Learning how to stop your puppy from chewing can become a difficult chore that will leave you frustrated, especially when they get a hold of your favorite pair of shoes, or they are constantly chewing on you.
If you want to stop your puppy from chewing, there are a few things that you need to understand about them before you just blame them for their behavior.
To begin with, chewing is a natural part of being a puppy. Rather than trying to stop them from this natural behavior, you should work towards redirecting the problem to another source. Get them chew toys and a bone that they are allowed to gnaw on to their hearts content.
It is much easier to redirect a problem than to try and stop it completely, especially when the problem is more of a human problem than a puppy one.
Another thing to consider is that certain behaviors tend to instigate chewing, especially when they are chewing on you. This can lead to dog aggression problems later on, so you need to nip it in the bud now rather than putting it off.
But, again, this is a human problem as much as a puppy problem. In order to stop your puppy from chewing on you, you need to pay attention to what you do that instigate it.
Certain sudden movements, or aggressive behavior towards your puppy (even in play) will push them into chewing.
Also, when you are playing, if they start chewing on you, stop the activity.
Dogs can’t distinguish between play time and not play time. Although they love to play, the habits that they will pick up then will transfer to other times.
You should never allow your dog to play aggressively and chewing is one of the easiest bad habits to break.
When they start chewing, redirect them to one of their play toys, and separate yourself from them.
If the chewing problem persists, you may need to keep them in a kennel until they learn to behave. Crate training can take some time, but is very beneficial in stopping a wide variety of puppy problems, including them wanting to chew on you.
Follow these tips to stop your puppy from chewing, and get them under control. It doesn’t take much, but by paying attention to your behavior and redirecting their behavior to an appropriate toy will help you to get things under control.
