Part 2
In our last article we covered a simple general reason for why puppies chew everything in sight.
In this article we will cover in general a few of the reason for adult dogs chewing.
Some dogs as puppies that chewed a lot never outgrew that habit. The reason being corrections were never implemented when they were young. Many people when they see their dog chew a shoe let them continue because the shoe is already destroyed. By allowing the dog to continue chewing the shoe gives the owner a false sense of comfort thinking it won’t go after any other shoe. That is where the owners make the biggest mistake.
That behavior moves on as the dog gets older. It’s not only shoes; it can be anything they chose to chew.
Sometimes owners will try stopping the dog from chewing an item by replacing it with something else, at times that works but many times it backfires. In many cases the dog figures if I chew an item, they will give me something better to chew like a “dog chewy”.
Best way to correct chewing issues is reprimand verbally or correct by snapping the collar with your finger and say firmly No. Chewing anything dog related should be left for outdoors, so they never associate chewing indoors.
Outdoors when owners see their dog chewing on something they remove it, but they never reprimand them for that action. Every action of any behavior from chewing to misbehaving should have an equally corrective measure.
Dogs that like to chew constantly can be a form of: anxiety, boredom, and attention seeking and or missing certain nutrition pending what it’s chewing. Sometimes they don’t have any issues, but a leaf that blows around catches their attention and their prey drive in them take over. They pounce on it and start chewing.
To correct outdoor chewing of any form you must watch and analyze; when it happens, what is it chewing, and what the dog was doing before and after it chews. By keeping a detailed log you can narrow it down to find out the cause.
Your log should be based on a week of notes to determine if it’s: Anxiety, boredom, attention seeking, or pray drive, or just missing or lacking in certain nutrition.
Diet also plays a huge roll; make sure for your dogs activity level the proper nutritional values in the food is good.
Every chewing behavior is the result of one thing or another, so accessing the behavior using the log you kept will help correct or modify as needed.
Have a woof woof of a month.
Harry Kalajian
M.D.T. With over 32 years experience
All Aspect of training, Behaviorist, Ethologist & Psychologist
Executive Dog Training Inc.
941-447-8234
www.executivedogtraining.com
