Chewing

Dogs chew for a reason.
• For puppies, it is their way of exploring the world. When they start teething, they chew to relieve irritated gums. Teething usually takes place between 4 and 6 months of age. But be warned - destructive chewing is often at its worst at around 7 or 8 months, after the big molars have come through - just when you thought it was all over.

You cannot stop this kind of chewing, but what you can do is channel your dog into chewing some permitted articles.

• Puppies between 4 and 6 months of age also use their mouths when they play with other dogs. This is how they practice being a pack animal, and try to be dominant. If you play mouthing or tug of war type games with your puppy, you stimulate its dominant, possessive, aggressive and predatory instincts. If you have a very “mouthy” pup, obsessed with chewing your hands, ankles, shoes or clothes, see my book Your Positive Puppy Training Starter Kit for information on “Mouthing and bite inhibition”.

• Most older dogs chew because of something in their environment. It might be anxiety or frustration, or to relieve tension caused by isolation or fear of punishment. The solution for this type of chewing is to remove the cause of the anxiety, and to some extent to channel it.

Differences between dogs

The tendency to behave in  certain way is related to the temperament and breed of your dog. Some dogs are active (e.g. digging, trying to get out), others are more passive (e.g. licking, self-mutilation). Hunting breeds and some terriers are more likely to have barking, escape and digging problems. Some dogs are more noisy than others. Some are excitable, others are sedate and easily inhibited. Dogs with a strong retrieving instinct will pick up objects and carry them around. This can get out of hand and become destructive if it is not channelled, but it is also the basis of training of the best working dogs.

If you have a dog that carries things around, praise the dog, call it to you, say “Give” and offer the dog a piece of food. Take the article as the dog opens its mouth. Teach the dog the names of various articles. For example, when you see Dogmatix coming out of the bedroom with a slipper in her mouth, instead of roaring at her and chasing her, say “Good girl Dogmatix, get the slipper. Give.” Then send her to get the other one.

Unintentional training

Unwanted behaviour can be the result of your mistakes. You may have unintentionally rewarded unwanted chewing. Chewy puppies can become fixated on chewing, particularly if you play mouthy games, such as tug of war, or try to remove articles by force, pulling on them, which only stimulates the puppy to be possessive and hang on more tightly.  Unfortunately you may have given your dog plenty of opportunities to relieve its feelings by chewing your personal belongings while you are out. Avoid giving a dog your things, old shoes, or fabric toys, as these are all very attractive and encourage chewing.

Treat the cause, not just the symptom

To stop destructive chewing, you must first understand the cause and then treat that. What does your dog want? Your company? Relief from sore gums? Relief from feelings of boredom, frustration or anxiety at being left alone? This may be why he or she is chewing, and it is the key to finding a solution.

Chewing and the new puppy

Provide a small number of chew toys
Puppies chew to explore their environment. They enjoy it and it is an essential part of their development. However, they don’t have to chew your new shoes. You should provide something for your puppy to chew. Before you rush out and give your puppy your old shoes, or soft toys, remember : everything you do teaches your puppy something. If you let your puppy chew an old shoe you are giving him or her the message that chewing shoes is OK. The same goes for old socks and any cloth or soft material. Dogs generalise from old material to the carpet or couch. Provide a small number of chew toys - a bone, a plastic bottle, a scented nylon bone or maybe a rope chew toy.
Give your puppy a confined spot
If you have a new puppy, try to spend time with it and let it settle in before leaving it alone. Leave it in a confined area, such as a play pen with a bed and water. Avoid locking a dog in a shed or small room that it can’t see out of. This can create frustration, barking, scratching and attempts to escape. Being confined prevents the puppy from running riot and ripping up every toilet roll, book, soft toy and slipper in the house. Having a small number of chew toys gives your puppy an outlet, without also saying that “anything goes”. When your puppy shows and interest some other object, distract it and divert its attention onto the chew toy. Make the chew toys attractive before you go out - put food such as bacon fat or liver on the nylon bone, and rub another toy with your hands to put you scent on it.

Leave your puppy alone for a short time

Start by leaving the puppy alone in its area for a very short time, when you are at home. Put it in the pen when it is ready for a sleep. Occasionally put it there when it is awake. Gradually increase the amount of time the puppy can stay by itself. Remember, puppies can’t do anything for long. They have frequent feeds, needs frequent toilet breaks, frequent and short play times and frequent sleeps. Try to avoid leaving the puppy alone for long periods when it is young, especially 8 to 12 weeks old.

