Think of all the things your dog is NOT allowed to chew…chair legs, cell phones, TV remotes, your children’s toys…. the list goes on forever. And yet, somehow we expect our pooches to know these things are not to be chewed on, while maybe a half dozen other items ARE allowed to be chewed on. How does the dog know the difference?

Dogs can learn the difference but they don’t know it automatically, we have to teach them. However, if we had to teach them each and every item they were not allowed to chew on that would take years! So here are three easy things you can do to prevent inappropriate chewing, and increase appropriate chewing!

1. Manage the Environment: Put away things you don’t want your dog to chew on. This may seem obvious, but really a dog can’t be expected to pick out his bone from a pile of kid’s toys on the floor. This also means a new dog or a puppy must be supervised especially when learning house rules to prevent mistakes. If mistakes are prevented, the dog never gets into the habit of chewing the TV remote in the first place!

2. Get Him Hooked on Food Stuffed Toys!: This part is easy, introduce your puppy/dog to a Kong or similar heavy rubber toy, stuffed with tasty treats. I use a mix of dry food, “Superior Chunky” dog roll, and small pieces of cheese! Sometimes I add boiled chicken breast or freeze dried liver. Give these toys to your dog whenever you leave him alone or whenever you want to be left alone for awhile! If you are concerned about weight, then use half his meal ration instead of treats.

3. Trading Up: In a dog’s world, if something is in your mouth it is yours. So if you haven’t trained a solid “Drop-it” cue don’t expect your dog to understand that he should give you his hard sought prize (TV remote excavated from the couch cushions) just because you asked for it. Without a good Drop-it cue you are only setting yourself up for a game of chase, which hardly solves your problem. So if you have waivered from the “supervision  at all times” rule, and your new dog just found your cell phone on a chair at perfect doggie-nose-level, then you are much better off pretending you don’t care about the cell phone, grab a dog biscuit, and offer a quick trade. Say “Drop-it” as he loosens his jaws to drop the phone and take the treat. Then don’t forget to PRAISE him! Praise is a powerful motivation to many dogs and the treat will only reinforce how wonderful it is to give you things.