TO STOP YOUR DOG CHEWING THINGS IT SHOULD NOT CHEW

DOGS CHEW FOR MANY REASONS…

Puppies

Puppies, just like human babies get itchy sore gums when their teeth are growing in. Chewing also helps to remove loose teeth (which can be very uncomfortable) so adult teeth can grow in. You can provide a few seconds of temporary relief by rubbing your puppy's' gums, this is also a great way to build puppy's trust in you! Make sure puppy has safe items of his own to chew.

Teenage and Adult Dogs

It is normal for a dog to chew - chewing is a dog's way of gaining and maintaining strength in its jaw - essential to survival! Depending on what they are chewing on, chewing can also help keep a dog's teeth healthy and clean.

An anxious dog may chew to expend some of it's anxious energy. To resolve this type of chewing you must understand, address and cure the root of the anxiety.

A dog may chew as an outlet to expend unspent energy. Make sure your dog gets enough exercise on a daily basis. Unspent energy can lead to frustration, anxiety and reactivity, aggressive behavior.

Remember that we do not always learn or choose to do as we are asked to do the first time either! Dogs are intelligent, they have a mind, will and personality of their own - just as humans do. Shift your expectations to understand that they are independent, intelligent and very sensitive beings who require coaching and mentoring by a leader, not a dominator. And by the way, dogs do not like hypocrisy any more than humans do...so if you yell, get angry, get frustrated - you loose your audience.

Robbie chewing a stick on the trail

TO STOP YOUR DOG CHEWING THINGS IT SHOULD NOT CHEW

Punishing a dog for chewing on an object (irregardless of whether the dog is anxious, or just does not know any better) is akin to severely reprimanding a person who is trying to learn a new skill and does not get it quite right. Once burned twice shy...aggressive correction takes away a persons confidence to move forward and can cause psychological harm. It is exactly the same for a dog!

As guardians to our dogs it is our role to coach and mentor our dogs - to teach with patience and understanding - not with tension, frustration and anger. When we attempt to instruct a dog and we are not calm, confident, firm and fair we are setting the dog up for failure. Instead when we correct and follow-through with calm confidence we are providing the dog with the information it requires to make better choices.

So if your dog is chewing something you do not want it to chew...

One -  Make sure you are calm (without excess emotion),and ready to coach with fair, firm confidence. Don't be aggressive, don't raise your voice in anger.

Two - Lead...addressing from a distance is not leadership, calmly but with assurance get up and walk over to your dog.

Three - get your dogs attention, you can touch your dog firmly but quickly with your fingers - at its neck or waist, you can snap your fingers and say 'hey' firmly, but not with anger. Never touch or talk in anger as you then lead by the wrong example!

Four - Tell your dog what you want i.e. 'no, don't touch' and then say 'leave it' I have ten dogs - different breeds, from tiny to large - they all understand this type of direction...as do the dogs I work with for my clients.

Five - Tell your dog what you would like it to do instead i.e. 'go sit down' etc.

Six - Follow through...if your dog goes back to the object and starts to chew again - don't get angry, simply correct as per the steps above.

Seven - Depending on the circumstances, as a final step to this process, you may want to offer your dog something that is safe and acceptable for it to chew.

Jordie chewing rawhide

PROVIDE YOUR DOG WITH GOOD THINGS TO SATISFY ITS NEED TO CHEW

Providing your dog with the right things to chew ensures that this need is met in a safe and healthy way. Dogs that are in a balanced state of being are unlikely to chew other items such as your shoes or your hands if they have safe durable chew toys and rawhide. The same toys and rawhide can also help to keep your dog's teeth clean.

The basket shown above contains some of my packs' chew toys. The pink, orange, red and blue chew toys are soft, durable and non-toxic; they also make a squeaky noise when chomped on at the right place. Kongs are another very popular dog chew toy. Even the smaller parts on these toys cannot be chewed off - these are chew toys that the dogs can have unsupervised.

