Chewing is a behavior that many dog owners dread. When your dog starts chewing on things, you’re likely to feel guilty and upset. Not only are chewing behaviors destructive and annoying, but they can also cause physical damage to your dog’s teeth and digestive health.

Dogs chew on objects to explore their environment and keep their jaws strong and teeth clean. Playing with toys and chewing items provides your dog with positive reinforcement for chewing. This can help your dog develop the habit of chewing appropriate items.

Fortunately, there are ways to prevent your dog from chewing household items, including toys and treats. Here we’ll discuss how you can prevent your pup from chewing household items by keeping them away from chewable and making chew toys for them.

How To Prevent Your Dog From Chewing

Why Is My Dog Chewing My Personal Items?

This can be a difficult question to answer, as each dog and its habits are different. But in general, chewing behavior can be a sign of nervousness or stress for your pet. Some dogs may chew on objects because they are bored or feel stressed. There are several reasons why your dog may be chewing on your items. Dogs have been observed to chew on objects for a variety of reasons, including:

  1. To relieve boredom and anxiety
  2. To express frustration or aggression
  3. To mark territory or assert dominance

Dogs can be naturally curious and will often investigate new things, such as new toys or food dishes. This may lead them to chew on your belongings. If your dog is chewing on your items, it could also be due to anxiety or frustration. It’s important to pay attention to signals your dog gives you and provide appropriate alternatives for them to chew on, such as toys and treats.

9 Tips To Prevent Your Dog From Chewing Your Household Items

9 Tips To Prevent Your Dog From Chewing Your Household Items

Your dog may be acting strangely or chewing items inappropriately because of anxiety, stress, unhappiness, or some other emotional issue. It’s important to take the time to evaluate your dog’s behavior and determine the root cause of the problem. If your dog loves chewing on items in your home, it’s important to prevent them from chewing those items. There are several steps you can take to stop your dog from chewing items in your home, including the following:

1. Keep Your Dog Busy

Keep Your Dog Busy

It’s important to provide your dog with plenty of exercise and stimulation to help curb destructive chewing. To help keep your dog busy, provide appropriate toys for shaking and tearing. Try kong toys filled with treats or toy puppies that can be thrown for chewing. Mental stimulation can also help curb destructive chewing caused by boredom.

Providing your dog with interesting activities such as training, a job to do, or playing with other dogs can help keep him busy and content. Plus, it’s good for both of you! When it comes to exercise, high-energy breeds need at least two hours a day, while laid-back breeds only need 40 minutes or less.

2. Provide Bones For Your Dog

Provide Bones For Your Dog

Providing your dog with raw bones for chewing is a great way to keep them occupied and healthy. However, avoid giving your dog cooked bones as cooked bones may splinter and injure your dog. Instead, opt for long-lasting options such as nylon bones or chew toys made from durable materials.

Additionally, supervising your dog while they chew on their bones is important to ensure that they don’t swallow any pieces that might be dangerous. So keep these tips in mind to help prevent your dog from chewing your household items.

3. Give Your Dog Chewing Edibles

Give Your Dog Chewing Edibles

Treating your dog’s destructive chewing behavior with chew toys and edibles is a great way to help prevent it from chewing items that are harmful to the dog or household. Supervising your dog while feeding it these treats to prevent choking from large pieces is an important step. Additionally, reward-based techniques such as playing tug-of-war with a rubber chew toy tied to a rope can help keep your dog’s attention and interest while providing some positive reinforcement.

Remember to rotate your dog’s chew toys regularly to keep his interest and avoid boredom. Furthermore, consider raw feeding for a super-mega-valuable chew in the form of a raw soup bone. These natural chews can help keep your dog occupied and reduce destructive behavior.

4. Monitor Your Dog’s Chewing Routine

Monitor Your Dog's Chewing Routine

It’s vital to closely supervise your dog while they are chewing. If you’re not around, use a remote camera to ensure that your dog isn’t chewing something inappropriate. In addition, provide them with appropriate chew toys to make the experience more enjoyable. When dogs chew on the right items, they tend to learn what they can and cannot chew. Plus, praising your dog when they choose the right thing to chew on can help establish its behavior in the future.

To prevent your dog from chewing household items, be sure to avoid giving them old socks or shoes to chew. Instead, opt for toys made from tougher materials, such as bully sticks or rope toys. Additionally, exercise your dog daily and provide them with plenty of playtimes and social stimulation. This will help keep them from getting bored and destructive with their chew toys.

5. Use Anti-Chew Sprays

Anti-chew sprays can be used to prevent dogs from chewing household items, such as furniture and toys. They can be applied to unmoveable items like these to deter the dog. Cotton buds can be dipped in deterrents and placed in the dog’s mouth to teach them not to chew. Bitter-tasting sprays may help with this task.

You can also ensure that the deterrent is pet-safe and won’t harm your dog. It’s important to remember that anti-chew sprays are only effective if they are used properly and consistently. Whether you use sprays or other methods, you must always take care of your dog’s behavioral needs and provide a safe and comfortable environment for it to thrive.

