Some dogs act like they were born to chew and get a great deal of enjoyment out of chewing on things; other dogs seem indifferent about chewing and rarely do it unless they get bored.

Destructive chewing in dogs might be a phrase that sounds redundant to you. You’d be right, of course, because by its nature, all chewing is destructive. Your dog’s jaws are strong and full of sharp teeth, and just about anything she chews will quickly start showing evidence of damage. So, when I mention “destructive chewing in dogs,” what I’m really referring to is inappropriate chewing. You know the type I mean – destructive chewing in dogs that is inappropriately directed toward your personal possessions and household items instead of your dog’s toys and chews.

Most Dogs Chew for One of Three Reasons:

1. Almost all dogs are born with an urge to chew. Chewing keeps them entertained, helps them pass the time and prevents boredom from setting in. Basically, they enjoy chewing, so they do it. And some things taste good when they’re chewed.

2. Chewing provides an emotional outlet for bored, lonely or anxious dogs. The repetitive act of chewing can soothe the nerves of some distressed dogs. Think of chewing as the canine equivalent of human comfort food.

3. Chewing lets dogs work off excess energy. Basically, it gives them something to do.

How to Prevent or Stop Destructive Chewing in Dogs

Dogs are intelligent, and by putting in a little time and effort you can teach your dog not to chew your personal possessions. Here are some tips to prevent or stop destructive chewing in dogs:

1. Take control by dog-proofing your home. Don’t tempt your dog, even if she’s a model of good behavior.

Remember, dogs don’t have hands, so they investigate everything using their mouths. Dog-proofing your home involves making your personal possessions inaccessible to your dog. You’ll need to take into account your dog’s size and physical abilities while you’re putting things out of her reach. If your dog is large or capable of jumping up onto things, you’ll need to move more of your possessions than you would if you have a short dog that’s not very agile.

Typically, dogs are tempted to chew on objects like shoes, clothing, eyeglasses, books, garbage, cell phones, remote controls and the like. You should also put all food out of reach. For example, don’t leave any snacks lying out on tables or kitchen countertops. Put all food into containers or back into the pantry. You should also rinse any dirty dishes to remove scraps of food before placing them in or near the sink. You’d be surprised by what your dog can reach when some food is up for grabs!

2. Prevent your dog from experiencing the enjoyment of chewing on inappropriate items. The more times your dog manages to chew on a table leg, shoe or some other “illegal” object, the more times she’ll want to do it again. Preventing her from chewing your possessions makes it much easier for your dog to learn what you expect from her. Until you’re certain your dog understands what is permitted and what is not, you should keep her in a dog crate or another dog-proofed location in your home when you’re not available to supervise her behavior.

3. Make it easy for your dog to learn. Setting clear boundaries between what’s acceptable for her to chew (her toys) and what is unacceptable (your possessions and household items) makes it easier for your dog to learn. For example, if you let your dog chew on some of your old shoes or socks, you’ll be setting her up for failure. How can she tell the difference between old socks and new?

4. Give your dog appealing alternatives to chew. You can’t blame your dog for chewing on your stuff if you haven’t given her alternatives that appeal to her but are also more acceptable to you. Keep in mind that although most dogs need to chew, a puppy or dog that is under three years of age will probably want to chew even more than an older, more mature dog. Go shopping and buy a fair number of chews and toys for your dog, then let her play with them two or three at a time. If you rotate your dog’s toys and chews once or twice a week, they’ll keep her entertained.

5. Supervise your dog. Although you might be able to confine her in the yard or in her crate, that’s not much fun for either of you. You got a dog to be able to interact with her, right? Otherwise, you could have gotten some fish. And, your dog will never learn what you want her to do (and not do) if you keep her confined in a dog-proof area all day long. In order to learn she has to be able to explore the boundaries you’ve set. That’s the only way she can learn the difference between what’s appropriate to chew and what’s not.

6. Catch her in the act. Whenever you catch your dog chewing on an inappropriate object, stop her by clapping your hands or making some other startling noise. As soon as she stops chewing, give your dog a chew toy and praise her as she takes it. This strategy will teach her that she’ll be praised when she chews her toys but she’ll get in trouble if she chews on anything else.

Be Realistic and Have a Positive Attitude

When you want to stop or prevent destructive chewing in dogs, making sure your expectations are realistic is one of the most important things you can do. No one’s perfect, so there will probably be at least one occasion where your dog chews on something she shouldn’t. This is particularly likely to happen while she’s still learning her boundaries.

