Does Your Dog Have Chewing ProblemsDoes your dog chew everything, driving you mad? Help is at hand with a few steps you can reduce or eliminate the problem. Dog chewing is normal in puppy hood and part of growing up. Puppies have new teeth coming through, and so feel the need to chew. Chewing is also one of the ways a young puppy finds out about their environment.The first thing to do is puppy proof your home, or at least the areas that you are going to allow the puppy in. Take special care of the area you will leave your puppy unattended. This can be where they sleep or where you leave them while you are out of the house. Take up rugs if you need to. Think about what is at their height that they can chew. It will be a good thing to remind you here that dogs can reach up higher when standing on their hind legs. Move the thing you do not want chewed out of their way, shoes are a good chew to a dog so have them stored safely away from your puppy. Move those things you do not want chewed by your puppy. Make sure any electrical cables are out of reach, while to us, it could be an expensive cost for your puppy it could be worse. You are after all looking at a baby or toddler not aware of dangers. Have dog toys that are puppy safe for chewing. This way the puppy has toys to chew that you have approved. Do not allow many of these toys at once, or have a variety of toys that can be kept away from the dog, you can then let the dog have just a few out at a time. This stops the dog from thinking that everything is for chewing. If you find your dog with something in its mouth you do not want them to chew say "Leave" when they drops it, give the dog praise and something that they are allowed to chew. Do not allow it to turn into a tug of war game as this can be seen as great fun to your dog. While we are at this point it does nothing to shout or hit your puppy. The command "leave" can be used all through the dog's life and can be very convenient. An example can be if the dog sees a children's toy and wants to play with it.If you have an older dog that is chewing then you may need to think about why. This can be a sign of stress. Although you can sort out the problem of what is coursing their stress you may still need to follow the pointers above to stop the habit. For the older dog, the chewing is a source of comfort, a way for feeling happier. You may find that giving them chew toys and more exercise will alleviate the problem. Do think about why this is happening for your dog, it can be a new home, new baby or new dog in the home. Your dog will love extra time with you and some understanding of why the chewing problem has started. A dog chewing due to stress can be sorted out with a little patience's and thinking of how the dog is feeling. |