Have you ever found one of your shoes thorn to sheds by your little pal? Or does your puppy constantly chew on your socks? Many people don’t realise that, besides it being fun and entertaining, chewing is actually very healthy for dogs. Newborn puppies chew on things to explore their new world and to discover new smells and different textures. Once a puppy has hit the age of four months they will need to chew in order to get rid of their baby teeth. Besides using chewing as an outlet for excess energy, older dogs also use it to make their teeth stronger and healthier.

The fact that your dog is chewing isn’t the problem. The problem is that your dog doesn’t know the difference between your stuff and their own stuff. The best approach to stop your dog from chewing your stuff is to get special dog chews and toys which are very different than your common possessions. For example, if you give your dog an old shoe, he won’t understand the difference between your good shoes and your old shoes and is more likely to start chewing on either of them.

The worst approach, unless you catch your dog in the actual act of chewing your possessions, is to punish him. If you punish your dog afterwards, he will get confused to why you’re punishing him and it will only cause him to fear you.

As dogs want to please their owners, the training they are most likely to respond to is to praise. When your dog is chewing on something they are not allowed to chew on, use the command “drop that” or “no”. Finally, offer him something he is allowed to chew on and reward him with a treat or praise.