Puppies love to chew - on anything. Chewing can cost you thousands of dollars in damaged furniture and household goods. Follow a few simple tips to keep puppy’s teeth free of your valuables.
Puppies are so lovable. People are entertained when puppy chews on a sock as if it were a snake in the brush. He wags his tail at it, pounces, and then chews until it lies in tatters on the floor. Puppy suddenly becomes less lovable when it is your Italian leather couch he is munching on. A lot of the expense incurred by pet owners comes as a result of chewing. Puppies chew the most when you either aren’t home or aren’t looking. The puppy should be supervised at all times when out and about in your home.
The first step to curbing the chewing habit is to puppy proof your home. Keep puppy confined to areas of the house where you have no valuables. Don’t leave your puppy alone even when you are in the house. When puppy is in the room with you, use a baby gate to prevent him from wandering around. In addition to the baby gate a crate can be effective in preventing the destruction that can occur when a puppy needs to soothe itself when teething. Crates are very effective in training your puppy and slowing down or stopping any unwanted behavior around the home.
The crate should not be used too much as your puppy does need to venture outside the crate and around your home. You decide how long and when the puppy can come out of the crate.Your puppy needs to investigate the world around it if you want a stable, healthy strong-minded dog to come from this puppy. Schedule feeding time, nap time, playtime and time to go to the bathroom outside. Continue to puppy-proof you home for when the puppy is out of the crate.
Use a curio cabinet for collectibles and other things of value to you.. Coffee tables need to be free of vases, flowers, and other things. Store these things in higher places where puppy can’t reach or knock them over. If puppy gets a hold of marbles, coins, or small kid’s toys, he could choke while chewing on them, so be sure these small things are picked up and out of puppy’s reach at all times. Puppies can be like children and swallow foreign items. It's very important to keep your eye on your puppy at all times as he visits his world.
Puppies chew when they are excited. It is a way of releasing pent up energy. He doesn’t know that he has done anything wrong unless you tell him so. If puppy does chew on things in your home , don’t spank him. He may be responding to your behavior. Leaving and entering the house showing a lot of emotion (waving wildly at the puppy) will get the puppy hyped up. Not knowing what to do with his heightened emotional level, he will begin chewing on whatever is available. Crate-training may be a solution.
Give your puppy something to do and give him the right things to chew on. Give puppy a chew rope, teething toys and things that will soothe his gums and satisfy the need to chew. When he must chew, he will chew on something that is meant to be used for chewing. White Knot Bone is a piece of cotton rope that helps to clean puppy’s teeth while he is releasing his pent-up emotional energy.
Puppy Kong
Another way to help puppy stay calm is to be calm. Resist the urge to broadcast to puppy that you are leaving for work. When you come in be as quiet as possible. Ignore the puppy. Walk right past him without acknowledging him/her.
Puppies are excitable creatures. This excitement can cause them to chew everything in sight. To avoid destruction and mayhem, stay calm around your puppy and remember; this too shall pass. With a bit of consistency and training your puppy will only chew on his chew toys.
