• Post published:December 27, 2018

Make sure that your dog has a lot of appropriate things to chew, like Kong toys, rawhide, Nyla bones or sterilized bones. Encourage the dog to chew on these toys by using them to play with him. To make the toy more interesting, use the toy to play fetch. To make toys with holes in them even more interesting try stuffing them with cheese, liver sausage, or peanut butter. You can put some of his dry dog food inside, cover the holes with cheese or peanut butter and stick it in the freezer for a while. Your dog will spend hours trying to get the food out.

When your dog is chewing on something inappropriate, take it away without making a fuss and immediately replace it with an appropriate chew toy, and praise him when he starts to chew on it. When you praise him, make sure your praise is very enthusiastic. He will learn much quicker if he is convinced that you are ecstatically happy about him chewing on “his” toys.

Never give your dog an “old shoe or sock” to play with. Your dog does not know the difference between “old” and new and will chew on both. Never give your dog a toy that looks like anything you don’t want him chewing on.

“Chew proof ” your home. If your dog likes to chew on shoes, keep your shoes in your closet with the door closed. If he chews remote controls, keep them up high. If he likes to chew on books, keep them off the floor.If there are one or two objects the dog constantly chews on, try coating them with bitter apple.

Never leave your dog free and unsupervised. When you are gone, the dog should be crated or kept in a small “dog proof” room. Never crate your dog than 4 hours,if the dog is to be alone for longer than that you need a large pen or a pet sitter. If your are home, but can’t watch your puppy, he should either be crated or tethered to you. Take a 6 to 8 ft leash and tie it to you while you work around the house. Keep appropriate chew toys handy. This will keep him out of trouble, but give him a little freedom, while allowing you to get some work done.

If your dog steals things off the table to chew, you can use a “shake can booby trap”. tape a piece of thread to a shake con and tie the thread to an object your dog likes to chew on. Place the object in easy reach on the table…when he takes the object to chew the can will tumble, making a loud noise that will surprise your dog.