How do I get my dog to stop chewing?

Dogs get bored or stressed and look for something to do. Its no good just leaving toys for him, everything is a toy as far as he knows!

Confine him to one room with a child step through safety gate or stable door, and dog proof the area.

Have some high value toys he only gets when you're out.

Walk him for a good hour before you go, have some ball games to tire him out.

Be off hand and cool when you get back. Not really pleased to see him and not disapproving! Just take him out to the bathroom. Don't patrol the area looking for damage - trust me, he DOESN'T know he's 'done the wrong thing', all he knows is you get home and wig out. Its submissive behaviour and it means 'please don't be mad at me'.

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He will chew because young dogs chew and he is bored when alone.

At that age there is pretty much no alternative to a crate unless you have a room which you can dog proof. I've tried it. I've tried those balls which dispense food to keep the dog occupied, I've tried giving a dog a nice bone to chew, I've tried giving new toys. The only thing which kind of works if my dog isn't left alone for too long if he had some good exercise before he is left alone like playing for at least an hour with other young dogs in the dog park.

When he gets older and mellows out you probably will be able to leave him alone, but that will be a few years.

I faced a nightmare with my lab mix.hes now 11 months old. He chewed everythjng he corrupted my house. Hwever i realized that if i walk him more than 2 hrs a day i can go out at night knowing that my dog will be in a coma lol. I get him also chewing bones. I used to put him in the corredor however he broke down the door.but ever since i let him roam in the house i leave all his toys around and i leave him a big bone with addition to the 3 hour walk and then i leave and come back my dog would still be sleeping. Try it

Puppies chew. It is smart to crate them while you are away to not only prevent the destruction of your property, but also to ensure that the puppy doesn't chew anything that will make them sick, or choke on something. You really can't punish them unless you catch them in the act. With my doberman, the only way I was able to curb her was to leave a big enough rawhide bone out that there would still be some left by the time that I returned home.

Hi, we have a beagle and she chews stuff also, if you go to your pet store, you can get 'pet spray' and it repulses them against chewing things, you spray whatever he is chewing, it took about 3 weeks for mine to stop, but she does not chew anything anymore :) maybe try it, should work :)

There is a general assumption made by humans that puppies will automatically cope with extended periods of separation but this is not true. You have to train your pup to cope with being home alone.

poggle has the best ideas about toys designed to keep your pup occupied while you pop out for an hour or two. Also don't let him have all of his toys all the time, put most away & rotate a selection of them every week for a fresh 'new' interesting set. Concentrating on different textures, noises & scents.

While a dog being crated for the whole time you're out is not acceptable, you could confine him to one room like the kitchen. He doesn't need the whole house to get up to mischief in while you're away from home & being uber tidy is not always an option but 1 room to tidy & check for chewable objects is doable.

Start your training by preparing an interactive toy with some food & give it to your dog in his bed/open crate. watch him until he's fully absorbed in playing with it then quietly leave the room. After 10 minutes come back in but don't speak to the dog just check visually that he's still happy with the toy. Do this 2 or 3 separate times a day, everyday & judging by his behaviour make the absences a few minutes longer until you can actually leave the house without him being disturbed. Try not to make a big thing about leaving the house either, just pick up your coat & bag & leave. Make coming home the same low key affair. If he gets silly & excitable when you return don't speak to him, simply ignore him & turn your back until he's exhibiting an acceptable behaviour like sitting in his bed. At that point you can casually walk over & give him a pat or a stroke as a reward.

If he's very excitable you may do better with clicker training as it's much easier to mark the behaviour you want & ignore the bad behaviour.

Once he's happy to stay in the kitchen while you're out you could try giving him access to the other ground floor rooms but stop him going upstairs to access your beds. He has no need to be in bedrooms. A child gate may well be enough to keep him contained but gives him a view out of the room. Choose one that is hung like a gate so you can pass through it easily or it will be a right pain.

Lots of owners leave the radio or TV on while they are out & you can get special DVDs full of things a dog might be interested in watching.

Your pup should have stopped teething by now with the molars being the last teeth to be replaced so that kind of need to chew is just not an issue. Give him a toy that is suitable for him to chew on. Do not give more than 1 at a time because the dog may not distinguish between it & other 'chewable' objects like shoes. By limiting his choice of toys you keep the value of each toy higher & he doesn't get bored with them so easily.

You need to find a rack or box or container & keep your shoes inside where your dog cannot get at them. Be ultra tidy & keep things like clothes, coats & bags picked up & put away, so that you don't have any more chewing disasters. The pup doesn't know why you're shouting, just that you came in & were cross - which doesn't help with separation anxiety.

Find a decorative box or bowl for the living room table to keep all the remote controls & phone handsets in away from inquisitive teeth & something similar for the hallway to keep keys in out of pup's reach. These are the most important things to keep away from damaging puppy teeth.

When you return home do not make a big fuss of your dog just be very calm, almost ignore him & let him out to toilet.

put bitter spray on all your things that he is chewing

I find plenty of toys and time to play helps

maybe he wants attention