You must first of all realize that chewing definitely IS natural for dogs. Dogs chew, plain and simple.
However, it is what they chew that is the problem, right?
You don’t want them chewing up your shoes, kids toys, or worse, your furniture.
Here are a few things you can do to help you and your dog to get past the chewing problem.
- First: separate the dog from the temptation.
- Second: provide alternative objects for your dog to chew.
- Third: train, train, train.
Separate the dog from the temptation to help prevent the bad dog behavior before it gets started. It is a common thing to baby-proof a house when a newborn child enters the scene. The same technique may help with your unruly dog. Chew-proof your home by moving all tempting chew targets away from the dog. This includes objects that are within “jump” reach.
When you leave the house, consider putting her in a chew-proof room or into a crate. Crates are totally acceptable for periods of time when you are not at home to supervise your dog.
Provide alternative objects for your dog to chew. Give your dog some chew toys. Do not give her old shoes or other objects you are done with. You want to keep the lines of separation between what is OK to chew and what is not OK very clear. So dog chews work well. If your dog is very aggressive in its chewing, you can get very well constructed chew toys that are nearly indestructible.
Train, train, train. Dog obedience training starts with the owners. Actually, this is the number 1 solution to any doggy behavior problem, but the first two suggestions in our list need to be done so you can keep your sanity and not kill your beloved pet before she is trained properly. Training takes time, consistency, and patience. When you find the dog chewing the wrong object, use your loud, stern voice and a loud hand clap to stop her on the spot. Then quickly replace the object of her attention with an appropriate substitute (you know, the doggy chew toy), and praise her when she changes over and starts chewing the correct object.
This will take time. It will take patience. It will take consistency on your part. Being consistent it the most important element you can add throughout the training. The more consistent you are, the better and quicker the results will be.