Stop Your Dog From Chewing At Once
By Dr. Mayra Alfonso
Chewing constitutes a common trouble wherever dogs are pertained, and it's an issue that you want to address and control before long. Do not delay in controlling this behavior in your dog until it is too late, or you will pay a high price for it. My dog chewed my couch, and I did not recognize that his chewing had turned into such a big issue until I actually sat on the couch! As I looked at the region where my dog had chewed, I was astonished on how much damage he could do, in such a short amount of time. That was when I decided that dog training was in order.
Chewing is a normal activity for dogs, and they perform this act for a number of different reasons. If you can figure out what these reasons are,you will be halfway there to eradicating the problem. Dog chewing is natural and absolutely normal for dogs especially when they are young puppies. You need to realize that no punishment will suppress the behavior.
The problem with your dog chewing not only, is related to the damage they can cause to your property, but it could indeed be dangerous for the dog. For example, dogs will all nibble household plants, and care should be taken when this happens since some poinsettias and mistletoe can make your dog ill.
Among the reasons that a dog will chew virtually anything, particularly if it's a young puppy, is that they're teething. Yep! Even as a human baby will begin cranky while they are teething, a young pup responds in a similar way. Chewing aids with the pain caused by the teething process, and so the dog will chew and chew on anything that it can find.
An easy way of combating this, is to allow for your dog to chew certain things. In the particular case of a teething dog, he will enjoy rawhide. Rawhide is obtained from the skins of animals, like cows, pigs, goats and even water buffalo.
Your dog will love a cold rawhide chew, straight from the freezer. It obliterates the pain even as cold soothers or dentition aids alleviates a baby who's teething. If your dog is easily distracted, then attempt placing a number of rawhide chews in the freezer. Take half the amount out on one day and allow your dog chew freely on them. Place them back in the freezer and put the others out the following day. If you change them in this manner, your dog will note that the odor on for each one is a little different each time, and this will preserve his or her attention on the chews and not on your furnishings.
Make sure to oversee your dog as he's chewing the rawhide, to prevent any possible choking.
An additional reason why dogs chew on objects is out of boredom. As a matter of fact, boredom is frequently the root reason for a lot of behavioral problems such as chewing things in the home, destructing furniture, digging out holes, auto-- mutilation or even constant barking. Exercising and keeping your dog active will preclude this sort of behavior.
Toys are an additional way of training your dog not to chew the furniture. Play with your dog with their toys frequently, and they'll before long learn that the toys are fun, and that you don’t get bothered with them when they chew them!
Never, but never, allow a dog chew on one of your old shoes, or article of clothing. This will be puzzling for the dog, and they'll assume that all items that smell of ‘you’ will be fine for them to chew on. This will sooner or later turn into a bad habit, and it you give your dog your old shoe to chew on he will not recognize why you're disturb after he amused himself masticating on your new shoes.
This is what I found it helped me the most, my "secret weapon". Every time I found my dog masticating on something that she wasn't supposed to have in her mouth, I would take the object away from her and quietly substitute it with one of her toys. It took some time, but finally she came to realize what she was permitted to chew on and what not.
Keep in mind, that when you're not there, your dog will become bored, and this is another reason to keep plenty of toys around for him or her to play with. So, you may trip over a couple, but think of your furniture!
Some of the times it's a huge struggle to get your dog to stop chewing in the wrong things, but with perseverance and patience you'll be able to control, if not completely stop his bad chewing habits.
About the Author: Increase the happy years of your dog by checking out my free e-book. In it I reveal all the secrets I've used to develop a happy, healthier dog. Visit Dr. Alfonso's dog training blog right now…
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