After understanding how to train a puppy not to bite, we’ll find out why dogs chew on everything, especially when left alone in the house, and how to stop dogs from chewing!
Why do dogs chew everything?
If you are wondering why dogs chew everything in your beautiful little house, you probably aren’t spending enough time with him! Let us remember that our dogs are social animals and so they need to be with us as much as possible. Therefore if we leave our dog alone in the house for several hours, they could get bored and begin showing signs of separation anxiety. If the dog is still a puppy, the situation could deteriorate further. Let me be clear, if the dog chews shoes and furniture they aren’t doing it to spite you, is not able to distinguish an old shoe from your latest purchase, just as they are not able to tell the difference between a towel and your favorite curtain.
Before understanding how to stop dogs from chewing, we will have to ask two very important questions! The first relates to the age: If we are talking about a puppy that chews everything, this is quite normal, and is part of its growth. The second one concerns how many hours we spend with him! Although most of us have to work during the day, it is important that when we get home, we do not just give him a quick pat, some kibble in his bowl, and then ignore him he rest of the evening. Our furry friends are in dire need of our company! Excluding these two main causes, let’s figure out how to teach your dog not to bite everything, and remember that scolding the dog doesn’t help anything!
How to stop dogs from chewing
First of all, if you have the dog chewing at home, the first advice that we give you is to hide delicate or otherwise valuable things from your puppy. This is a simple solution- offer them something appropriate to chew on, and hide things that are inappropriate! A great solution is the dog kong, which is a rubber toy made exactly for this purpose! Finally, to teach the dog not to chew everything we will have no choice but to tell him “NO” with an authoritarian tone when we catch him in the act, distract him with a toy that can be chewed, and praise him when he does it.
This will help your dog to understand that we are not monsters who forbid them to chew while playing or to pass the time, but simply that they need to chew on things that are actually made for chewing! If you are thinking that this solution is a bit like work around the problem, actually you are wrong, we are drawing something positive from something negative. This is because chew toys for dogs are most often designed to help with the dogs oral hygiene, so not only will you save your furniture and your shoes, but your dog will get the benefit!
