Destructive chewing (dogs)

Food-dispensing toys are  a great solution for your dog's destructive chewing, especially if he's teething, whether it be in your home or in the yard.

Before leaving your dog alone, give him such a toy and he can play with it for hours, depending on the toy. A toy like this will provide both mental and physical challenge to you dog and will keep him engaged, so he won't be tempted to chew on your new sofa while he's got such an interesting toy.

Here you can get the Our Pets' IQ treat ball, and here you can get the KONG Wobbler toy.

You can even make food dispensing toys by yourself, you can see some interesting ideas here.

Deterrent sprays are used to discourage dogs from licking and chewing your household objects like furniture, cabinets, chairs, even shoes. These sprays usually have a bitter or spicy taste that dogs find very unpleasant, all you have to do is spray the object your dog loves to chew on.

Here you can buy the Grannicks Bitter Apple deterrent.

One of the biggest reasons why dogs chew on everything and anything is because they grow out new teeth and need to relieve their discomfort - baby teeth are fully grown by the time the dog is 7 to 8 weeks old, while adult teeth are fully grown by the time the dog is 8 months old.

Because of this, it's best if you limit your dog's access while he's alone in your home. You can do this by providing a confinement area for your dog, like a playpen, or put him in a room that has no chewable objects. Before leaving the house give your dog a chewable toy so that he has something to do.

Many dogs, especially the ones who live in an apartment or a house without a yard, chew objects around the house simply because they are bored and have too much energy that needs to be released.

In order to prevent this and make both yourself and your dog happier, take him out for a walk every day for at least 1 hour. If you have more time it's best if you walk your dog twice a day from 30 to 60 minutes, one walk in the morning and one in the evening.

Many dogs chew and destroy objects like remote controls, books, shoes etc. because they don't receive enough attention and since we use these objects almost every day, they have our smell and are the first target for your dog.

This is why you should spend some quality time with your dog every day for at least 20 minutes. The best way is to teach him some tricks so that he's both mentally and physically engaged and connected with you.

Here you can learn some easy tricks and teach your dog to do them.

When puppies are teething they want to bite and chew anything that's chewable, which is why during that period you need to provide your puppy with some chewable treats. These treats will distract them from chewing other objects in the house, and also soothe their gums.

Here you can buy the Virbac oral hygiene chews, which will take care of your puppy's teeth and breath.

If you tried everything that you could do in order to teach your dog not to chew on things in your house and nothing worked, then you should talk to a professional in this area, a dog behaviorist (behaviour consultant).

The reason why other methods might not have worked is because the problem may be a serious one, like severe separation anxiety, so only a professional in this area can give you the right answers after meeting your dog.

Here you can read more about dog behaviorists and how to find the right one.

Before you do anything else, first you need to put away all valuable objects you have in your home so that your dog is not tempted to chew on them, especially objects that have our smell because we often use them.

Put away the remote controls, books, hats etc., make sure that socks and shoes are not on the floor where your dog can reach them, wires and cords should be out of reach etc. Small items like coins and jewellery are very dangerous for your dog so make sure they are in a closed drawer, and make sure the rooms where your dog is not allowed are always closed.  

Don't yell and/or punish your dog hours after he has chewed on your new purse or shoes, it will all be in vain.

Dogs cannot connect the punishment with what they had done hours ago, so it won't teach them anything. The reason why they have the "guilty look" is because they sense our anger and our tone of voice when we're angry, so they're just responding to our emotions.  This is why you should scold your dog right after the deed or not at all.

By using positive and negative reinforcement, you will encourage your dog to chew on his toys rather than your things.

Next time you catch your dog chewing an object that's not meant for him, use negative reinforcement by raising your voice and saying 'bad dog' or some other word that you use when you're angry at him. Then take the object and replace it with an appropriate one, like a chewing toy, and use positive reinforcement by giving him a treat and saying 'good dog'.

Don't confuse your dog by giving him old socks, shoes or toys to chew on, while scolding him for chewing your new ones. Dogs don't understand which object is old and which is new, so make sure to give him only toys that are different from your household items and clothes.

Separation anxiety is a real problem that many dogs face, and it's important that you differentiate between bad behaviour and separation anxiety.

Your dog might have separation anxiety if he does the following things:

• Barks and chews on furniture and your personal items when left alone
• Scratches the doors, walls and/or windows when left alone
• Gets overly excited when you come home
• Follows you everywhere while you're home

Here you can read more about separation anxiety and how to deal with it. 

Hitting your dog after he's done something bad is the worst form of dog discipline/punishment, and scientific research confirms this.

Causing your dog pain may stop the undesired behaviour at that moment, but not in the long run. On the contrary, dogs know that you have caused them pain, so they will either become aggressive towards other people or fear you if you hit them hard, or they might think that you're playing with them if you don't use force - either way, it won't solve the problem.

If nothing else worked, then some health condition may be the reason why your dog can't stop chewing on anything and everything. Take him to the vet to make sure that your dog doesn't have some health issue that's causing him to chew destructively.