HELP! My Puppy is CHEWING!

I am going to let you in on a little secret – puppies chew, a lot. It helps with teething, it soothes them, it entertains them, it is a part of puppy development. The way human children explore their environment by sticking their hands in everything, puppies explore their environment by putting things in their mouth. Puppies NEED to chew. So what do you do?

First, give them things to chew that are appropriate! When I have a puppy my house is scattered with things to chew, animal parts, Benebones, toys of all types and materials and honestly probably a water bottle or two and some cardboard they stole and I did not have the energy to pick up.

I understand that I am not your average person, and not everyone might be as comfortable with a marrow bone and beef trachea lying in their living room. But honestly, I pick my battles and if those things mean they do not chew my couch, or my shoes, I am okay with it. And it works! I know because with Jasper, my first puppy, I still wanted to keep things tidy. I gave him his basket of toys, a few chews which I rotated, and I kept the gross things to the crate. And he would steal my shoes, constantly. So I put the shoes in a safe place, and he would steal the remote, and then chew the couch, and then find things I could not even identify by the time I caught him. So I broke down and just scattered everything for him – and wouldn’t you know he stopped chewing my things, and chewed his. I met his needs and he stopped trying to meet them on his own – funny how that happens.

With Wren we just went with scattered things from day one – I knew the drill. But we also had four other dogs in our home at that time, more than when Jasper was a puppy, and they all wanted to be together. So then we had to manage things. For chews that were out I made sure there were enough for every dog, with some to spare so there was no need to compete – yes, we had a lot of antlers on the floor. I also created a safe place – an area where everything in it was safe for Wren – no wires, no breakables, no choking hazards – I puppy proofed a room and that was where we hung out, so I did not have to worry and could actually relax and enjoy my puppy. And because there were no “bad” things for her to chew, she did not develop any bad habits. Wren did not look for shoes or chew the carpeting, there were none. And that means she did not develop that habit. I can count on one hand the things Wren destroyed that she should not have, because we had a plan and just did not give her the chance.

Now, obviously a room is not something everyone can do. But most can use an ex-pen to create a safe place, or baby gate off a part of a hall to give the dog their own “room.” This also gives the puppy a place to chew on the really delicious things that you might find gross, and also gives them a place to be away and be calm, so it is not always a crate. Sometimes your puppy needs a break from the kids, from your other dog, from you – or sometimes they need to be separated to have a high value chew. An ex- pen “play room” is a great way to give your puppy a place to have lots of great chewing options while keeping them contained. Not everyone likes finding antlers in their bed.

A word of advice when there are children in the home – give them a safe place too. Put up a baby gate to give them a puppy free place to play and use their toys. I had one client whose grandson would put HIMSELF in the ex-pen when he visited. So she changed things around and used it to block of his play area, while the puppy ran around in the living room. Another client would use an ex-pen to block off the couch at night so her husband and his senior small dog could watch TV in peace while her field lab puppy worked out their evening zoomies. But kids deserve to have some peace too, and they love their toys, and cannot be expected to keep them picked up all the time. And dog toys look a lot like kid toys, and vice versa. So using baby gates to keep puppies from bedrooms (unless supervised) or out of play rooms can really keep relationships positive. Set both the kids, and the dogs up to be successful and have fun.

Of course, there will be moments where they get something they should not, and some puppies are masters at playing keep away, staring at you as they keep just out of reach with your shoe. So, teaching a solid “Trade” is important. All puppies in our classes leave knowing “Trade” – and we teach it in a positive way so that they do not think “Trade” means we are going to come and steal their treasure. Because Dog Law states that if it is in their mouth it belongs to them, and we are the dirty, dirty thieves who come up and rip it away. Even puppies who are “okay” with that might start to resent it, and start to worry when you come near – this can lead to resource guarding.

Think of it this way, if you are sitting there enjoying a cookie and I walk up and rip it out of your hands, I might get away with it that first time. You are going to be so shocked at my rudeness you might even not bring it up, just ignore it and think it was a one off. But if I keep doing that you are going to get annoyed – and when I approach instead of being happy to see me you are going to get anxious, and tense up, and maybe even tuck that cookie closer to your body or try to shove it all in your mouth and finish it before I get there. And when I reach for it you will start to tell me to knock it off. But I ignore that and keep stealing your cookie until one day you snap and just slap me. I drove you to violence, and understandably. At least for me – be warned, if you come near my chocolate cake I will stab you with a fork with no hesitation. Puppies and dogs don’t need forks, they have teeth. They come pre-armed. Which is why teaching “Trade” the right way is so important.

We like Chirag Patel’s method of “Trade” where you are letting the dog choose to leave the item, and paying them well for that choice. This creates dogs who are eager to “Trade” and keeps things peaceful in the home. And he happens to have a free YouTube video to show you how to do it at home.