The pink toy is Sarah's favourite. If I ask Sarah "where's your Piggy", she will go get this toy and bring it to me. If she has lost her piggy under one of the couches (when she tosses it in the air it often ends up rolling under), she will show me which couch and where along the length of the couch the Piggy is.

The blue two tone bone and the orange ball with feet are Buddy's favourites. 

The various types of rawhide shown in the basket are all natural rawhide (no chemical flavour additives or food colouring). These are only given to the dogs when I am around to supervise.

It is very important that rawhide be given to dogs only when you are around to supervise.Some dogs are really good about taking their time to chew properly and others are not so cautious and will not chew the entire rawhide properly. They will attempt to swallow larger pieces. These pieces can become lodged in the dog’s throat and cut off their air supply. Most of my dogs are careful, but Robbie is a repeat offender. There have been occasions when I have had to put my hand down his throat to remove a good size piece of rawhide.

As an added and nutritious treat, I put natural peanut butter on their rawhide. The nutrients in the peanut butter are good for them. The peanut butter also encourages them to take their time and lick the rawhide, helping to soften it before they chew. I choose natural peanut butter as the only ingredient in it, is peanuts. Other peanut butters include sugar and salt - ingredients that are not so good for your dog.

If you would like more detailed information on safe and healthy things you can give your dog to chew you can read this article on How to Select Safe, Effective Teeth Cleaning Chews & Dental Chews for Your Dog.


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Whether you are experiencing dog behavior problems and would like assistance, or just want to bring your dog up to be a well-balanced canine -  I offer both a local and international service for people with one or multiple dogs. 

I work with all breeds - from small (i.e. Yorkie, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, etc.), medium breeds size (including Pit Bulls) and large breed dogs...

 

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Notes:

Please note - this article is for information purposes and is not a substitute for an in-person Session with me. When working with dogs I use many techniques - it is important to note that this article may touch on one or several techniques but not all. I select the technique that I use for a particular dog based on my observations of the dog and an intuitive, instinctive assessment of that dog's and its human's individual requirements. For example when I am working with a dog that is hyper sensitive and very physically reactive I will not use voice or touch. I use a lot of therapeutic touch on some dogs, others require the use of herding techniques and so on. Each and every technique must be combined with:

• an understanding of the real intelligence, sensitivity and capability of dogs;
• an understanding of how to read a dog's face and a dog's overall body language;
• an understanding of the full spectrum of ways that humans communicate and dogs communicate; 
• understanding and recognition of the individual that is each dog - no two dogs are the same...taking a 'cookie cutter' approach to techniques is not the way to work with a dog;
• a complete recognition and understanding of all the elements that feed a behaviour and create an issue:
•  the vast majority of people can only identify one or two elements...which vastly inhibits the ability to resolve behavior issues;
• behaviours do not exist in isolation - there are always many elements that feed a single behaviour, there all always multiple behaviours that create a behavioral issue;
• self-restraint and discipline on the part of the human who is directing the dog;
• sensitivity, awareness, intuition, instinct and timing on the part of the human who is directing the dog;
• to understand, connect with and adapt quickly and effectively to a dog's learning requirements you must be able to employ the same tools a dog uses - acute sensitivity, awareness, instinct, intuition and timing;
• kindness, endurance, consideration, patience, persistence, perspective, the ability and know how to let the past go, the ability to set realistic expectations at any one point in time;
• the creation of structure, rules, boundaries and limitations for each situation at the macro and micro level;
• understanding of all the elements that make up an instruction and direction to a dog...there are multiple steps involved in an instruction - not just one!
• absolute honesty - if you cannot be honest with yourself you will not be able to communicate clearly with a dog.

These are just some of the techniques that I teach my clients - it is a holistic, all-encompassing approach. If you are missing any one element of the above mentioned your success rate will be affected to one degree or another in implementing the techniques offered in the article presented above.