Puppies are so adorable, with their fuzzy little coat of fur, winsome eyes, natural curiosity, loving ways and playfulness. However, there is a caveat here. One of the down sides of this bundle of cuteness is that puppies absolutely love to chew.
Well, one cannot blame the puppy as chewing is its inherent habit. When your kids present you with their favorite stuffed toy or a beloved pair of shoes torn to pieces, you realize that it is high time to put an end to your puppies chewing syndrome.
Before you embark on an anti-chewing puppy project, you should first understand the need and reason behind his obsessive habit. The main reason might be because he is teething and trying to relieve the pain by chewing on anything that takes his fancy.
Because of their high sense of smell they might want to have a go at the objects which has lingering scents of the family members or they might be trying to ascertain their position in the family. Or, he might be chewing with enthusiasm just because he does not have anything else of interest to do. Whatever the reason, if you do not put a stop to this bothersome behavior, your puppy will never outgrow his chewing syndrome.
You first step to break his behavior is to go for a shopping trip to a pet shop. Shop for some puppy toys that he will love to chew like fake bones, knotted sisal ropes and hard rubber balls. Once you have these with you, you just have to teach him all these goodies are his to chew and everything else is taboo.
Let him have a go at these toys and allow him to chew to his hearts content. But the minute you see him eyeing one of your shoes or other household items, round him up and admonish him with the phrase Bad Dog! or a firm No!. This phrase will register in his mind and you can use it later to train him for other behaviours.
The only punishment meted to your puppy should be the disapproval or censure in you tone. You can then quarantine him with his toys for a certain period of time. The restricted area can be a fancy dog crate or a simple cardboard box large enough to fit him. When you train your puppy with this simple technique, he will soon come to know what he can and cannot chew on!
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