6. Place Your Dog In A Confinement Area

Place Your Dog In A Confinement Area

If you’re unable to supervise your dog, they should be confined in a confinement area, such as a pen or crate. Besides, you must provide them with food and water if they need to be confined for more than an hour. Additionally, give your dog toys and chew bones in their kennel to keep them occupied.

Create a safe space for them by providing them with a crate or cozy corner of the room. And lastly, provide your dog with exercise and mental stimulation to help them learn the difference between items they should and shouldn’t chew. These are some of the steps that you can take to prevent your dog from chewing your household items.

7. Teach Your Dog What To Chew

Teach Your Dog What To Chew

It’s vital to provide appropriate toys for your dog to chew on, such as chew toys and bones. This will help create positive chewing behaviors and curb destructive chewing behavior. You can also train your dog basic commands such as “leave it” and “drop it” to help deter destructive chewing.

If you want to prevent your dog from chewing items in your household, consider enrolling them in a behavior modification class or crate training them when you are not around. By teaching your dog what is acceptable to chew on and putting items out of reach, you can help ensure their safety and reduce the risk of accidents.

8. Understand Your Dog’s Needs

Understand Your Dog's Needs

It’s important to understand your dog’s needs and how they can be addressed to help reduce destructive chewing. Regular exercise, training, and behavior modification programs can help train your dog to chew appropriate items. Additionally, there are a variety of products available that can help deter destructive chewing. Supervising your dog closely and rewarding it when it is chewing an approved chew toy can help teach it the appropriate thing to chew on. Doing so also provides positive reinforcement for the behavior.

Instead of using physical punishment or anxiety-inducing devices like shock collars or spray dogs, it’s best to use treats and training to get your dog’s attention. This will teach it to ignore off-limits things and encourage it to chew on appropriate items instead. To make sure your dog gets the exercise it needs to stay fit and healthy, ensure that you have plenty of safe toys available for it to play with.

9. Provide Plenty Of Chew Toys

Provide Plenty Of Chew Toys

It is crucial to provide chew toys to your dog, such as rubber chew toys, Rask, chew sticks, dental rawhide, pressed hide, large and medium Kongs, and activity balls. Additionally, encourage your dog to choose to chew toys instead of household items, replacing any that have become worn and unappealing.

Avoid giving your dog bones that can splinter or break off to avoid choking hazards or gastrointestinal issues if swallowed. It is also important to ensure that all chew toys and treats are an appropriate size for your dog to avoid choking hazards or gastrointestinal issues. To keep your dog engaged with their chew toy over a long period, provide a variety of different chew toys and pack treats tightly in treat dispensing toys.

Conclusion

Dogs love to chew. It’s one of their favorite activities, and it’s something that they enjoy doing more than anything else. Unfortunately, for some homeowners, this love of chewing can lead to serious damage to their property. This is a long list of things to do if you want to prevent your dog from chewing your household items.

There’s no substitute for routine supervision, and providing plenty of chew toys and alternatives to chewing items is vital. However, educating yourself on the chewing habits of your dog, ensuring they are mentally and physically stimulated, and setting boundaries around inappropriate chewing behavior can also help. Remember, dogs chew for a variety of reasons and there’s no way to change that.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Stop My Dog From Destroying Things When I’m Not Home?

When you’re not home, your dog may be inclined to chew on things it shouldn’t. To stop this destructive behavior, provide your pup with plenty of chew toys and make sure they have plenty of exercises and mental stimulation when you’re away. crate training can also help to prevent destruction. When you’re away, redirect your pup’s chewing to more desirable objects, such as chew toys. And lastly, always make sure to supervise your dog when you’re not around.

What Can I Put On My Furniture To Keep Dogs From Chewing?

There are a few things that you can put on your furniture to discourage dogs from chewing it. Sticky tape and plastic coverings can be used to create an aversion, while bitter apple sprays can also be used to distance dogs from the furniture. Motion-activated deterrents may also deter dogs from chewing, as they sense that there is something in the way that will scare them.

How Can I Stop My Dog Chewing Household Items?

There are a few things that you can do to help stop your dog from chewing household items.

Provide your dog with appropriate chew toys to help them kick the chewing habit.
Identify the reason for the chewing and address the cause, such as boredom or anxiety.
Increase your dog’s play, exercise, and physical activity to work off excess energy.
Make sure your dog is never left alone for extended periods.

Why Does My Dog Chew My Furniture And Baseboards?

Puppies chew furniture and baseboards to relieve the discomfort of erupting teeth. This may also be due to dental health, separation anxiety, boredom, or instinct. To prevent destructive behavior, provide appropriate chew toys and more playtime, exercise, and physical activity. If your dog is chewing furniture or baseboards out of boredom or nervousness, providing toys that keep him occupied can help to kick the habit.

What Are The Best Ways To Prevent Your Dog From Chewing Your Household Items?

One of the best ways to prevent your dog from chewing your household items is to provide enticing chew toys that will encourage them to chew on something appropriate. You can also control your dog’s choices by putting away items that are tempting to chew and making them less appealing. For difficult-to-remove items, you may want to consider using deterrent sprays or placing objects in the area your dog is trying to chew to create a negative association.