Dogs who like chewing will put their lips on almost everything they come across in the home. And like the majority of pet owners, you’re undoubtedly looking for a simple solution to stop your dog from chewing. But dogs are naturally chewers! Before taking any action to change your pet’s behavior or get rid of temptations, it’s critical to comprehend why dogs chew.
Recognize the Reasons Your Dog Is Chewing
Dogs have an innate need to chew, and despite common opinion, there are advantages to this behavior! Chewing helps dogs handle a range of emotions in addition to maintaining strong jaws and clean teeth. For example, your new dog may be experiencing pain related to teething. It’s possible that your recently acquired dog gets anxious while they get used to their new surroundings. Alternatively, your energetic dog could benefit from an engaging activity. In any of these situations, your pet could use chewing as a coping or emotional release technique.
Destructive chewing, on the other hand, becomes an issue if your best buddy uses any item in the home to satisfy their cravings. See how to get a dog to quit chewing on things by reading these ideas.
Keep Priceless Things Out of Reach
Dogs use their lips to explore their environment, so store valuables and personal items out of reach of your dog. If you’ve never had a furry family member before, this will eventually come naturally to you. For example, the laundry basket shouldn’t be on the floor (particularly with all those enticing socks!), and the TV remote is safer kept in a locked drawer than on the coffee table.
Veterinary Centers of America Inc. warns that dogs have a sense of smell that is 1,000–10,000 times greater than ours. Take a time to think about where you put things that may attract your dog, including your new leather shoes, a kid’s toy, or even a candy dish.
Give Chew Toys to Your Dog
chewable, bulldog-textured ring
While it may not be possible to totally stop your dog from chewing, providing chew toys may help to foster healthy chewing habits. To make sure that the right chewing outlets are very intriguing and enjoyable, Nylabone produces a wide variety of chew toys with alluring textures, delicious tastes, and adorable forms. A terrific technique to keep your dog occupied for longer is using dog treat toys! One of our reward toy alternatives for prolonging chew time and offering delicious goodies is the Sneaky Snacker.
Give your dog chew toys or other pet-specific items that are meant to be chewed on only. Although giving up your old sneakers could seem like a frugal chew, your dog will merely get confused since they can’t tell which shoes are okay to chew on and which ones are not.
Provide your pet with plenty of puppy chew toys so they may develop good chewing habits from an early age. During teething, puppies in particular chew to ease gum pain and hasten the loss of their newborn teeth. You may be wondering when puppies stop chewing as your new best buddy continues to chew. Well, depending on the breed and size, they cease teething between six and eight months of age, and they may stop chewing as much. All dogs, even those of the same breed, chew in a distinctive way, and this behavior persists throughout their lives.
To get your dog started on the right road, use our Chew Style Guide to determine which size and strength chew toy is best for them. Always keep an eye on your best buddy while they’re playing with a chew toy!
Provide Both Mental and Stimulation
Mental and physical stimulation can assist your dog keep active and relieve extra energy, in addition to improving his body and mind.
There are several methods to provide your closest buddy enjoyable, healthy mental stimulation. Teaching your dog clever tricks tests his or her cognitive abilities and obedience—plus, it’s entertaining to show off your dog’s talents to loved ones! To encourage thought in your dog, you may also give them a puzzle toy.
Your dog will remain active via physical activity as well. Walking your dog every day and playing games with play toys like fetch or tug-of-war are two strategies to do this. Before you leave the home and leave your pet alone for a while, give exercising with them extra thought. By doing this, you may be sure that they will unwind more often than discover something improper to chew on while no one else is around.
Adopt Preventive Actions
Apply a chewing deterrent spray to common home objects like the kitchen table, deck rail, and fence posts if your dog is chewing on them. Dogs dislike the bitter flavor that these sprays are created with. It thus makes them reconsider biting into wood, furniture, and a variety of other surfaces. Dogs must learn what is acceptable and unacceptable chewing, thus this preventative approach shouldn’t be your main strategy for stopping destructive chewing.
Transform Destructive to Positive Chewing
contented dog tongue-out
Remind yourself that it’s OK if your dog sometimes messes up and chews on something inappropriate. Please encourage your dog to give up the forbidden object and provide him a chew toy in its place. Give your dog some praise when they accept the chew toy. According to the ASPCA, you shouldn’t scold your dog for destructive chewing since your pet won’t connect the punishment with the undesirable behavior—even if it happens soon after the event.
In the end, teaching your best buddy appropriate chewing behaviors is more important than trying to figure out how to stop a dog from chewing. If you have plenty of chew toys, patience, and determination, you can turn any situation around!
