The Dog Site

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 is destructive. 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 is an outlet for a nervous bored or lonely dog. To a dog the repetitive act of chewing is soothing just like we eat comfort food.

– Under exercised dogs often use chewing as a way of burning up nervous energy and giving 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 of the situation: 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 her size and agility when deciding whether something’s out of reach: can she jump? Can she climb, or leap onto something else to reach the desired object? When standing on her back legs how tall is she?

Small crunchy appliances such as cell phones, cameras and remote controls and eyewear, shoes and garbage are often targets in the home.

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 away. Rinse your dirty plates clean of any food scraps 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 make it harder for her 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. Give her lots of different, good tasting alternatives to your things. If her environment is relatively barren of attractive, appropriate chewing objects, you can hardly blame her for targeting your possessions. Just think, most dogs need to chew; especially if she’s an adolescent or a puppy. Go on a toy and chew shopping spree, then give her two or three to play with at a time. Rotate her toys and make it interesting.

5. Spend lots of time in active 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 hand her a tasty and dog-appropriate alternative (a rawhide bone or other chew toy); as soon as her jaws close around it, praise her lavishly. The best way is to get your dog to understand that chewing “her” toys is good and everything else is bad.

– Keep a productive attitude-

If nothing else, keep your expectation realistic. Neither you or your dog are perfect and there will be a good chance she will tear up something you cherishe.

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. It’s the complete manual for dog ownership and is designed to fast-track your dog’s learning.

No one would ever believe that the little innocent puppy that they brought home could turn into a dog that is one bad mistake away from being sent away. Aggressive dogs do not just happen over night. Dogs are not born aggressive or menacing towards people. Dogs that are properly trained and well cared for rarely become aggressive. If you adopted your dog as an adult you will need to be particularly cautious and be sure that your dog has proper dog obedience training.

Making sure your dog knows who is the leader and who is the pet is critical in making housebreaking an easy job for you both. Dog and puppy training is vital for more than just ensuring that she no longer chews your favorite shoes to pieces. You have to make sure that you stop your pet from becoming one of the thousands of aggressive dogs out there. Dog growling and dog biting can lead to very bad situations. If you perform the correct dog training, neither of these would happen.

Problems Experienced from Aggressive Dogs

* Neighbors, family, or friends may sustain physical injuries
* Emotional damage to youngsters
* Destroyed personal items
* Previous situations that create lawsuits
* The dog becoming one of the many aggressive dogs that are put to sleep each year

Any pet lover can see you need to do all that is possible to prevent your pet from becoming one of those aggressive dogs. You should seek outside help from a professional if you feel that you are unable to fix and control the problem on your own. There are many professional dog trainers out there who specialize in aggressive dogs.

It’s advisable to do as much reading and research as you can on aggressive dogs. Learn that hitting a dog is not the way to train it. Violence only leads to violence, so be sure you aren’t contributing to the creation of aggressive dogs. You may have luck with the books and videos out there but you will have a much better chance at solving the problem, or preventing one from ever happening, by bringing an expert into your home.

Getting More Help

Whether it is a free trainer or one you pay for you have to realize that there is nothing more important than making sure that you are taking responsibility for your dog and its actions. The owners are always the ones that are accountable for the behavior of their aggressive dog, so be sure to avoid the potential legal or moral situations.

If you have a dog that has not yet experienced signs of becoming one of the many aggressive dogs out there then you have a little time. But if your dog has shown any signs of rough play or destructive behavior then you have no time to waste.

One of the first things you will want to do with your new puppy is housebreaking him. One that can only lead to confusion for the dog later on is giving your new dog a little time to get to know the family and the house before laying down the law. Your dog will be confused if you have allowed it to run free with no discipline, then all of a sudden expect it to be well-behaved.

It Is Never Too Late

You are still able to fix the situation even if you have let your dog run free with no rules. Unlike a popular belief out there, it is never too late to start dog training with a dog. Whether your puppy is young or old you can still include housebreaking into his/her daily routine. Whether it is dog chewing, dog biting, or dog growling that you are dealing with, it is important to pick out the behavior that concerns you the most. Start housebreaking on those behaviors and once you have accomplished those then you can move on to something else.

You should start housebreaking your dog as soon as possible to ensure that your pet does not become aggressive. If the largest problem that you have at this time is potty training, then make that your first item to work on.

Tips for Housebreaking Your Dog

* Restrict food and water to the appropriate meal times
* Keep peed pads in one area
* When your dog is good, praise them
* Don’t hit the dog if he misses the pee pad
* After fifteen or twenty minutes of giving the puppy something to eat or drink, it needs to be taken to the pee pad

A lot of people leave water and food out for their dog all day long. While this is an okay routine for older dogs that can hold their bladder, it is not advisable for puppies. Young pups are not able to hold their bladder for very long, even if they wanted to. This will result in a lot of accidents around the house for which you really cannot blame the puppy. So leaving food and water out all of the time is counterproductive to your goals in housebreaking.

If your puppy always misses the pee pad and continues to go to the bathroom in another part of the house, simply place the pee pad in that spot. At this stage, housebreaking is just acclimating the puppy to the pad with respect to going to the bathroom. Once they are used to it, you can continue with housebreaking by slowing moving the pee pad every few days towards the spot you eventually want the pads to reside at.

While this housebreaking process may seem like it takes forever, it is extremely important. You don’t want your dog using the bathroom everywhere. You would also like an easy process of housebreaking for your dog to prevent it becoming disinterested. Get outside help in puppy training if you need it. No matter who is in charge of doing it, just know that housebreaking takes time.