Dog Chewing Training – 5 Points to Consider

Is your dog’s chewing out of control? Training your dog is the key for long-term success in the battle over chewing. Your dog is going to chew, so it’s up to you to train your dog what is acceptable to chew on. Okay let’s take a look at some dog training ideas.

First Point – Practice Daily Training With Your Dog.

You should take the time to teach your dog to chew on his chew toys. Simple games such as toss and fetch will increase his interest in his toys. Once he gets the hang of it you can teach him to “go get a chew toy”. Be sure to take time to do this for at least 5 to 15 minutes each day. The most important thing to remember is to praise your dog lavishly. If you catch your dog in the act of chewing on his toys praise him. During your game time remember to praise him.

Second Point – Don’t Punish Your Dog.

Physically punishing or beating your dog simply teaches him to fear the person beating him. As a rule more than 3 seconds after the crime a dog has already forgotten the crime anyway. If you come home to some destructive chewing and you need to let off some steam, go into the other room and beat up a pillow first. Then calmly tell your dog to get a chew toy and and bring it to you. When he brings one to you praise him.

Third Point – No Tug of War or Wrestling with Your Dog.

If you play tug-of-war with your dog it can lead to problems such as attacking a curtain blowing in the breeze, pulling and tearing bed skirts, and pulling and tearing throw rugs.

Have you ever noticed someone wrestling with their dog, the dog is always biting at them. This just causes a new problem. Your dog will start biting in a playful way, any time you or anyone else goes to pet your dog.

Forth Point – Limit the Amount of Toys.

This rule only applies to dogs with a destructive chewing problem. Limit the amount of toys that you give them to three or four at a time. This will help eliminate some of their confusion between your stuff and their stuff. Then you want to rotate their chew toys out with others to help keep their interest.

Fifth Point – Chewing Problems are Easier to Prevent Than to Correct.

If your dog or puppy is going to be left alone you will need to confine him to a safe area. You could use the bathroom, utility room, put him outside, or put your dog in a crate. If you use a crate make sure you use the proper size. Don’t forget to include your dogs favorite chew toys and plenty of fresh water.

We have looked at several different ideas that can help you start to get your dogs chewing problem under control. You will need to combine more in depth training rules to this information to reach success. Thank you for reading my article, John.

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