Destructive Chewing – Your Dog Is Trying To Say Something
For many centuries now, humans have totally domesticated dogs. We have brought them into our society and in most cases, expected them to act like us and to be a regular part of our families. We should accept that by doing so, we have caused some of our own human emotions to develop in our dogs. Dogs have learned to become jealous, neurotic, spiteful, hateful and bored.
Chewing Problems
In adolescent dogs, between the ages of six to sixteen months, we find that these emotions cannot be controlled as easily as the same emotions in adult dogs. The same can be expressed by a human teenager’s capability of exercising mature restraint, when affected by the same emotions.
Can You Spare 15 Minutes?
The most common cause of chronic chewing is boredom and if every dog owner would spend a little more time each day giving full attention and love to its pet, much of the “boredom chewing” would be eliminated. Fifteen minutes a day is all it takes, it’s just that easy!
The Story of the Spiteful Boxer
Spite, another motivating factor, should also be considered. A story about a twenty-month old Boxer would be a great example in this case. Ever since he was a puppy, this Boxer had been an “only child” to a couple who spoiled him with lots of love and attention. The dog went along with them shopping, running errands and visiting friends. He would walk gracefully and loved tagging along with his owners.
Then, a new baby arrived and things changed. Suddenly, the dog found himself left in the car during errand trips. On one occasion, mom and dad returned to the car to find the interior completely destroyed! The car seats, padded dashboard, upholstery, all ripped to shreds.
The Boxer dog was venting his wrath the only way he knew how. This is a case of spiteful chewing, not jealousy. The canine was not jealous of the new baby in the family, but he was not willing to give up his former position in the family and go back to just being a dog.
Replace The Dog’s Target
The next time you catch your dog or puppy chewing a sock, shoe, or other object that it’s not supposed to, take the object away, followed by a firm “No!” The object should be replaced with its own chew toy. The toy will take your dog’s mind off the object that it was chewing and won’t make it think that you are taking something away from it.
Should your life suddenly change, altering your dog’s life as well (like having a new baby in the house), be sure to pay attention to the new schedule and adjust your focus to avoid your dog beginning destructive chewing. Your pet will need a little extra care and training to prevent such behavior and to settle in with the new changes.
Stop Your Dog – Destructive Chewing
Does your dog chew for no apparent reason? What are the reasons for your dogs destructive chewing? The phrase “destructive chewing” may sound redundant, because – by its very nature – all chewing is destructive.
Chewing Problems
Your dog has strong jaws full of sharp, pointy teeth: just about anything she starts to chew on is probably going to show the effects of it inside of a minute.
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 main reasons why dogs chew:
Most 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 provides a nervous, bored, or lonely dog with an outlet for her emotions. To an anxious dog, the repetitive act of chewing is soothing – it’s the doggie equivalent of 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 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 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. 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!
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.
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