photo credit: ben pollard

Continued…

5. Spending quality time supervising your dog is a must. Your dog will be bored and unhappy if you if kept penned up in a crate, run, or the yard. You need to interact with your dog. They cannot learn from you if you are not present or if they are not released to spend time outside of their dog-proofed zone. By interacting with your dog you are giving them the opportunity to explore the boundaries, this is how they will learn what’s appropriate and what’s not.

6. When you catch your dog participating in destructive chewing, make sure you interrupt with a loud noise. You could clap your hands, make an “Ah-ah-aaaah!” noise or my personal favorite shout oi! As soon as you have made the noise pass your dog a dog-appropriate alternative, it is best to make it a tasty alternative like a  rawhide bone or other chew toy. Once the dog has taken the item from you and starts to chew it give them lots of praise and attention.  There is no better way to train your dog than through positive dog training. the dog will come to understand that chewing a toy equals praise from you, but everything else means a telling off.

I hope that this little series has been informative and helps you break the destructive chewing cycle.