Dog or puppy chewing – Make it stop!!!!!!!!
The following article is taken from Dr. Ian Dunbar's Puppy Chewing Behavior
Blueprint.
If they are puppies they are going to chew. Puppies experience the
world through their mouths and often mimic our use of hands by
putting things in their mouths. Let’s face it, those opposable
thumbs are quite a keen tool. Without them we’d be sticking
things in our mouths, too!
You must find out and pinpoint the chewing issue. Never, ever
allow your pup to mouth you or your clothing. This is not a cute
thing - it’s a dominance game. The leader of the pack does not
allow themselves to be chewed on. By that same token, we must be careful to allow enough
chewing to teach bite inhibition. This means that the pup can mouth you gently in order to learn
that a soft mouth on you is acceptable but pressure or sinking in of needle sharp teeth is not!
Begin by acting like a littermate would. If the pup is riled up and biting furiously at you, yelp or
make a loud cry and get away from the pup ASAP! I mean walk away very quickly and if
possible close a door in its face (bathroom or bedroom door) wait about 30 sec or so, not too long
to let them get into trouble alone, then return and ignore the puppy. This shows them that no fun
comes of biting hard or not listening. Play actually stopped when he bit too hard. From there,
spraying some Bitter Lime, Bitter End or Bitter Apple (these can be purchased at your local pet
store) on your hands, and if the pup wants to try and bite hard, give them a mouthful of wet hand
soaked in that, or straight lemon juice. If that does not seem to deter them, spray them in the
mouth with those same items. Make sure you are telling them something like “no bite” or “easy”
before you spray, giving them fair warning. The Bitter items I mentioned have an alcohol base,
so if you spray them too much you’ll make the pup tipsy but no real permanent damage. Just be
careful not to spray it in the eyes. Again, no permanent damage will occur, but it will be painful.
If they are very young, shaking the scruff of the neck and growling or yelling “no bite” can help
to teach them to stop mouthing you as well. Don’t try the shake if they are older pups, say past 3
months. This can be taken as a sign of aggression and it can bring aggressive tendencies from
your puppy.
Always have your hands on an alternate chew toy, like a squeaky toy (but don’t let them tear it
up), Kong, rope tug, or tennis ball or handball. Changing the focus on biting you to a toy can
help as well. Never roughhouse with the pup, the way its littermates did, and it will cut down on
how the pup views you as well. For further hints, ask a trainer to give you ideas and work with
you to show you how to play with your pup and teach it the right way to act, instead of the wrong
way. Remember: every day you are teaching your dog something, be it right or wrong. Your
pup acts the way it does because you have helped form its behavior pattern, only you can change
it. The dog doesn’t learn what’s Ok and not Ok by itself.
Destructive chewing:
I am a very big fan of crate training a puppy. If you cannot keep your eye on the puppy 24/7,
you need to keep it in an area free from temptation to eat stuff. A crate or airline kennel can do a
lot of the work for you. But be practical, if you find that the pup will be spending more than 7-8
hours at a stretch in the crate, don’t bother. If you go to work and can let them out for lunch or at
least make sure you are back in 8 hours, that’s fine. When you go to bed, they can go back in the
crate for the night. Before you leave for work the next day, let them out to potty, play and eat.
Also, on weekends, they should be out more with you anyway. You need to supervise them in
each room and if they go to bite or chew something, take a can with pennies in it (shaker can)
and reprimand them. Coat your electrical plugs with Vaseline and Cayenne pepper and let them
try a lick on that! Actually, the mixture of Vaseline and Cayenne pepper works on baseboards,
baby gates, steps, legs of tables, chairs, window ledges, etc. You may have to repaint a white
surface, but it’s better than replacing whatever it was that was chewed, and it is teaching the pup
a lesson about putting their mouth on something that does not belong to them.
I cannot stress enough that you must have lots and lots of chew toys for the pups to use. Some
examples:
Cow’s hooves: 100% protein, and digestible – but please make sure when it gets down in size
you throw it away. They may try to swallow them if too small.
Pig’s ears: 100% protein, can be a little high in fat, good for puppies, but if they gain weight
easily give only as a treat 1 every other week.
Rawhide bones: Only occasionally. Not digestible; comes out same form it went in!
Real knuckle bones or bones with marrow: They’re OK, but watch for splintering or tooth
breakage.
Nylabone products: Let them pick out their own!
Kong: It’s indestructible and fun to stuff food products in. Great baby sitter if you want to
watch a movie and don’t want to put puppy in the crate but want them quietly eating the Kong
while you watch. My best stuffed Kong recipe: (get the right size Kong for your dog’s mouth;
ask someone at the store if you don’t know) First, a small piece of hot dog, then small piece of
American cheese single or canned cheese spray, then a small dog cookie crammed in, more hot
dog stuffed in the sides, topped off by a smear of peanut butter or cream cheese! Wow, there’s
an hour or more worth of fun! The Kong shape bounces, too!
Just remember: A puppy sheds teeth at around 5 months, so you haven’t even seen chewing yet!
For the rest of your dog’s life they will still enjoy a good chew, so let them, but make it on the
right things!
Also – if you are over feeding your dog, they could be chewing because they are hurting. Some
dogs will chew out of true boredom or because they are in pain somehow. Ask a trainer for
advice if your dog is turning into “Jaws” and you just can’t take it anymore.
