A typical situation for many dog owners is to return home only to realize that there is one piece of furniture cushion less or that the beloved dog’s shoe is already chewed up due to overdoing chewing. Nevertheless, destructive chewing behavior can seem to be defiant, but it has nothing to do with defiance.
Why Is My Dog Chewing Things He Shouldn’t Be Chewing?
- Dogs teethe between the age of 3-6 months
- Lack of stimulation and energy release
- Anxiety
- Curiosity and desire to explore things
- Attention seeking, if your dog received it while chewing something in the past
- Instinctive behavior, since chewing helps to relax and is inherently satisfying
Is It Okay or Is There Something Wrong?
An occasional chewed up shoe is not really a big deal for a puppy. However, if your dog constantly chews on certain objects, especially doors or windowsill, or only when he or she is left alone, the issue has much more to do with anxiety.
How to Prevent Dogs from Chewing Badly
- Take necessary measures to keep shoes, wires, or any other expensive items away from your puppy, since during teething, a dog can destroy many things.
- Supply your dog with some toys to entertain him/her.
- Distract your dog by giving him/her more exercises.
- Change bad habits of your dog by replacing unacceptable item with another.
- Provide your pet with puzzle feeders and frozen treats toys for long and rewarding entertainment.
- Crate train your dog if necessary, so the unwanted chewing would not become associated with off-limit objects.
“Catching Your Dog in the Act” – An Important Note
Even when your dog reacts poorly to scolding, you may still attempt to punish him/her for doing something wrong. However, it will not work since your dog cannot connect his/her punishment which comes minutes or hours after the fact.
The only chance to properly correct your dog’s behavior is to interrupt him/her during chewing the inappropriate object and replace it with the appropriate toy. Also, there is absolutely no need to punish your dog, since redirecting works just fine.
If Chewing Could Be a Sign of Some Underlying Problem
Sometimes, chewing is accompanied by such symptoms as pacing, drooling, or obvious distress when being left alone, thus, it is quite likely that it is separation anxiety.
What to Do if It Does?
Then, dealing with anxiety is way more important than providing your dog with toys.
Final Words
Destructive chewing is annoying indeed, however, it usually has nothing to do with your dog’s intention to make your life hard. Most often, it is either boredom, extra energy, teething, or stress. All it needs is the proper chew toys, enough exercises, and some redirections.
It should be noted that this paper is written exclusively for educational purposes. In case you think that destructive chewing is significantly connected to anxiety or you are not able to train your animal to chew toys, you should contact a professional dog trainer.
