Hi bobrjr,
I?m afraid I have to agree with Pinkfreud .. normal puppies chew
everything! It?s how they determine what?s what in the world. And, at
the risk of giving you more bad news, you are only looking at the
first phase of chewing. The next, more destructive phase will come
when your pup starts to lose his baby teeth ? then watch out! It?s
going to seem like your pup is in training to become a beaver.
The good news is, you?re bigger and smarter than he is. And, there are
ways to minimize the damage.
First, the important thing to remember is that a puppy MUST chew in
order for his teeth to develop properly and to relieve the pain of
teething. He can?t NOT chew. Scolding or punishing him will have no
effect on his chewing, except to confuse him and make him fear you.
It?s just going to be a matter of making sure he?s chewing HIS stuff
and not yours.
The best way to do this is by prevention. Unless you are supervising
him directly, your puppy should be contained ? either in a crate or in
a gated off room. (Not behind closed doors .. that?s no fun!) ? away
from tempting chewables. While he contained you need to equip him with
a variety of things he is allowed to chew.
Variety is very important because his urge to chew will vary.
Sometimes he?ll be looking for something squishy like a hard rubber
ring. Other times something hard like bone. Give him many choices!
And only give him real ?dog toy? chewables. These are made with a
dog?s safety in mind and should not shatter or break apart into
dangerous shards or ingestible chunks.
The other thing you will need is Bitter Apple (avalailable at most pet
stores or vet offices). This is a training tool, NOT a protect your
house tool. It evaporates quickly so will not protect something
long-term. It is for use at the moment you are correcting your puppy.
So, what to do? When your puppy is loose in the house, keep an eye on
him. If he starts to chew something of yours, do this:
Pick up the Bitter Apple and puppy chew toy
Go to the puppy and give him a sharp ?No!? without anger or physical punishment
Then immediately spray the thing he was chewing on with the Bitter Apple.
Now, pick up one of his chew toys and quickly and enthusiastically get
him interested in it.
Once he takes the chew toy and settles down with it, praise him and go
back to what you were doing. End of lesson.
You will have to repeat this lesson many many times, but it will work.
Don?t give up.
That?s the basics. Here I?ll point you to some excellent websites that
walk you through more details of the puppy training process and what
to do about chewing.
DESTRUCTIVE CHEWING
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1517
PUPPY CHEWING ON WALLS
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1030
CRATE TRAINING PUPPIES
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1129
GRANNICK?S BITTER APPLE
http://www.petsmart.com/products/product_140.shtml
So, in short: Keep your puppy contained, provide him with plenty of
puppy-safe chew toys, monitor him when he?s loose, use consistent
training techniques, and have patience. In the end you?ll be rewarded
with a great dog!
Good luck ?
-K~
search strategy:
I always use Veterinary Partners for pet training information. I find
them to be very practical and sensible. I searched their site for
[puppy chewing].
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx |
