Dog Training Chewing

The act of chewing is as natural to a dog as wagging its tail or barking.



Dogs, especially puppies, are likely to chew anything from your clothes and shoes, to furniture items such as rugs or carpets. It is important to understand that this is not a sign of anger or malicious behavior. Dogs chew things because it is something that they naturally do.



Dogs usually chew things in order to keep themselves occupied and to release pent up energy. In the case of dogs that are active, keeping a dog in a confined space for a long period of time will probably result in the dog chewing the first thing it finds. Once again, this is not intended to harm or annoy you, so it is recommended not to punish dogs that chew things that they are not supposed to.

From a young age it is essential that during dog training, chewing is one of the parts of the training regimen. There are several ways that one can train your dog to chew the right things. The first is to purchase many chew toys for the dog. Scattering the dogs living area with these toys will encourage it to chew on them rather than other items. Bones that are spare from cooking can also be used as chew toys for a dog as dogs can spend hours trying to chew out the bone marrow. Burying chew toys in the area where your dog digs is another way of making your dog chew the toys you have provided.

One can also actively encourage your dog to chew toys. Positive reinforcement dog training is the best tool to use in this situation. When your dog is chewing on its toys, offer extra affection and praise. This will encourage the dog to seek out its chew toys in order to gain your affection. Playing ‘fetch’ with such toys may also work. Often dogs tend to be anxious when their owners are not at home. Chewing is a way of stress release for dogs and one may find that the dog has chewed up lots of articles in your absence. This can be dealt with by making sure that you do not greet your dog until he/she has a chew toy in his/her mouth. This will create the association of chewing the toy with receiving affection. One can avoid showing any affection until the dog brings a chew toy, this will further train your dog.