How do I stop my young puppy from chewing everything in the house?

Leave a three-year-old child unsupervised in a mall and don’t be surprised when he or she comes home and offers everyone chocolate bars and cigarettes. Give a pup half a chance and don’t be surprised to walk into a room and have the pup look at you as if to say, “Hey look! This carpet unravels! What? Was that yours?”

A good part of teaching a puppy the ins and outs of chewing is supervision and embracing the strategies outlined in the “How do I get my puppy house trained as quickly as possible?” will go a long way to getting your puppy on track for chewing as well.

Dogs need to chew, particularly in the early stages of their lives. Certainly, there is the teething issue, but nowhere near to the extent destructive behaviour is usually excused. Puppies explore their world with their mouths. Their chewing stimulates them through the varied tastes, textures, malleability, etc. of the objects they find. At their age, their mouths are their most important connection to their environment and chewing is to a dog as Nintendo is to an eight-year-old boy.

When true teething is a legitimate issue for the puppy, it is a good idea to provide him or her with a way to sooth sore gums. Some dogs will chew on refrigerated or frozen carrots. Some dog toys lend themselves to being stuffed with canned food and then frozen. The resultant food icicle provides both relief and entertainment.

There’s no big trick to getting a puppy to be more discriminating in his chewing. It boils down to a matter of supervision and thoughtful selection of introductory chew toys. Many of the chew toys available are more suited to older, more experienced dogs that have had a chance to learn the difference between good and bad chewing. Toys made of various fabrics and/or stuffed with fluff and stuff can give some young and impressionable puppies the wrong idea. As a result, he might consider a similar object, a pillow or a sock for instance, all right for chewing and unnecessarily become confused and stressed when their guardian chastises him. In the early stages of a dog’s development, if it can be ripped ragged, and pulled apart, it’s best left out of the toy box. Later, when the dog has learned the difference between “mine and yours”, these types of toys can be reintroduced and with some short-term supervision shouldn’t be a problem for the average dog.

Nowadays, there is a cornucopia of toys available for dogs and cats. In the beginning, keep it simple. Set a goal for finding 6 toys your dog finds irresistible. You will find that toys that also engage the dog’s paws to be the most productive. If you can find a toy that engages your dog’s mouth, paws and mind, then you’ll be well on your way to a happier, calmer dog.

Animal Behaviourist John Wade (http://www.johnwade.ca/)