Help! My Dog Chews Everything!
Just like humans, dogs find joy in destruction.
Chewing is necessary function for your dogs dental health and anxiety.
With a sense of smell 100,000 times greater than ours and a mouth full of teeth built to crush. To a dog, your belongings are like Christmas presents begging to be torn apart.
Its primal & as necessary as walking. Chewing is unavoidable. Dogs are meant to chew, it removes plaque and relieves built up anxiety.
But they need to know what is legal and not legal to chew
How do you teach a dog the difference between an antler you give them and a table leg you left out?
Dogs need to chew but they are not allowed to destroy.
I preach rotation and routine, especially at first. In your daily routine, throw in one or two “chew times” a day.
What to buy.
Raw bones: Raw bones are nature’s candy (to a dog). If you have a butcher near you, develop a relationship. The draw back is that raw bone secret is out for dogs. So you need a butcher that likes you a little bit more than the rest of their customers.
Benebone: The dogs love a good Benebone. It seems unpleasant to chew but i’ve watched dogs go for them time after time. I imagine they get the weird satisfaction i get poking my gums with a toothpick. The warning here is to throw them away, because they get gross and pointy.
Barkbox Super Chewer: Barkbox is great, but you’re paying for the convenience of just knowing you’ll get great toys and healthy treats. Every box is customized to your dog and themed for that month. Is it necessary, no. Period. But it’s easy and it’s fun.
What to avoid.
Rawhides
Just believe me, don’t google it. Rawhide is leather. The reason they are so cheap is because they are so shady. Dog stuff isnt that regulated, and a lot of terrible things can be sold in places you otherwise trust.
Cooked bones.
Even though this was done a lot in the old days, we know better now.
That greasy bag you brought home from ponderosa steak house as a kid could really hurt a dog. Bones splinter, they lodge in their throat, intestines, all sorts of weird places. Plus im sure the leftover a-1 sauce soaked into the bone isn’t great for them either.
Tennis Balls
Dogs are a lot like humans in that all the best stuff isn’t that great for them. Tennis balls are built for tennis courts, and that course ball fuzz can erode a dogs teeth, especially over a lifetime
Things that they would otherwise not be allowed to have. Like an old shoe.
Don’t give your dog things they won’t be able to have later. Dogs don’t have belongings, and struggle with the concept of ownership.
Don’t give your dog stuffed animals and then expect them top stay away from your Childs toys. Either stuffs are ok or they are not.
Rules for a good ChewTime
Supervision. This is obvious but weirdly not practiced. Don’t give your dog something to chew while you are gone. Thats when they just have to relax. You want to be there while they chew in case something goes wrong. (You can google if you are a person who needs specific, ghastly examples)
Put away chews. When Chewtime is done, take the chew and put it away (in a place it won’t grow mold because its probably wet)
Nothing to destroy. So, if you break it, it goes away. If you explode stuffed animals, no stuffed animals. Plastic chews? Not if you your dog doesn’t use them right. If all your dog can handle is soft bones, than thats where you start. All that other stuff can come back in later.
