NMCM All Things Family Blog

Regardless of the reasons dogs chew on anything - it is fun, it is soothing, and it is a form of exercise - you will still experience days when you want to chew their heads off. Figuratively, of course; you do not want to tangle with animal rights activists and have your 15 minutes of gruesomefame. Ugh!

However, you can help your dogs stop chewing down your house. Not only will you achieve a cleaner house, you will also attain greater peace with your husband when his ultra-new and ultra-chic rolling briefcase is left alone by your pet.

Since de-fanging or euthanizing is out of the question, you can dog-proof your home instead. Put your valuable passport with its passport cover and your husband’s rolling men’s briefcase, among other dog favorites, away from your pet’s reach.

You can put human food out of their reach, too. Not only are some human foods (chocolate, most of all) bad for your dog, but you will also end up with a bloated food budget! Teach your dog to eat out of his own bowl; do not take it to the extreme by demonstrating it, though. An effective way to do this is to never feed your dogs scraps from the table, even if it is the liver tripe you hate so much.

The human adage about an ounce of prevention being better than a pound of cure is applicable to your pets, as well. Stop your pets from chewing inappropriate things even before it develops into a full-fledged destructive behavior. You will have more difficulty de-training them when that happens.

Provide for appropriate and sufficient dog chewing materials. Do not give your old things like briefcases and socks and then expect your pets to know the difference between old and new! They are intelligent animals but not as intelligent as you would want them to be.

Provide adequate exercise outside the house. Dogs can get bored and chewing is their way of releasing boredom and pent-up energy. Try to provide enough outdoor stimulation to curb indoor boredom.

Have plenty of patience. Like little babies and tots, your pets will have lots to learn before becoming more independent. Treat them as you would your babies - with patience and love.

If all these tender, loving care fails, you can always resort to sprinkling paprika or rubbing lemon juice on the things that your pets often chew on. This method is not cruel (attention: animal lovers), but is a form of putting bad tastes in their mouths (literally) to discourage future destructive behavior.

When your efforts succeed, you will have one of the most enlightening experiences as a pet owner. Go for it!

Tags: Family Pets

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