Behavior Challenges: Destructive Chewing
It’s normal for dogs (especially puppies!) to use their mouths to explore the world. However, dogs may chew things they aren’t supposed to if they aren’t getting enough mental or physical exercise or if they are experiencing challenges such as anxiety or teething. Using the tips and tricks below, it’s possible to manage undesired chewing and redirect your pup to more positive behaviors.
Assess Your Environment
The first step to preventing your dog from chewing things they aren’t supposed to is setting them up for success. That means giving them as little access as possible to things they shouldn’t be chewing on.
- Put away items you don’t want your dog to chew (shoes, cords, clothes, etc.). Trash cans can be placed behind a baby gate or swapped for one with a lid.
- Do any of your dog’s toys look like something you don’t want them to chew? If you’ve given them an old sock to chew, they may not understand that they can’t chew on the rest of your socks. Your dog’s toys should be obviously different from household goods.
- Keep your dog in a safe space while unsupervised until they learn what’s appropriate for chewing. This may be a dog-proofed room with a baby gate, an exercise pen or a crate with everything they need. Remember, teaching a dog to enjoy a crate often requires training. Dogs shouldn’t be crated as punishment or left in a crate longer than they are comfortable.
- Set realistic expectations. Your dog may chew up something you value while they are still learning what is acceptable to chew on. This is often part of the transition to a new home. Remember, you and your dog are both learning: They're learning the house rules, while you're learning to take precautions and keep things out of their reach.
Determine Motivations
Chewing is normal! Puppies are teething and learning about the world around them with their mouths, just like a human baby.
Adult dogs, however, engage in destructive behavior for several reasons. To resolve the undesired behavior, first determine why your dog is being destructive. Here are some common reasons and ways to address them:
Boredom or Social Isolation
When dogs don’t get enough engagement through play, training, enrichment and exercise, they may begin seeking other sources of stimulation — like chewing. This can occur if:
- They are left alone for long periods without human interaction.
- Their environment doesn’t have ways to keep them entertained, like playmates, toys or enrichment activities.
- They are a puppy or adolescent (under 3 years old) and don’t have other outlets for their energy.
- They are a high-energy dog who needs an active lifestyle to be happy.
Proactive solutions:
- Play with your dog daily! If you don’t have access to a yard, play tug, use a flirt pole or toss kibbles one at a time down the hallway.
- Go for walks. On-leash walks help you and your dog bond, while also allowing lots of time for them to sniff, explore and exercise.
- Engage your dog’s brain! Teach your dog a few behaviors or tricks and practice them daily. Formal training classes will set you both up for success and provide a structured routine.
- Provide lots of different types of toys and rotate them to refresh your dog’s interest in them. New toys are always more interesting than old ones.
- Put treats or kibble inside a puzzle toy to help your dog get their energy out in a productive way (read this article for Kong Stuffing Pointers).
- Enroll your pup in a good doggie daycare program two or three days a week to help them socialize and burn excess energy. Make sure your dog gets recovery days in between visits so that they don’t become overly tired.
Separation Anxiety
Some pets have anxiety when left alone, which may lead to destructive behaviors along with panting, pacing, vocalizing, vomiting, scratching/pawing at the door, self-harm or overgrooming and having accidents in the house when otherwise house-trained.
If you notice these behaviors have started suddenly when you did not notice them before, it could be because of a change in your pet’s environment, such as your dog being left alone more often, a move to a new house, the loss of a family member or pet or a period at a shelter or boarding kennel.
Proactive solutions:
Desensitization techniques can help, and even severe separation anxiety can be managed through training. It’s critical not to punish behaviors related to separation anxiety: Your pet is panicking, and these behaviors are often out of their control.
Learn more by reading this article on separation anxiety. To receive support from a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer, search for trainers near you on our Trainer Directory.
Fears and Phobias
Your dog’s destructive behavior may be caused by a fear of loud noises if they only destroy things when they hear scary sounds, and if they primarily only damage doors, door frames, window coverings, screens or walls.
Proactive solutions:
- Provide a “safe place” for your dog. Observe where they like to go when they feel anxious, then allow access to that space or create a similar one to use when the noise is present.
- Close or cover windows or doors to reduce noise if it occurs at predictable times.
- If training doesn’t solve the issue, consider seeing a veterinarian to explore pairing medication with training.
Attention-Seeking Behavior
Without realizing it, we often pay more attention to our dogs when they’re misbehaving. Dogs who don’t receive enough attention and positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior may destroy things when their owners are present as a way to get their attention — even if the attention is something we might think of as “punishing,” such as a verbal scolding.
Proactive solutions:
- Make sure your dog gets a lot of positive attention every day — playing, walking, grooming, enrichment or petting.
- Ignore unwanted behavior as much as possible and reward desired behavior. This may look like giving praise and affection when they’re playing quietly with their own toys or dropping a treat near them when they chew on a bone. Begin to redirect unwanted behaviors to more appropriate outlets. For example, if your dog is chewing on the coffee table, redirect them to a hard toy or chew to gnaw on instead. If needed, block off access to the coffee table.
- Implement training sessions using positive reinforcement methods. These will teach your dog important behaviors while also strengthening your bond. This includes teaching your dog the “drop it” cue. This cue can be used when they pick up an “off-limits” object. You’ll say, “drop it,” and praise them for doing so. Teach “drop it” by practicing having them exchange a toy for a special treat.
What Not to Do
The most effective and humane way to teach a dog how to behave is through positive reinforcement. Punishment is rarely effective and can make behavior challenges worse.
- Never discipline your dog. Show them what to do instead and reward that. For example, don’t discipline them if they have your new shoe in their mouth. Offer a very tasty treat along with the cue “drop it,” and praise them for trading the shoe for the treat.
- If you discover an item your dog has chewed minutes or even seconds after they’re finished, it’s too late to respond to the behavior. Just take note of what to do next time and clean up the mess.
- Dogs don’t feel guilt. They do try to diffuse tension with their body language — like cowering, running away or hiding — when they feel threatened by an angry tone of voice, body posture or facial expression. Your dog doesn’t know they've done something wrong — they only know that you’re upset.
- If you catch your dog chewing on something they shouldn’t, invite them to do something entirely different, like go for a walk or play with a different toy, and reward any behaviors that involve them leaving the inappropriate item. By not drawing attention to the unwanted behavior, we don't unintentionally add value to it!
More Behavior & Training Resources
San Diego Humane Society offers training classes and resources to address a variety of needs for companion animals.
Our training philosophy is based on the behavioral science concepts of positive reinforcement. Training your pet using these concepts will not only help them learn new behaviors more quickly, but it will also strengthen the bond you share.
Please visit our website for a current schedule of training classes or call 619-279-5961.