Destructive chewing in dogs takes time to eliminate, so it will be a while before your dog can be trusted to leave your stuff alone. And, even after she learns the “chewing rules,” she might chew on something inappropriate if you leave her alone too long or she feels abandoned or neglected.

Spending time with your dog will help her learn faster. Remember to keep your things safely out of her reach until she understands the rules.

The post Destructive Chewing in Dogs – Tips to Stop This Destructive Behavior first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Training a puppy can be a difficult, yet rewarding task. If done properly, you will be rewarded with a loyal friend for life. If done improperly, it can lead to frustration on both the part of the dog and the owner. One of the leading causes of learning disabilities in puppies is not due to defective genes or breeds, but to early separation from the dog’s mother. Because dogs have a much shorter life span than humans, they mature and learn at a much faster rate. A puppy learns more in the first 6 months of its life than it does in the remaining years. To break it down even further, many of the dog obedience training basics are not taught by the owner or trainer, but by the puppy’s mother.

In a natural environment, a puppy learns about social structures such as pack leader, dominance, etc from its mother at a very young age. The puppy learns that there are appropriate places to go to the bathroom, appropriate ways to act around the pack leader, and more importantly, patience. If a puppy is separated from its mother too soon, many of these vital skills are not taught and can make the foundation for training much more difficult to establish. Furthermore, a puppy with separation anxiety, generally brought on by early separation from its mother, will exhibit more aggressive behavior, destructive behavior such as chewing or scratching, or nuisance barking or howling.

So how do you know when it is too soon to separate a puppy from its mother? The general rule of thumb is that a puppy should not be separated before eight weeks, but it could be longer if certain signs are prevalent. These signs include, but are not limited to, abnormal dependence on the mother or failure to conform to social norms within the pack. If these signs are evident, the puppy still needs more time with the mother before being made available for adoption. Once a puppy begins to exhibit independent behavior, it is a good indicator that he is ready for adoption and will have better success during the training process.

Even once the puppy is separated from its mother, it still needs just as much love and attention as it got when it was inside the family unit. Its mother used to respond to its every whine and whimper, and in order to keep the puppy’s self esteem high, it will require you to do the same until it feels comfortable with you. Once you have created this bond however, the dog will see you as the one in charge and will respond better to your voice commands, function better in your home, and be less likely to develop separation anxiety when you leave the home.

The post Puppy Training – How Early Separation Can Lead to Puppy Learning Disorders first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Puppy Training is a highly daunting task owing to the obedience problems the puppies’exhibit.So,it becomes all the more imperative that you master these tricks and techniques to teach your puppy the best of behaviors and make it the most cherished pets you have ever had.In fact,training the puppy is fun for you could witness the progress it makes day after day and this gives a sense of immense satisfaction to you.

Research by Psychologists in the field of Learning proved that dogs can be conditioned to learn or unlearn a response.So,living up to what the adage says, ‘Strike when the Iron is hot’,training during the early stages will yield greater obedience results to the commands that are taught to it.

Puppy training could be accomplished in a step-by-step fashion when you stick to a systematic procedure.

>> Dog crate training and dog potty training are two very fundamental things that the pet needs to be trained in if you do want your dog to soil your luxury sofas and bed sheets.

>> Acquaint your pet to the new surroundings and home.Teach responses to simple commands initially and later on you could make it understand complex ones.

>> Leash training is also another step in puppy training.First you have to fit a collar around its neck and then it can get easily adjusted to the leash later on.Care has to be taken that the collar fits in snugly without being restrictive.When the dog is leash trained, strolls outdoors become a pleasure.

>> Obedience training inculcates the habit of following the owner’s commands and restricts any kind of destructive behavior.Positive reinforcement for good behavior and negative reinforcement for unwanted behavior will definitely help in shaping up the pet into the kind you had envisaged for yourself.

If you are a complete novice at puppy training and do not know how to kick start the training program,you can always take the help of the online resources which would elucidate and enumerate various ways in which you could accomplish the task with great aplomb.When you follow the advice given on the step by step guides and implement the same, very soon you will have a well behaved pet.

Puppy Training Advice is one such online stop that brings in a whole host of information about how to puppy train and brings you close to a myriad range of resources that would help you in accomplishing the same.

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