Ah, chewing. It’s the bane of most puppy parents when their little one resembles a tiny land shark instead of their fluffy bundle of canine cuteness. The most important thing you need to remember is that this, too, shall pass. Keep reading to learn how to stop your dog from chewing up all your stuff.
Why Do Dogs Chew?
Understanding why your sweet puppy is gnawing on everything, including your delicate fingers and toes, can be helpful. Chewing is common in puppies and some adolescent dogs. It’s also completely normal and necessary. Puppies need to chew, and there are several reasons for this. Like human toddlers who put all kinds of random things in their mouths, dogs use their mouths to explore the world. Before puppies learn an acceptable level of bite inhibition and what’s appropriate to chew on, their explorations lead them to bite on just about everything.
Young puppies will chew on electric wires, furniture, rugs, shoes, and body parts. Chewing is enjoyable for dogs, especially when they are babies and teething. It feels physically good on their mouths and can be emotionally soothing, similar to how a human baby sucks its thumb. Dogs will also chew out of boredom and even frustration.
Destructive Chewing
Destructive chewing is when your dog chews up anything that you don’t want them to. Dogs will happily chew up leather shoes, furniture, bedding, and more. Chewing is a natural dog behavior, and they need to be allowed to chew, which means your goal is to teach them to only chew on appropriate items.
How to Stop Destructive Chewing
Stopping destructive chewing requires a multi-pronged approach that includes environmental changes, targeted enrichment, and teaching your dog the difference between what’s theirs and what’s yours.
1. Adapt Your Dog’s Environment
Remove Temptations: Put everything you don’t want your dog to chew on out of their reach. Shoes in closets, books on higher shelves, human toys put away, etc. Block access to furniture and electric wires.
Control Access: If you can’t move something your dog targets for chewing, keep your dog out of that area of the home when they can’t be supervised.
2. Provide Appropriate Enrichment
Variety of Safe Chew Toys: Give your dog a variety of safe chew toys to satisfy their need to chew. Consider a combination of edible and non-edible chews in different hardnesses depending on your dog’s preferences. Rotating your dog's toys/chews can keep them exciting.
3. Supervise and Redirect
Redirect Chewing: When interacting with your dog and she is nippy with you or your clothes, redirect her to appropriate chewing items like her own toys and dog chews such as Kongs. You may have to redirect your puppy many times during a play session, so be patient; your dog will eventually learn that she can’t chew on you.
Teach a “Leave It” Cue: This can be used for chewing as well as things the puppy may want to pick up on walks.
Praise Good Choices: Whenever your dog independently makes a good chewing choice, give them lots of praise. Be consistent until your dog learns to only chew on dog-appropriate items.
Top Chewing Enrichment Items
Here are some great chewing-based enrichment items to get you started:
Kong Classic: Durable, hollow rubber toy you can fill with treats or peanut butter. Freezing it adds an extra challenge.
Bully Sticks: Long-lasting natural chews made from beef tendon.
Nylabone Dura Chew: Tough, long-lasting nylon bone that comes in various flavors, sizes, and shapes.
Benebone Wishbone: Flavored with real food ingredients and easy for dogs to hold and chew.
Himalayan Dog Chews: Hard cheese made primarily from yak milk, offering a multi-textured experience.
West Paw Zogoflex Hurley Bone: Eco-friendly, durable chew toy that can also be used for fetch.
Rubber Chew Toys: Made from durable, non-toxic rubber, these toys come in various shapes and sizes and can be filled with treats.
Chewable enrichment keeps your dog engaged, reduces boredom, promotes healthy chewing habits, and keeps your precious belongings safe from destruction. Remember to supervise your dog with new toys and chews to ensure they are safe and appropriate for their size, chewing strength, and personal preferences.
By being patient and consistent with making sure you supervise your dog and direct him to appropriate chew items when needed, teaching him a strong “leave it” cue, and providing lots of enriching toys and activities, those teething “nightmares” will easily fade into memory.
Download a PDF of these instructions plus 4 other common dog behavior problems and their solutions in the free dog training resource library.
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