The act of chewing seems to be a matter of individual preference among dogs: some have an innate desire to chew as a pleasurable activity in itself, and some seem to have no need to chew whatsoever unless they’re driven to it out of sheer boredom.
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. It’s fun, it passes the time, and it’s a self-rewarding, self-reinforcing activity (for example, if she’s chewing on something that tastes good.)
- Chewing provides a nervous, bored, or lonely dog with an outlet for her emotions. To a dog the repetitive act of chewing is soothing just like we eat comfort food.
If dogs are not exercised to burn up their excess energy they often turn to chewing to give themselves something to do.
- How to prevent bad chewing -
Dogs are perfectly capable of learning not to chew although it may take a little work at first.
1. Take control and manage your own possessions. Your first step should be to dog-proof your home. Even if you have the best-behaved dog in the world, there’s still no reason to test her self-control – after all, dogs explore the world with their mouths.
Dog-proofing means if you want it then make it unavailable for her to get. Consider how tall she is and her agility when deciding whether something’s out of reach:? Can she climb, or leap onto something else to reach the desired object? How tall is she when standing on her back legs?
Common targets in the home include books, eyewear, clothing, shoes, garbage, and small crunchy appliances like cameras, cell phones, and remote controls.
It should go without saying that all food needs to be put securely away: don’t leave snacks on low tables (or even countertops – you’d be surprised how acrobatic she can be when there’s food at stake!), put all food into containers or the pantry. Make sure you scrape out plates and rinse them before leaving them by the sink.
2. Prevent her from learning 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. In other words, this means confining her in a dog-proofed area until you are confident of her understanding 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. Provide her with lots of tasty alternatives to your stuff. If her environment is relatively barren of attractive, appropriate chewing objects, 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 shopping spree and pick up several toys and chews so that you can give her two or three 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’t learn what you expect of her if she’s spending all her time boxed up in the dog-proof zone: she needs the opportunity to explore the boundaries of your expectations, so she can understand what’s appropriate and what’s 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 give her a tasty alternative such as a rawhide bone or chew toy; when she takes it praise her. There is no better way to get your dog to understand that chewing “her ” toys is good but that everything else is bad.
- Maintain a productive attitude -
If nothing else, keep your expectation 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.
Particularly in the early stages of your relationship, she’s still learning the ropes: it’ll take awhile before she’s completely reliable (and even then, if she’s left by herself for too long or feels neglected, she may choose your stuff over hers to occupy her time and jaws with.) You need to give her time to learn the rules, and a lot of time with you, then she will learn faster but don’t forget tto keep things out of her reach!
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.
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