Destructive Chewing
Chewing
is an individual preference among dogs:
some chew as a matter of pleasure, and some
chew out of sheer boredom.
"Destructive Chewing" sounds
redundant because all chewing is destructive.
When professional dog trainers refer to
“destructive chewing”, they
mean the kind of chewing that’s
focused on your possessions and household
items.
There are 3 main reasons why dogs chew:
1)It is their natural desire. To them,
passing the time by chewing on something
is fun. Chewing is a self-rewarding and
self-reinforcing activity, especially
when they are chewing on things that taste
good.
2) Chewing provides an outlet for lonely
dogs to let out their emotions. To an
anxious dog, the repetitive act of chewing
is soothing – it’s the doggie
equivalent of comfort food.
3) Underexercised dogs often use chewing
as a way of burning up nervous energy
and giving themselves something to do.
How to Prevent Destructive Chewing
Dogs are perfectly capable of learning
not to chew your stuff – you just
have to put in a little effort first,
that’s all.
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 your home means taking whatever
you don’t want to end up in her
mouth, and making it unavailable. 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? 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. 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 jawful 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. Practically speaking,
this means confining her in a dog-proofed
area until you’re confident of her
understanding of 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). Don’t offer your dog
cast-off clothes, shoes, or towels to
chew and play with: realistically, you
can’t possibly expect her to be
able to tell the difference between your
current shoes and the one she’s
got in her mouth that you gave her five
minutes ago.
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 toy and
chew shopping spree, then give her two
or three to play with at a time. Rotating
the available toys every few days will
keep things novel and interesting for
her.
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. When you catch her chewing something
inappropriate, interrupt her by making
a loud noise: clap your hands or make
an “Ah-ah-aaaah!” 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. There is no better
way to get your dog to understand that
chewing “her” toys equals
praise from you, but everything else equals
trouble.
Maintain a Productive Attitude
Above all, remember to keep your expectations
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.) Remember to give her time
to learn the rules, and plenty of ‘you-time’
to help her learn faster – and don’t
forget to take precautions and keep things
out of reach until she’s got the
hang of the chewing rules!
Recommended Reading:
If you’re interested in getting
a more detailed look at how to deal with
your dog’s destructive chewing,
you might like to check out Secrets
To dog Training.
It’s a great learning tool for
anyone who wants to learn how to deal
constructively with their dog’s
problem behaviors.
All of the common behavioral problems
are dealt with in detail, and there’s
a great section on obedience commands
and tricks too.
You can visit Secrets To Dog
Training by clicking on the link
below:
Visit
Secrets To dog Training
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