Chewing is one of the most common types of canine behaviors. All dogs chew because chewing helps them feed their curiosity about the world. However, when the chewing becomes destructive, this is when there’s a real problem.
Some dogs tend to chew anything that gets in their way. This could be furniture, shoes, or even your clothes!
You can’t have your pup chewing up the brand new pair of jeans you bought last week now, can you?
Here are some tactics you can use to stop your dog from chewing your stuff.
While it’s okay for dogs to chew sometimes, destructive chewing is never okay, and there is always some reason behind why your pup may be engaging in it.
For example, it could be loneliness, boredom, separation anxiety, etc., but there is always going to be a reason behind destructive chewing.
The first and most thing you can do if you want your pup to stop is to understand why he’s chewing so much in the first place.
Try to understand why your pup is engaging in destructive chewing. Once you identify the root cause of his chewing, you can work on that so that your pet doesn’t chew on your expensive and valuable things.
For example, if you notice that your pup always starts chewing on your valuables each time you leave him home alone, it’s clear that he is suffering from separation anxiety and is only acting out to get your attention.
Perhaps then, what you need to do is either not leave your pup alone for long periods, or hire a pet sitter for the duration that you are away so that your pup doesn’t feel alone.
Alternatively, you can plan out activities for your pup so that your pet stays busy with other things and does not resort to chewing your things while you’re not home.
One of the easiest ways to make sure your pet doesn’t chew up your valuables is to make sure that you dog-proof your house.
If you create an environment where your dog is discouraged from chewing on your things, your possessions, such as your shoes and clothes, are most likely going to be safe.
It’s simple, really – everything that you want your dog not to chew on, keep it safe and away from its reach!
For example, if your new clothes are safely locked inside your closet, there is no way possible that your dog will be able to chew on them, even if he wants to.
If you give your pet dog toys to chew on, he will most likely refrain from chewing on your clothes and other valuables!
Dog toys are definitely a better alternative to letting your dog chew on household things. Make sure you teach your dog the difference between household items and dog toys so that he knows what’s okay to chew and what’s not.
One way that you can prevent your dog from chewing on the furniture is by coating any of the furniture you see around you with an insect repellant.
Insect repellents usually taste so horrible that your dog will be discouraged from chewing on them.
You need to keep applying the repellent over and over again to make sure that it is effective and to really deter your pet from chewing. This will also condition your dog to think that the furniture is disgusting and that chewing it has no rewards, which will solve the issue of excessive chewing.
Before you let your pet roam about freely, doing whatever he wants, it can be useful to supervise his behavior indoors first.
You should keep your pup on a leash or inside a properly pet-proofed room until he learns what ‘good’ behavior is and what is expected of him.
One of the first things you need to be strict about teaching him is that it isn’t okay to go about chewing everything that comes in his way!
While it’s important to be strict, make sure that you don’t end up being too harsh on your pet. Don’t punish him for chewing. Punishment is a form of negative reinforcement that almost always does more harm than good.
Often, your pet only chews as a way of acting out when he is bored. As such, you need to make sure that your pet stays active and busy in other activities.
Just as exercise is important for a human’s physical and mental well-being, it is also equally important for a pet’s overall health. So take your pup for walks around the neighborhood regularly, play fetch with him whenever you can, play hide-and-seek with him, or even tug of war!
All of these activities are likely to keep your pet pre-occupied and prevent him from chewing on your favorite new pair of high heels!
by Bobby J Davidson || You can’t buy love, but you can rescue it™ .
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