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May 24th, 2009 by KittyKitty

Loving your dog is one of the easiest things to do until you find out that he has chewed up your favorite pair of shoes or some of your sofa cushions.It doesn’t matter what they chew, the fact is that it can be irritating even for the most even-tempered of dog owners It can also be something unreplaceable like your mail that has a check in it for money or tickets for the best show in town. Dog chewing is annoying but there are ways to get a handle on it so that you can have a positive relationship with your dog, not one filled with resentment.Chewing is a natural outlet for your dog and he will exercise this right to use his mouth even he is given free rein in which to do so.

Let’s face it, you don’t have to have a jury trial to convict your dog as the guilty chewing criminal, but you also cannot sentence him on the spot and throw him in his kennel either. Reinforcing positive behavior is a way for you to train your dog by replacing a good behavior he can perform for the bad one that he has been exhibiting Chewing is a natural activity for you dog It is up to you to teach your dog early on that there are certain places and certain items that are off limits when it comes to chewing When he has something else to do to occupy his time, he will not be so focused on chewing  

There are a combination of training tactics that can be used when approaching dog chewing Some dogs are chronic chewers and don’t care what they chew and will destroy your home if allowed Licking goes right along with chewing and when you apply chew prevention products to things your dog likes to chew,the minute he licks it he will back right off. These substances come in different forms from sprays to ointments and they work to discourage your dog from going back to that area because the taste is very bitter and bad to your dog. Pet stores and catalogues sell them and one of the more popular flavors is bitter apple.

When your dog runs out of things to do and needs to channel his energy somewhere,chewing is a very common outlet for this type of boredom. Leaving your dog home all day alone while you are at work is unfortunately one of the dog owner’s many plightsCrating your dog can be a solution while you are away from the home, providing it is only for short periods of time. Leaving your dog in his crate should feel familiar and calming for your dog. Most dogs look at their crate as a den and become very relaxed and fall asleep. If left some chew toys while in his crate, he can busy himself with these and not focus on destroying things It is not fair to your dog and is somewhat cruel to expect him to stay in a crate for more than a couple of hours at a time. A dog needs to exercise and relieve himself throughout the day and it is not healthy to keep him in a crate for the entire day. If your dog isn’t crate trained yet visit dog obedience university for instruction on this.

Dogs are opportunistic creatures so they cannot be expected to ignore temptation.When I drop a morsel of food on the kitchen floor, it is gone before it hits the floor The same can be said of tempting chewable items. When you leave items on the floor on low lying coffee tables you are extending an invitation for your dog to grab it and do what he wants with it. After all, it was left there for him , wasn’t it? I had a friend who left her expensive pair of Oakley sunglasses on her weight bench and she came home to find her Wiemeriener happy to see her and $200 tangle of chewed plastic. The way a dog explores his world is by using his nose and his mouth.  Try to remember to put things away that you value , out of your best friend’s reach.

Exercising your dog until he is tired out can go a long way to solving bad behavior issues When a dog is tired he is less likely to get in trouble. A tired dog is a happy dog. A happy dog means a happy owner.

When you dog has free range to run loose in the house make sure that he has plenty of chew toys, such as kongs, rawhides, and dental chews to gnaw on There are some really cool puzzle toys out there that let you put a treat inside of them that make it so your dog has to roll it around on the floor and really work at it with his tongue to get the treat inside out. When he is busy with such things, he won’t be eyeing your chair legs the same way.

A dog is a dog but some breeds can be a bit more prone to chewing than others. The key to how to stop your dog from chewing is to find out “why” he is chewing in the first place Is he bored? Does he have to much freedom? If you have to leave him home all day and it is too long to crate him, consider bringing him to one of the many doggie daycares available for the day. Not only will this tire him out, but he will be getting socialized as well. He will be so worn out by the time he comes home, the last thing on his mind will be chewing anything!

For other excellent solutions and guidance that go into more detail about dog chewing and how to deal with it check out the best dog training courses found online today.