My mixed breed rescue dog chews EVERYTHING!!

[Joyce Jacobson]

I have a dog of unknown age, but not exactly a puppy, that chews everything, and I mean everything--eyeglasses, my cellphone, books, cardboard--you name it and he has chewed it. And it is not nibbling--it is a hard, tear it apart chewing. He has toys to chew but prefers my stuff!! I'll be making an appointment with the vet for a good physical and neutering but in the mean time nothing is safe. I mean, I can't pick the furniture up off the floor!! I know it's my fault for sometimes carelessly leaving things around for him to get but he will climb to get what he wants so it isn't all my fault. Any suggestions?

[Tami]

Oh I have the same problem with my dog and he is a mix (st bernard & Rott).

[Kristen Collins, CPDT]

Hi Joyce,

Thanks for joining the chat. You've got a really common issue---so you're not alone! All dogs, regardless of age, need to chew to entertain themselves and exercise their jaws. The problem is that they don't understand what's "legal" to chew in your house and what's not. To a normal dog, EVERYTHING is a chewie!

It's great that you're taking your dog to the vet for a check-up and neutering! That will be good for him in a number of ways. However, that won't decrease his chewing behavior. To do that, you'll have to do two things:

1. Provide plenty of attractive edible and inedible things for your dog to chew (which you've started to do already---bravo!) and...
2. Prevent your dog from making chewing mistakes.

I know that number 2 is easier said than done. But if you want your dog to stop chewing on your stuff, you'll need to make sure he doesn't have opportunities to practice doing that. So do pick up all items that he might find tempting and supervise him when you're home together. If you see him start to chew on something he shouldn't, clap or make a startling noise to interrupt him and then give him something he CAN chew on. When you leave him alone or if you can't actively supervise him when you're at home, put him in a crate or a small dog-proofed confinement area---with nothing around that he's not allowed to chew---with plenty of his own chew toys to keep him busy. (I attached an article on crate training, which is a great way to keep your dog from getting into trouble when you can't watch him.)

So the main idea is to make sure your dog doesn't practice chewing the wrong stuff by keeping it out of his reach (or keeping him safely confined when you can't supervise) and get him hooked on chewing his own stuff. If your things aren't available for chewing, he'll almost certainly learn to direct his attention to his own chew toys. If he doesn't seem interested in the toys he already has, try getting him a Kong toy or other kind of puzzle toy that you can stuff with food. Most dogs love those! (You can find them at almost any pet store these days.)

I attached an article on chewing, which will offer more detailed advice. Good luck!

Kristen

Kristen Collins, CPDT
Animal Trainer
ASPCA Animal Behavior Center

[Gigi Sommers DePascale]

Help! We have had gorgeous Taffy for seven weeks. For the first five, she chewed nothing. The closer we become, the more she is tearing our home apart. Any advice as to why she's doing this? Moreover, she loves rides in the car. People see her and approach the car, and she barks so viciously that they literally run. Is she just being protective of us or can this be changed?