Does your dog always keep on scratching and bitting things around your house? Has your dog bitten your new pair of shoes or clothes?
This makes sense because dogs have a natural instinct to gnaw on things. In fact, this problem is faced by almost every dog owners at some point in time.
But don’t worry, this behavior of dog can easily be corrected by taking some measures. In this article, we will provide you with some tips and tricks that will help your dog to get rid of this behavior.
Figuring out the problem behind chewing
The most important thing is to know why your dog chews stuff. As mentioned above, they have a natural instinct of chewing. Also, it provides them with constructive entertainment. There can be following reasons behind your dog chewing things.
1. Your dog is a puppy(4-10 months old)
The biggest reason your puppy chews is teething. Puppies start to get teeth at the age of 16 weeks. They will continue to get teeth until the age of 9 to 10 weeks. So, in this crucial phase of your puppy, you shouldn’t punish your dog for chewing.
You need to make sure that they have enough “appropriate things to chew”. You can easily buy chewing toys for your puppy in every dog stores. You can get stuff like hard rubber toys, rope toys, wooden toys, etc.
You also need to redirect them from chewing inappropriate things to appropriate things. You need to calmly remove other things from his mouth and replace it with the chewing toys. You need to leave chewing toys on the floor so that your puppy can easily find it.
2. Your dog wasn’t trained properly
One of the possible reason for your dog chewing your belongings can also be lack of proper training. But, it is never too late to teach the right things.
If you see your dog chewing things, calmly remove them and say them “no”. If they do it again, keep them in the crate for 4-5 minutes and let it free. Do this process everytime your dog chews things. Eventually, your dog will develop a habit of not chewing.
3. Your dog is suffering from anxiety and other issues
If you have tried everything to stop your dog to chew things then your dog might be suffering from behavior issue. He might have been suffering from anxiety, be bored or have too much energy. All of these can make your dog chew things regardless of him knowing its acceptable or not.
We also may have habits like biting nails or scratching yourself if we get nervous. Like that, a dog also bites things constantly when he is bored or have anxiety.
We need to get off your couch and take your dog to walk. Play with him and make sure he gets proper exercise.
Dog also behave this way when there is a change in their diet, medications, age-related problems, etc. chewing and scratching by dogs can also be due to medical problems. So, better take your dog to the vet.
