Puppies are famous for chewing on things, but sometimes those things turn out to be furniture. The habit becomes even more annoying when the puppy grows into a dog and never outgrows chewing. While pet owners can become frustrated with the chewing and its devastating results, it could be that the experience is just as traumatic for the pup. There are several ways to stop a dog from chewing that pet owners should try immediately.
Reduce Stress For The Dog
If you yell at your dog and punish your dog for chewing, then that is going to only make things worse. Remember that the dog needs to chew to eat, so telling it not to chew is going to be confusing. Instead of causing the dog stress, you should look into ways of decreasing stress because that could be the reason the dog is chewing.
Set your dog up with a day or two each week at a Brooklyn doggy day care center and give your dog a chance to be in a safe social situation. If your children routinely bother your dog, then make some rules that give your dog the alone time they need to sleep, eat, or just relax. Reducing stress could be the key to stopping your dog from chewing.
Buy Several Chew Toys
Sometimes a dog chews simply because that is what they do when they are happy or want to play and no one is around. One solution is to load up the house with chew toys and then encourage your dog to play with them. You don’t want to punish your dog for chewing on the furniture, but you can tell them to stop when they are doing it and hand them a chew toy instead. When they switch to the chew toy, give them positive reinforcement such as a pet on the head and positive words.
Get Your Dog To The Vet
Your dog might be chewing in response to a different physical or psychological issue. For example, if your dog has separation anxiety, then they will chew on things when they are left home alone during the day or even when they are crated at night (if they can get at anything to chew on).
Your vet can help to identify any issues and may recommend that you take your dog to a Brooklyn doggy day care when everyone is gone during the day to prevent anxiety.
Sometimes dogs start chewing on things when they are puppies, but other times they may start later in life for a variety of reasons. It is important that dog owners be very gentile with their pets and do not use chewing as a reason for abusive punishment. There is a cause behind the chewing and with a little work, you will find that cause and help your dog to stop chewing in a destructive way.
