Stop Puppy Chewing: 10 Tips to Curb Your Puppy’s Chewing Habits
As a new pet parent to a hound, chances are you're faced with the challenge of stopping your puppy from chewing everything in sight. As a result, most puppy parents spend hours looking for information on how to stop a puppy from chewing! While most puppies chew as part of their maturity process, unfortunately, this behavior can be destructive and frustrating!
This blog post provides 10 tips on how to stop a puppy from chewing everything. We'll also cover when puppies typically stop chewing and what pet parents can do to curb this bad habit!
Why do Puppies Chew Everything?
Puppies chew for a number of reasons, but for the most part, this is natural instinctive doggie behavior. In other words, it's a hound thing! But when chewing becomes excessive, there may be other underlying reasons why your cute pooch may be sinking their teeth into everything.
- Teething
- Exploring their environment
- Stress or separation anxiety
- Boredom
- Habit
When do Puppies Stop Chewing Everything?
This is the question on every desperate puppy parent's lips, struggling with how to stop a puppy from chewing! Unfortunately, there is no definite answer! As far as when puppies stop chewing everything - it really depends on the individual pup! Generally speaking, most puppies grow out of the teething phase between 3-6 months old but may continue to chew objects until they're around one year old. As always, being patient and consistent when training your pup is important.
Obedience Training Is Crucial
Teaching your pup basic obedience commands such as 'leave it,' 'drop it,' and 'no' are essential when trying to stop them from chewing unwanted items. With repetition and consistency, they'll quickly learn which behavior is and isn't acceptable.
10 Quick Tips on How to Stop a Puppy from Chewing Everything
- Put away potential chew items such as shoes, remote controls, etc
- Use baby gates to section off areas of the house, aka no chew zones!
- Supervise your puppy to ensure they're not chewing large furniture items.
- Stop them from chewing inappropriate items and offer them a toy instead; this is called redirection.
- Offer appropriate chew items; there are many chew toys on the market or natural alternatives such as pig ears or cow hooves.
- Ensure your puppy gets enough exercise; one of the main reasons for excessive chewing is boredom.
- Don't allow them to chew on human items (shoes/socks); while this is cute when they are small, it will lead to continued chewing later on!
- Use a chew deterrent spray; this has a bitter taste that puppies don't like and can be used on furniture or items you don't want them chewing.
- Try giving them a frozen treat such as an ice cube or Kong filled with peanut butter - this will provide them with something cold and soothing to chew while keeping them occupied and helping to keep their teeth clean.
- Provide enhanced entertainment for clever puppies with a puzzle toy. These toys can be filled with tasty treats or kibble and provide your pup with a game to get their reward exercising both body and mind while distracting them from chewing!
The Final Chomp
In conclusion, teaching your puppy how to stop chewing is an important part of responsible pet ownership. With a few simple preventive measures, some basic obedience training, and the use of chew deterrents, you'll soon get the hang of how to stop a puppy from chewing and be the proud pet parent of a pup that's no longer chewing everything in sight!
Image by Mat Coulton from Pixabay
