Chew The Right Thing
Chances are every dog owner knows first hand the havoc those canine teeth can wreak on your stuff. I’ve taught training classes where some owners have muttered sheepishly that the dog ate last week’s homework handout, while others have lamented the destruction of their favorite shoes, the legs of their heirloom coffee table or their kids’ favorite toys.
Chewing is a fact of life for pups, adolescents and many adult dogs, and serves useful purposes from Rover’s point of view. Besides being a way to investigate objects, chewing relieves the discomfort of teething, exercises jaws, keeps teeth in good shape, relieves boredom and is enjoyable. It just plain old feels good. Given that, it’s unrealistic to expect dogs to learn never to chew. Though some dogs don’t chew much, most mutts must have a legal outlet for chewing.
Chewing the right thing
But dogs don’t know that your stuff is off-limits when it comes to chewing. They don’t care about how much things cost or an object’s sentimental value. As expert trainer Jean Donaldson puts it in her book, The Culture Clash, “It’s all chew toys to them.” Shoes may as well be rawhide. Sofa pillows may as well be giant stuffed animals . . . So how do you teach Rover what’s OK to chew and what isn’t?
First, prevent Rover from chewing the wrong stuff. This is easier than it sounds, keeps Rover from developing bad chew habits (i.e., discovering that it’s fun to chew leather gloves), and keeps your angst to a minimum.
Limit Rover’s access to just one room or area of the home, especially when he’s not being supervised. Chew-proof the area by removing every potentially chew-worthy item. Spray Bitter Apple on things you can’t move like door frames, siding, or large pieces of furniture. Bitter Apple does wear off so you’ll have to do repeat applications while you’re chew training Rover.
Once you’ve chew-proofed the area, get Rover hooked on appropriate chew toys. Chew toys should be safe – Rover shouldn’t be able to destroy or eat them – and attractive to him. Kong makes a wonderful line of chew toys, many of which you can stuff with food or treats to make them even more tantalizing to Rover. Busy Buddy and Premier also make great chew toys that can be stuffed. Sterilized hollow bones and Nylabones are another option.
Put some chew toys in Rover’s area. He should have access to legal chew toys at all times. Now, when he gets the urge to chew, he’ll automatically chew the right thing because you’ve already removed the illegal chew objects!
Until Rover is chew-trained, he should only have access to his chew-proofed area when you’re away from home. When you are home, supervise him extremely closely. Why? So you can give him feedback when he decides what to chew. Whenever he gets one of his legal chew toys, praise him handsomely. If he’s about to chew the wrong thing, interrupt him before he puts his mouth on the object. Say, “Uh Uh,” then direct his attention to one of the legal chew toys. Praise him when he takes it.
Dogs are creatures of habit and chewing his chew toys will be inherently rewarding to Rover. Over time, Rover will be far more inclined to direct all chewing behavior at his stuff, not yours.
Last but not least exercise Rover every day. The more tired he is, the less energy he’ll have for chewing when he’s home.
If these steps sound like too much work, take a moment to think of all the things you don’t want Rover to chew. The vast majority of your possessions are off-limits to him. You probably own hundreds if not thousands of things he’s not allowed to chew. It would be far more time-consuming, expensive, and potentially dangerous to Rover (think choking hazards, intestinal obstructions, high vet bills) to intervene each time he chews the wrong thing, which he’s almost certain to do. You could also drive yourself batty in the process!
As with so many dog behavior issues, it’s safer and wiser to adopt an ounce-of-prevention strategy when it comes to chew-training.
An earlier version of this article first appeared at www.Incirclepets.com.