How to Handle Excessive Dog Chewing

Excessive Dog Chewing is one of the biggest complaints of most dog owners.

Puppies are notorious chewing machines.

What's worse is without correction, you'll eventually have a full grown dog that can really destroy anything left unattended.

You need to understand that your dog's chewing habit is simply part of his nature. Your job isn't to get your dog to stop chewing. Your job is to teach him to chew the right things...

... specifically, a chew toy.

Puppies will chew on anything and everything because they are teething. When you catch them chewing something they shouldn't be (shoes, furniture, the remote, etc.), use the "No" command and replace the item with a chew toy. Once you dog starts chewing the chew toy, use the "Good boy" command to praise him.

Adult dogs will chew for an array of reasons. A common reason is simply boredom. Yes, your dog can get bored.

With an adult dog, buying treats like pig ears, bones and of course chew toys is a nice solution.

Watch you dog closely when you start giving him these treats. A tendancy towards territorial behavior and aggression can occur.

Remember that you should still praise even adult dogs when they are chewing on the right things.

Crate Training, which is addressed on other pages, is a preventative measure when it comes to dog chewing while you're out of the house.

You should consider this as an option but be wary that adult dogs will resist crate training. Crate training puppies from the start is the best way to implement this strategy.

If your dog is too old for crate training or you just want another option, you can restrict your dog to certain rooms when you leave.

Fencing off your dog in the house is an easy alternative when you go out. You can buy room divders or expandable fences at most of your larger chain stores.

As with all other training strategies, consistency is important. Correct your dog every time. Use positive reinforcement and monitor your dog's chewing behavior.

The Dog Training course on the next page incorporates many additional tactics to teach your dog proper chewing behavior. Take care and remember that patience is the key to success.