Are you aware of the damage caused by separation anxiety on your dog? Whenever you leave your dog alone at home, and return to witness the actual damage made by your dog’s destructive behavior.
Either it’s a garbage bag across the floor, chewing the furniture and carpets, electronic equipment in pieces, or even unhygienic urinating in different places.
It doesn’t matter how much we love and care for our dog; seeing this behavior is always frustrating. Why not when you welcome a new home appliance by clearing the pocket and ripping it into pieces within days?
Many pet owner believe this unethical behavior is happening when their dog isn’t getting enough attention, which is absolute right, but it’s not stop here. Some dog may show their Destructive behavior when they’re bored or under-stimulated, and other may be triggered by fear and anxiety.
In this blog, we’re helping those pet owners who are searching for the answer to “how to get your dog to stop chewing everything”.
But before, let’s explore;
Table of Contents
Possible Reason of Dog’s Destructive Behavior
According to petMD, a dog’s destructive behavior has different motivations. Depending on their breed and size, dog’s destructive behavior can vary. Also, how they’re approaching to destroy things will matter to know the exact reason for your dog’s behavior. Since a dog’s destructive behavior can reflect their actions, emotions, and response to a particular situation.
- Anxiety
Oftentimes, dog dealing with separation anxiety tend to chew for relieving stress level, especially when no one around. Along with another signs like barking, whining, urinating and defecating, they mostly end with chewing furniture or your favourite shoes, that you brought after waiting a long time.Â
Understanding how to reduce separation anxiety is important to deal with this destructive behavior. If you’re looking for how to help my dog with separation anxiety, here’s the link for detail information.
- Lack of physical and mental stimulation
We’re much aware of how much dogs need to be active for ethical behavior, and the same applies to control the destructive behavior.
Especially in those high-energy breeds, we see more destructive behavior than compared to the other breeds. With low utilization of body energy, they seek an alternative way when you’re not at home, and end with inappropriate chewing of your belongings.
Commonly, recommended things to deal with this unethical behavior is providing a sufficient daily exercise. With a breed-specific, owners can engage in physical and mental activities to prevent potential damage of household things. You can consider to add different chew toys, and general interactive dog toys for better results. If you don’t have any yet, always prefer Hugsy Pet Nepal for a first choice.
- Boredom
Just like humans, dogs can get bored when left alone for extended periods without enough engagement. Boredom often leads to destructive behavior as a way for entertain themselves or release the unutilized energy.
When a dog is bored, they may resort to inappropriate chewing, digging, or even scratching doors and furniture. This isn’t because they’re “bad” dogs but because they’re simply looking for something to do.
To prevent boredom, it’s essential to provide enrichment activities, even when you’re not home.
- Teething
Another source of frustrating phase for owner is a Puppy teething. When a dog is in teething phase, their mosly ends with chew on anything they can sink their teeth into.
Usually between the ages of three to six months, these baby teeth starts to fall out, and adult teeth begins to emerge, causing a discomfort and soreness in their gums. Whether it’s a furniture legs to shoes and even electrical cords, nothing will be safe with a teething puppy who is on the mission to find relief.
It’s crucial to help you puppy without sacrificing your belongings, provide appropriate chew toys specifically designed for teething pups. Items like frozen carrots or specialized rubber toys can help numb the pain and satisfy their chewing instincts.
How to Get Your Dog to Stop Chewing Everything
Beside separation anxiety, there’re various reason of chewing behavior in dogs, and we’ve explored in a above sections. Now, let’s dig into a possible preventing measures of chewing behavior.
Regular exercise
We’re much aware with a effect of boredom and under-stimulation in a dog. That’s why exercise is essential for preventing these things for eliminating the chewing behavior. Before leaving them alone in home, short walking or play session can be helpful to pent-up their energy and ready them for resting.
You can make walk more interesting by taking them to walk in new places and switching up the routes. Even if it’s a regular going area, changes in routes will make a journey exciting and help to engage them mentally. If they gets enough exercise, they’re less likely to feel restless or bored, which are common triggers for destructive behavior. Activities such as daily walks, runs, or play sessions can make a significant difference.
Appropriate chew toys
Whenever you’re leaving pet alone, giving suitable chew toys to dogs is an effective way to redirect destructive chewing, and promote a healthy and acceptable activity. Dogs have a natural instinct to chew, it’s how they relive stress, ease boredom, and even maintain oral health.
