Chewing appears to be a matter of individual preference amongst dogs. Some have a strong desire to chew purely because they find it pleasurable whilst others seem to have no need to chew unless they’re driven to it out of pure boredom.
Using the phrase “destructive chewing” sounds strange because all chewing is ultimately destructive. Your puppy/dog has strong jaws full of sharp teeth and virtually anything he chews on is going to be seen inside a minute. So, when we use the phrase “destructive chewing”, we’re talking about inappropriate chewing – your puppy/dog chewing on something that he shouldn’t be – your own possessions or household items instead of his own toys and chews.
There are three main reasons why dogs chew. These are:
A dog is more than capable of learning what is appropriate to chew on and what is not appropriate to chew on. All it needs is for you to put in the time and effort to teach him.
Take control and manage your own possessions. Your first step should be to dog-proof your possessions. Even the best behaved dog in the world should not have his self control tested. Dogs explore their world with their mouths. If they find something new and different, they’re going to have a taste of it!
Ensuring that your home is dog proof is quite easy. If you don’t want something chewed on, don’t leave it lying about! It’s as simple as that. Consider your dog’s size and agility when you have to decide if something is out of his reach. Can he jump up to it? Can he climb up to it? Can he jump from one place to another to reach the object of his desire?
Common desirable objects to your dog include mobile phones, cameras, remote controls, spectacles, shoes, clothing, books and rubbish in the bin.
It should go without saying that all food should be put away securely. Don’t leave snacks and other foods on low tables – not even on worktops because you’d be amazed at how acrobatic your dog can be when there’s food at stake!! Put all food into containers and in the fridge or cupboard. Scrape and rinse dirty plates of food before you put it on the worktop. Don’t leave the dishwasher door open!
Don’t let your puppy learn the joys of chewing something he shouldn’t be chewing. The more times he gets a hold of something he shouldn’t be chewing, the more times he’ll want to go back for another chew! If you can prevent your puppy from chewing on your stuff in the first place, it will make it a lot easier to teach him the chewing rules. In a practical sense, this means confining your pup in a dog proofed area until you are confident that he knows what is expected of him.
Don’t set your puppy up to fail by confusing him about what is OK to chew on and what is not OK to chew on. Don’t go giving your puppy an old slipper or trainer or some other such item to chew on and play with because he will never be able to tell the difference between the old slipper you’ve just given him and your brand new £80 trainers!
Make sure your puppy has lots of appropriate puppy chewing toys. If he doesn’t have anything interesting and appropriate to chew on, it’s only to be expected that he’ll go off and try and find something to chomp on – and that could be those expensive trainers or the TV remote! Just remember that the majority of dogs need to chew, so make sure you provide him with appropriate items to chew on. Go on a shopping spree for toys and chews, give him two or three at a time and then every few days, rotate them with other toys so that he has something new and interesting. By the time you get back to the original items, they will be interesting to him again because he’s not seen them for a while.
Spend as much time as possible actively supervising and playing with your puppy. It might be easier for you to keep your puppy shut up in his crate, in a run or in the garden, but that’s pretty boring and horrible for him – and won’t be much fun for you either. After all, if you wanted a pet that you didn’t have to interact with, you’d have bought a goldfish! Also, your pup won’t learn what is expected of him if he’s constantly confined to a dog proof zone. He needs to explore the boundaries of what you want him to do so that he can learn what’s right and what’s wrong.
When you catch your puppy gnawing on something that he shouldn’t be gnawing on, distract him by maybe making a loud noise, clap your hands or give him the “Ah!Ah!” noise. As soon as he is distracted, immediately swap him something tasty and appropriate to chew on while rescuing your treasured possession. As soon as he takes the swapped item in his mouth, give him lots of praise and reassurance that he’s done right. There’s no better way to teach your dog that doing something right means lots of praise and affection from you.
Remember to always keep your expectations of your puppy realistic. You are not perfect and neither is he. In his life, there is likely to be at least one time that some treasured item is going to get damaged by his curiosity.
In the early stages of your relationship with your puppy, he is still learning the house rules. It will take a bit of time before he is reliable – and even then, if he’s left alone for too long, or feels lonely and neglected, he might well choose to chew on your stuff instead of his own.
Remember to give him time to learn your house rules – puppies are not pre-programmed to know what’s right and wrong.
Remember to give him plenty time with you to help him learn faster.
And most importantly, until your puppy learns, remember the golden rule: