tasty and dog-appropriate alternative (a rawhide bone or other chew toy); as soon as her jaws close around it, praise her lavishly. There is no better way to get your dog to understand that chewing “her” toys equals praise from you, but everything else equals trouble.
– Keep a productive attitude-
Above all, remember to keep your expectations realistic. You’re not perfect, and neither is your dog: there’s likely to be at least one incident where a cherished item is damaged by her curiosity.
In the early stage of your relationship, she is still learning the ropes: it will take a while before she will be completely reliable.) Remember to give her time to learn the rules, and plenty of ‘you-time’ to help her learn faster – and don’t forget to take precautions and keep things out of reach until she’s got the hang of the chewing rules!
For more information on dog training techniques and how to deal with problem dog behavior (like chewing), check out Secrets to Dog Training. A complete manual to fast-track your dog’s learning.
Mail this post
Tags: destructive chewing, Dog, dog chewing, dog tearing item, dog training, dogs