How to Control a Chewing Dog

By Rika Subana

dogs chewing

Does your dog start chewing anything around him? If so, you must find out the cause of that bad behavior before he can make bigger problems and damages at your house. There are many reasons why a dog can be a chewing dog. Some of the reasons are boredom, anxiety, fear, health problem especially dental problem, hunger and lack of activity. In fact, chewing is natural behavior for a dog. At the same time chewing can be so dangerous for your dog. You could imagine what will happen to your dog if he chews something poisoned or electronic stuff.

Let’s breakdown some reason for a dog to keep chewing on something. As mentioned above, boredom is one of the reasons why your dog can chew anything. It can happen when you leave your dog alone at your house. Your chewing dog usually starts to whine or bark, dig, even urinate or defecate within minutes you leave house. The second reason of chewing is anxiety or fear. Maybe your dog is fear of thunder voice. Although this fear only comes in a while but still this is a bad habit. Another anxiety can be noises that can make your dog uncomfortable such as fireworks or wind. Another reason of chewing is hunger. A delay in feeding time may send him off chewing something as he searches for food. Sometimes a dog chews something only to sooth his sore teething gums or something to do with dental problems.

So, what should you do then to face this chewing dog? Before we decide what solution to overcome the bad habit, always remember that dog is very smart animal. He is fast learner to differ whether something one he can chew or he can’t. All you need to do is little bit effort to make your dog understand about it. However, a dog can’t make a difference between old socks and new socks. In most cases, dog proof is a way out to prevent your dog chewing. You must put anything you don’t want destroyed far from the reach of the dog. A dog usually chews on clothes, hats, eye wear, shoes, socks, books, cell phones, etc. The key is taking control of those things, so your chewing dog can not reach them. Just make sure you remove any objects that you don’t want chewed. If dog crate or dog kennel won’t be a big deal, you could put him there while you are not at home.

Sometimes a dog expresses its boredom by chewing something. To overcome this, you could take your dog out for walking or playing everyday. Giving your dog variety of toys is another activity you could do. Dog training, such dog obedience or dog recall can be given to help your dog from chewing. As a matter of fact, your dog needs positive attention. You need to provide enough exercise, mental stimulation, and social interaction to avoid chewing dog. Your dog needs your love and affection every day. Not just one day a week. Destructive chewing by dog is a reaction to your lack of taking proper care of him. If you leave your dog alone without any human supervision, give him a comfort place with plenty of toys to play with and chew. Remember, most dogs need to chew.

So, when hunger is the reason for your chewing dog, the only thing you can do is giving him adequate nutrition. Your vet can do routine testing and determine if your dog is getting all the nutrients for its size and activity level. If anxiety is the reason your chewing dog, you could ask your veterinarian for help. Usually he will give anti anxiety medication to help your dog. If the cause of your chewing dog is because of dental problem, then he will chew anything to relieve pain. The only thing you can do to get out of this problem is also taking your dog to see a veterinarian.

You may want to check out my other guide on English Spaniel Springer!