Why Puppies Love To Chew
Dogs need to chew, especially when they are young. Provide safe and fun items to play with and to chew and encourage you dog to use them. Remember, if you dog is chewing on his toy at least he is not destroying something more valuable around the house.
All puppies chew and we cannot and should not stop it. The trick is to direct your puppy to the right object to chew on like one of his toys, hence distracting him from chewing valuable things. So what does your puppy like to chew? Young puppies usually prefer soft objects whereas older puppies prefer hard objects.
Most puppies like something with some flexibility to them which is why they are interested in indestructible toys rather than something they can destroy easily. All items that you allow your puppies to chew must be safe to put in his mouth.
Puppies also love attention. If the puppy settles down to chew his toy the owner usually ignores him. However, if your pup picks up the TV remote control, we shout and chase them so he becomes the center of attention and has a great game. If you were a puppy, which would you rather chew on?
You should be rewarding good behavior so when you see you puppy chewing on the right object then go to him and give him some attention. At first keep interesting but forbidden items out of your puppy's reach. Children toys, pens and cigarette lighters are all fascinating for puppies and easy for them to pick up.
You may make a mistake and your puppy will pick up something he shouldn't ' but don't over react. If it is nothing particularly important then it is a good idea to ignore your puppy but still keeping an eye on him. We don't want to give him attention and thank him for objects he shouldn't be playing with.
If he is playing with something that he really shouldn't be or it is dangerous then calmly go over and remove it from him. There is no point in telling him to 'drop' as he won't understand. Remember, do not be cross, its not his fault, just praise him for giving it to you and put the object safely away.