By offering appropriate chew toys, you give a dog a safe outlet for this behavior while saving your belonging from destruction.
Variety of textures, shapes, and sizes can help prevent boredom and encourage your dog to focus on their toys rather than household items. Also, make sure to supervise your dogs to ensure it’s safe and appropriate for their chewing style. Choking and swallowing of small pieces are major problem seen in the puppies, which you cannot affort.
Training and redirecting
One of the effective way to prevent destructive chewing behavior is throught consistent training and redirecting. By teaching your dog what is and isn’t appropriate to chew, you can shape their behavior over time and give a new way of leaving.
Redirecting involves actively guiding your dog’s focus away from inappropriate items,such as shoes or furniture, toward acceptable alternatives like chew toys or treats.
When you catch your dog chewing something they shouldn’t, calmly interrupt the behavior by saying a firm but gentle “no,” and then immediately offer a designated chew toy. Reward them with praise or treats when they chew the appropriate item to reinforce the desired behavior.
Also, Training commands like “leave it” or “drop it” are also essential in managing chewing behavior. Regular practice of these commands helps your dog understand boundaries and builds better communication between you and your pet.
Puppy-Proof home
Creating a comfortable space of puppies is crucial from the day one of bringing them into the home, and it’s also a first step to manage their chewing behavior. If you’ve a curious puppy, you know how difficult to handle them. With a natural instinct, they prefer to explore the world with their mouths, and anything within reach can quickly become a chew target.
Puppy- proofing home involves removing or securing items that your puppy (dog) might find tempting, such as shoes, electrical cords, furniture, or other household objects. If you’re leaving you dog alone, you make sure to identify the most spend areas and thoroughly can the space with potential hazards, and remove it accordingly.
Creating dog-friendly area is an effective method for preventing a destructive behavior, and at the same time, equid this area with comfortable bedding, safe chew toys, and interactive activities to keep dog entertained and distracted from inappropriate items.
Seek Professional Help if Needed
Sometimes, dogs are victim of serious health issues, which they perfer to communicate throught their destructive behavior. Health issues such as dental problems, gastrointestinal, skin problem, ear problem or even pica, can leads to chewing behavior with a motive to get a relief of the pain. Especially these chewing behavior can be seen suddenly after getting infected with the problem, and it’s easy to notice.
Before dogs/puppy start to hurt themselves, make sure to seek professional help for better recovery.
FAQ
1. Why Is My Dog Destroying Things Around the House?
Dogs destroy things for several reasons, including boredom, anxiety, a lack of exercise, or simply being in the teething stage (for puppies). It’s a way for them to release energy or cope with stress.
2. How Can I Stop My Dog From Chewing on Furniture?
To stop your dog from chewing on furniture, provide them with plenty of chew toys, supervise them closely, and redirect their attention when they start chewing on inappropriate items. You can also use deterrent sprays designed to discourage chewing.
3. Why Does My Dog Destroy Things When Left Alone?
Destructive behavior when left alone is often a sign of separation anxiety. Your dog may become anxious or stressed when you leave, leading them to chew or destroy items to self-soothe.
4. Does Lack of Exercise Contribute to My Dog’s Destructive Behavior?
Yes, a lack of exercise is a common cause of destructive behavior. Dogs need physical and mental stimulation. Without enough exercise, they may use destructive activities as a way to release pent-up energy.
5. Is Crate Training Effective for Reducing Destructive Behavior?
Yes, crate training can be effective for reducing destructive behavior when used properly. A crate provides a safe, secure environment for your dog when you’re not home. It prevents them from accessing items they could destroy and helps with training.
Conclusion
Understanding your dog’s destructive behavior is essential to find real cause of destruction intension and addressing it. The reason may be due to anxiety, boredom, or teething, chewing on items in your home.
By providing appropriate outlets, such as exercise, mental stimulation, and chew toys, you can redirect this energy in a positive way. Training, redirection, and creating a safe environment are can makes these steps easier for managing and reducing destructive behavior.
If the behavior persists or is linked to underlying health issues, seeking professional advice from a vet or a pet behaviorist is crucial. Proactively addressing these behaviors will ensure a happier, healthier life for both you and your dog.