Praise the puppy for success

Always go back and calmly give the puppy a few words of praise for not fussing or being destructive. Don’t punish the puppy for chewing. A young puppy has to be taught good habits, and often the best way of doing this is for you to manage the environment so that you remove the temptations for the puppy to innocently do the wrong thing.

Preventing destructive chewing at night time

Let the puppy sleep in your bedroom or nearby

Let the puppy sleep on your bedroom floor, in its crate or play pen or restrained by a light chain, so it never develops the habit of whinging at night through loneliness. This also helps with bonding the puppy to you. If you do not want your dog to sleep so close to you, you can move it to another room or outside when it is a bit older. See information on toilet training if this is a problem. Isolating a puppy (or older dog) at night time or as a punishment for unruly behaviour can create other problems, such as barking, digging and chewing. It is better to have the puppy with you, and teach it acceptable behaviour.

Restrain or confine the dog

Dogs will often get up in the night, when you are asleep, and wander around the house at a loose end. This is when they may start to chew, re-arrange the furniture and otherwise get into trouble. There is a simple way of preventing this. Confine or restrict the dog. You can either use a crate - a wire kennel in which the dog can be confined, or you can tie the dog up using a light chain, not a lead which the dog could chew through. There is nothing cruel about restricting a dog’s movement like this. As long as the dog is comfortable and has enough room to turn around, he or she does not need to be up and about - no good will come of it. Put the crate on the floor of your bedroom, or just outside the door. Or tie the chain to the foot of the bed. A puppy or young dog will settle down more easily and bond with you if allowed to sleep nearby. Staying put will become a habit. I would continue this practice until the dog is at least 12 months old. Even if the dog is 9 months old and over the worst, it may feel disturbed one night and go for a wander, with chewing or toilet accidents resulting.

Chewing when left alone

You may think that “separation anxiety” is something that only children experience. However, many dogs have this reaction. Chewing is their way of relieving tension. Prevention consists of reducing your dog’s anxiety about being left alone.

Your dog does not know when - or even whether - you will come home. However, dogs respond to small cues, such as when you pick up your keys, and and can work out what is happening.
Separation anxiety, and the chewing it causes, can be reduced by two methods.

1. Reduce the contrast between being home and being out
If you reduce the contrast between the times when you are at home (giving the dog too much attention) and the time when you are out (and the dog is getting no attention), your dog will cope better with being alone.

There are three ways to reduce this contrast.
(1) Stop giving your dog excessive attention
Imagine your dog’s feelings going from being king or queen of the house, living inside, having you to pat it whenever it nudges, respond whenever it demands and so on - then, suddenly being catapaulted into solitary confinement, all services discontinued. Many pets are spoilt by being given everything for free - their food, their walks, the chance to play and lots of patting and attention. This can make the dog demanding and self-centered. Instead, you should clearly establish yourself as pack leader by making your dog respond to a simple command, such as “Come”, “Sit” or “Drop”. Stop all free goodies and make your dog work for its living. The attention, praise and patting you give the dog should be brief. Don’t go on cuddling and fondling the dog for prolonged periods.
(2) Don’t have an emotional departure or homecoming
Do not make the mistake of making your departure over-emotional. You might succeed in convincing your dog to feel sorry for itself. An emotional departure winds the dog up and leaves no outlet except destructive, tension-relieving behaviour.
An emotional homecoming teaches the dog to become agitated in anticipation of your return, and may lead to chewing, especially if you are a bit late getting home.

In both cases, the arrival or departure heavily underlines the dog’s plight - to have everything, and then to lose it all. A trauma that is repeated every day.

Instead, try giving your dog a short “buffer zone” between your being there and not being there. Sit down for five minutes and ignore the dog. Scent the chew toy. Toss it on the ground. Say “Good girl, Dogmatix. You wait there.” And then just leave. Familiarity with this routine tells Dogmatix that (a) you are going out, (b) she is not going with you, and (c) you will return.  If you keep regular hours, your dog will anticipate your return, and should associate this with good things - a greeting, your company, and evening walk or meal.

When you get home, ignore the dog. Wander around for five minutes, reading your mail, putting on the kettle or having a stroll around the garden. Then after your dog has settled down, call him or her over, and pat briefly (after the usual “Sit” command).

(3) Give your dog access to the living area while you are out.

