Have you ever come home to a surprise from your pup, such as a slobbery shoe, a ripped-up pillow, or a chewed table leg? Chewing and biting habits are common behaviors for dogs as they are natural instincts. If you are looking for ways to stop dogs from chewing, fortunately, with training and enrichment, you can avoid and nearly eliminate this unwanted behavior saving you lots of headaches.
Understanding ‘Why’ Dogs Chew
To learn how to stop dogs from chewing and teach your dog a more appropriate behavior, you’ll want to understand why this destructive behavior is happening. When puppies start biting, or ‘nipping’, it’s mainly due to their curiosity as they explore the world through their mouth. Whether you’re constantly finding holes in your socks, or bite marks on the soles of your sneakers, there are many reasons why dogs resort to chewing.
Common reasons for chewing include:
- Lack of training
- Teething
- Lack of enrichment or boredom
- Curiosity
- Anxiety or stress
Supervision is Key
A key part of changing unwanted chewing and biting behavior is to provide direct supervision. Not only is supervision important for your dog’s safety, but it allows you to catch them in the act of chewing, allowing you to redirect your pup to a more appropriate item to chew or behavior to perform. Broken teeth, blockages, digestion issues, infected gums, and more are all concerns that come from the ingestion of inappropriate items due to chewing habits. If you are unable to directly supervise your pup, consider confining them to a pet-proofed room or crate to prevent them from getting into things they shouldn’t be getting into. This way they also don’t learn to chew on inappropriate items to begin with.
Redirecting Your Pup
Thankfully with direct supervision and training, chewing and biting can be redirected to appropriate chew items so your dog isn’t destroying your valuables or risking their safety. When your pup is chewing on inappropriate objects, calmly interrupt their chewing by using a ‘Leave It’ cue and then redirect them to puppy-chewing-appropriate toys. If your pup doesn’t know a ‘Leave It’ cue yet, that’s okay! You can get a fun toy and engage them with it instead. Since the majority of chewing is from a lack of enrichment or boredom, we recommend having multiple toy options for your pup to choose from that will allow them to satisfy their natural chewing and biting instincts (while saving your shoes).
Positive Reinforcement Training
A great strategy when dealing with biting or chewing is to positively reinforce your dog when they choose the right toy or engaging item to chew or bite. By rewarding them with praise, treats, pets, or anything your dog loves, you are reinforcing their good “chewing” behavior. Regularly introducing new toys and using them as a part of redirecting is also a great way to encourage the right behavior. Plus, by exciting them with something new, you’re preventing boredom.
Managing Expectations
It will happen – dogs will chew on the wrong stuff. New furniture, new shoes, new carpet – these are all exciting new scents your curious pup will want to explore. It’s essential to remain patient while they learn what’s for chewing and what isn’t. With direct supervision, redirection, and encouragement of chewable items, your pup will figure it out in no time. And, if they remain relentless about a specific item or object, work to temporarily block the area or remove the item for a few weeks allowing your dog to focus on what they should be chewing while forgetting about the object they shouldn’t.
Get Started on Training
Understanding your dog’s behaviors and why they do what they do allows your relationship with them to become stronger and happier. GoodPup, a one-on-one video that connects dog training professionals to dog owners, has been helping make those relationships stronger one day at a time. If you need more help with your dog’s chewing, check out GoodPup – the most effective virtual dog training program today.
