The Use of Chew Toys

The Use of Chew Toys in Dog Training

Many pet owners give chew-toys to their puppies hoping that their puppies will not chew up their good shoes, table legs, couches, etc.

But unknown to them, chew-toys are the number one cause of destructive chewing.

Probably below are the common 'misconceptions' pet owners have for giving chew-toys to their dogs:

1. It's instinctive for a puppy to chew

Since he's going to chew on "something", it is better to give him a chew-toy and not our new shoes.

It is the instinctive nature for a puppy to chew. As human, we will instinctively pick up a new object to feel it; a puppy will investigate a new object by first smelling it, followed by chewing on the object to see if it's good for eating.

So it is unrealistic to get rib of such instinctive behaviour in our dogs. However, what we can do is to modify or control this behaviour by enhancing and strengthening desirable behaviours and diminishing and suppressing undesirable ones.

2. Chew-toys relieve boredom

Often a puppy chews things because he's bored, so it's better for him to chew on a nylon bone (chew-toy) when he gets bored.

But so is chewing a table leg. Think of it this way if your dog is going to chew to relieve boredom, guess what's going to happen when he gets bored and his chew toy is in another room and your shoe happens to be handy?

3. Puppies need chew-toys to develop their teeth and jaws

This is totally a misconception! By feeding a good diet to your puppy, including raw bones, your puppy will NOT need to chew nylon or rawhide to develop his teeth and jaws.

The Remedy

It is important to remember that from the time you bring your puppy home, you have to teach him not to put his teeth on anything that isn't food.

If he picks up a stick in the back yard and chews or plays with it, say nothing. But once he is inside the house, tells him firmly to "leave it" if the item he picks up is not food. Then make sure help him to change his focus to something else.

By doing this, we are helping the dog to suppress his instinct to chew.

Yes, your puppy will still get bored sometimes. But since nobody ever taught him to chew to relieve boredom, he will not chew to relieve his boredom.

So is there any a legitimate use for toys?

Toys such as canvas dummies, bird wings, Frisbees, and especially balls, are invaluable training aids. Very often toys like ball can be used to motivate a dog in his training routines and for bond building between you and the dog during play sessions. But we must always remember that the ball is not his. It's yours. So after playing or training, always remember to take the ball away from your dog. In doing so, you are getting your dog to relate to you and not the ball. That way, the ball and the play session become a strong motivator. By leaving the ball with him all the time, your puppy would have little interest in playing with it and you would lose your best means of motivating him.

So, there are legitimate uses for toys, but certainly not for chew-toys.

And remember to praise your dog abundantly when he does the right thing!

You Can Do It!

Kum Chee
A Happy Dog Lover and Owner

Chewing Problem?

How To Deal With Your Dog's Chewing Problem?

Before we deal with the problem of chewing, we must first understand why dogs want to chew. Reasons include:

It is therefore unrealistic or improper to completely stop a dog from chewing. The challenge is to redirect his attention to chew on proper things like his toys, etc, instead of improper items like the furniture in the house, clothing, etc.

Attention Redirection

To redirect your dog to chew on proper things, remember the following tips:

1. Use hard plastic bones or hard rubber toys.
• If your dog does not like the taste of his plastic bones, try soak it for 15 minutes every day in chicken or beef broth.
• Try putting little cheese or peanut butter in the center of the rubber toys for him lick and chew on
• Make the toy a primary source of interaction between you and your dog during play times
• When your dog is chewing on his toys, praise him abundantly but never distracting or stopping him from his chewing
2. Avoid chew toys that are similar to the types of things you do not want your dog to chew, example fabric chew toys as you do not want him to chew on your carpet, clothing or couch cushions.
3. Avoid toys with moving parts or pieces that can be broken off as it can be accidentally ingested by your dog.

Avoid using real bones as the bones can leave a scent on the floor or carpet which can become a delicious meat-scented items for your dog after the bones are gone.

Once your dog starts to focus his attention on his chew toys, he will chew less on items that you want him to avoid.

During the period of training your dog on chewing appropriate items, remember:

1. Prevent him from having any unsupervised access to inappropriate items like your clothings, etc
2. Keep him on leash
3. Before allowing your dog into the house, remove all the inappropriate items such as shoes, clothings, books left on the floor, tissue paper, etc
4. In the event that he grabs something you don’t want him to have, quickly say ‘No’ and gently pull him away from the object he’s chewing on
5. Immediately give him his chew toys, and praise him when he starts to chew on his toys for two seconds

In the event that your dog continues to return to a specific item that you do not want him to chew on, consider:

1. Use a chew repellent like Bitter Apple
2. Spray lightly on the item
3. The horrible taste from the Bitter Apple coupled with your reprimand of ‘No’ and replacing with his chewing toy will eventually communicate the right message to your dog
4. Most chew repellent evaporates fairly quickly, remember to spray the item several times a day. You may have to test the spray in a small area of the item to ensure that the spray does not stain or damage your item

Before your dog is properly trained to refrain from chewing inappropriate items, consider keeping him in a crate whenever you are not around.

Nutrition

In addressing your dog’s chewing problem, consider giving him a high quality premium kibble to make sure that he is not chewing due to nutritional deficiencies. Also he will get a lot of satisfaction from eating and chewing his kibble.

Exercise

It is important to give your dog adequate exercise. A dog that has adequate exercise will tend to chew less

And remember to praise your dog abundantly when he does the right thing!

You Can Do It!

Kum Chee
A Happy Dog Lover and Owner