I believe that dogs settle down better when they are left alone in their living area. This gives them some comfort and familiarity. If Dogmatix has to be separated from you, at least she is left where you are normally together. Allowing the dog to have access to the house (perhaps by means of a dog door) when you are out helps to overcome barking, digging and escape behaviour. There are two main reasons why you might be unwilling to do this.
Firstly, you are worried about toilet accidents in the house. However, toilet training is much quicker and easier to achieve than correction of chewing problems. If you have started by leaving the dog for a short time and gradually built up the time, you can also ensure that the dog’s bladder can last the distance. As the dog matures and toilet habits are learnt, you can rely on the dog letting itself out - but remember, this is not automatic, the dog has to be taught.

Secondly, you are more worried about the house being destroyed than the backyard. Being able to leave the dog is the house is your aim. Again, you must manage the environment so that the dog learns to do this. (See the section below called “Teaching your dog to cope with staying home alone”). Start by leaving the puppy confined for short periods. Increase the time gradually. When the young dog is used to being confined, leave the door of its crate open, in one room such as a a family room, with access to the back door or dog door - but not to the entire house. Of course you have to do all the other things which will reduce anxiety and boredom, and provide an alternative chew toy (discussed below).

If you must leave your dog outside, make the backyard more of a living area, as defined by the dog, by spending time there with your dog. Sit outside and have a drink. Play ball with your dog in the yard. Don’t use the backyard as a place of banishment, solitary confinement or punishment for unruly behaviour in the house. Put your dog’s kennel next to the living area, near the back door. But remember, you could be creating a problem of digging, excessive barking, fence running and associated aggression or escaping.

2. Direct your dog’s chewing onto a permitted chew toy
Provide a chew toy with your recent scent on it for your dog to relieve its feelings on.
If you leave your dog with a familiar chew toy that you have handled just before leaving, he or she will have your scent to comfort her. If you forget to do this, don’t blame Dogmatix if she seeks out another article with your recent scent on it - such as the library book you just borrowed or the plant you re-potted yesterday. When dogs destroy something valuable, they are not being vindictive. They are just trying to get close to you.
Similarly, if you are at home and your dog starts to chew something forbidden, distract the dog, call it, praise it for responding and give it an alternative - a chew toy to play with. This works best if you reward the dog for paying attention to the toy with excited, playful praise. If you use a neutral sound to distract the dog, you are more likely to succeed in permanently conditioning the dog, as distinct from merely inhibiting it in your presence. This method is distraction, not punishment. The dog is never allowed to experience the full thrill of the forbidden object - that response is switched onto something more acceptable. If you have a short play session with the dog and the chew toy a couple of times a day, the dog will become “hooked”.

What to do if your dog has been destructive

Punishing the dog for chewing is not an answer
“She knows it’s wrong ...” This is one of the most widely held beliefs about dog behaviour problems - and it is totally wrong. The problem is that it can be used as a justification for punishment. You come home to a scene of devastation, and as you start to have a fit, Dogmatix slinks in looking guilty. You then feel justified in punishing her. Needless to say, it doesn’t help to stop destructive chewing.
What happens is this :
1.    You go out, leaving Dogmatix in a state of anxiety.
2.    She relieves this tension by having a good chew on something with your scent on it.
3.    She feels a lot better. Nothing bad happens.
4.    Some hours later, you come home, see the mess and and have a fit.
5.    Dogmatix responds with fearful or submissive behaviour.
6.    Next time you go out, she is even more destructive, because as well as being anxious about you going out, she is beginning to be anxious about you coming home as well. She can’t win.
7.    After a few experiences, she makes an association between your presence plus destroyed remains on the floor and her getting into trouble.
8.    This is why she cringes - not because she “knows what she did was wrong” but because she is anticipating (correctly) that she will get into trouble.

Getting into trouble will not make her stop destroying things, because nothing bad or unpleasant happens when she is doing it. The punishment is associated with YOU, not with what she did several hours earlier.

Your dog should never associate your return with getting into trouble.  Any remains of destructive behaviour during the day should be quietly disposed of without comment - preferably without the dog watching.

Keep tempting articles out of the way. Be aware of what your dog might go for. Beware of spending the weekend gardening, with your dog for company. On Monday, when you are at work, the dog might spend the day imitating you, looking for whatever you found so interesting, seeking out your scent - in short, repotting your seedlings.

If you have some items of particular value, either put them out of range, or spray them with something like Listerine, which is harmless, but most dogs find it unpleasant.

© Kaye Hargreaves 2008, may be reproduced with acknowledgement; www.kayehargeaves.com