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To survive the puppy chewing phase, you’re going to need a lot of patience, a little practice and these top tips for prevention.
This combination will be your best bet to prevent your puppy chewing problems from escalating, or continuing into adulthood.
Puppy chewing is a common issue faced by most owners, so you definitely aren’t alone. To protect your house (and your hands) from these sharp little teeth, first let's try to understand the basics.
Here are the main factors driving those little gnashers:
So, it’s important to understand that chewing is a natural and healthy behavior for puppies, and older dogs, to engage in. Cutting it out completely isn’t your goal. But there are ways to survive the puppy chewing phase, and keep your possessions intact, while you wait for maturity (and training) to kick in.
As is often the case, prevention can be the best cure. For puppy chewing, this is definitely true. A new puppy does not yet know what objects are ok to chew, and what are mommy’s special shoes never to be touched! So your first line of defense is to manage your pup’s environment.
It’s vital to provide your puppy with plenty of appropriate things for them to chew on. As well as keeping them occupied, this allows your little buddy to exhibit natural, healthy behaviors and let off some excess steam.
Many owners choose puppy chewing toys or a puppy chewing bone, and you can get recommendations from your vet on what they think works best. The following are popular with many puppy owners:
Top tip - be sure to rotate these chewing objects, so that they stay exciting and absorbing for your pup.
It’s vital to provide your puppy with plenty of appropriate things for them to chew on. As well as keeping them occupied, this allows your little buddy to exhibit natural, healthy behaviors and let off some excess steam.
Many owners choose puppy chewing toys or a puppy chewing bone, and you can get recommendations from your vet on what they think works best. The following are popular with many puppy owners:
Top tip - be sure to rotate these chewing objects, so that they stay exciting and absorbing for your pup.
As much as we try, our puppies will always manage to get their paws on something they aren’t supposed to. That’s basically a puppy’s job, right?
Generally, it’s wise to not to get mad with your pup if you find them chewing an inappropriate object. Firstly, because their drive is so strong that they really can’t help it. Secondly, this could lead to further behavioral issues - like hiding or guarding objects.
The best way to deal with an ‘oops’ moment is with redirection. Gain your puppy's attention, either with exciting noises, a toy or some treats. Better yet, engage them with their chew toy of choice, teaching them that this is the place they are supposed to bite on.
Make these chewable objects super fun, by playing a little tug of war or rewarding your pup with treats for chewing there.
Again, it’s best not to take the inappropriate object directly from your puppy. Take it out of reach once they are fully absorbed elsewhere, to avoid resource guarding in the future.
Building a ‘leave’ or ‘drop’ command into your puppy training is going to really help you with inappropriate chewing in the long term.
Top tip - The puppy equation for leave it = reward ≥ the thing. In other words, leaving fun stuff is really hard for puppies, so make sure your rewards are at least as valuable or more valuable than the thing you want them to leave.
Building a ‘leave’ or ‘drop’ command into your puppy training is going to really help you with inappropriate chewing in the long term.
Top tip - The puppy equation for leave it = reward ≥ the thing. In other words, leaving fun stuff is really hard for puppies, so make sure your rewards are at least as valuable or more valuable than the thing you want them to leave.
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