Translated by Nick R
Is your dog destroying your things and you don’t know what to do? You should know that this occurs in most homes.
Think about the great responsibility you are taking on when you decide to have a pet. You must have the time and patience to train your furry friend.
Here I’ll explain the reasons why your dog causes a mess in your house and how to fix it.
Table of Contents
Reasons why your dog bites and destroys everything at home
Several reasons can lead your dog to bite and damage furniture, plants, clothes or various things in your home.
Puppies
It is quite natural for your pet to bite everything if it is still a puppy, as this is its way to recognize its environment.
In addition, its gums may be sore due to the teeth change, this sensation will make your puppy look for objects to bite and soothe itself.
Baby teeth fall out between 5 to 9 months of age. Maybe you haven’t noticed it because puppies usually swallow their teeth, but this will be the reason why they love chewing on different objects.
Recommendation: If that’s the case, buy toys of different textures so that your puppy doesn’t get bored of chewing the same toy all the time.
Every time you see it chewing something it shouldn’t, just take it away and give it one of its toys; there is no need to punish it,
Separation anxiety
Dogs are very social and one of the most frequent behavior problems is because of this.
It’s very easy that your canine becomes attached to you, especially if you two spent a lot of time together when it joined the family.
Here is where the problem comes, separation anxiety is a behavioral problem of dogs that manifests when they are left alone or are away from a person very important to them.
This causes the dog to bite whatever it finds in its path due to anxiety.
According to a study by the University of Helsinki in Philadelphia, in which 13,715 dogs of different breeds were analyzed, 72.5% of dogs had behavioral problems related to anxiety.
Here, of course, they took into account anxiety or stress when meeting other dogs and people, or fear to loud noises, but we can realize that canines carry more stress than we imagine.
Symptoms
The symptoms that appear in a dog with separation anxiety can be:
- It smashes furniture
- Excessive whining or vocalizing
- Doing his needs inside the house
- Vomiting
- Self-injury
As we know that nobody wants to go through this, we have 7 tips to reduce stress and anxiety in your dog.
Habits
Dogs love to nibble, this is how they explore and interact with their environment, and chewing helps them release stress.
If your dog is already an adult and keeps chewing everything, most probably it hasn’t received the proper training to stop doing it.
As I said before, it could be due to separation anxiety, but it also depends on how long your pet has been behaving like that without any correction.
It may be difficult to get it out of that habit, although not impossible.
That’s why you may be interested in the first habits to teach your dog.
Tips to prevent your dog from chewing everything at home
Whether your pet has separation anxiety, is a puppy or has had the habit of chewing for a long time, here are 13 tips to stop this behavior.
Take your dog for a walk
Walking your dog outside several times a day is important, not only to relieve himself, but also to stimulate it both physically and mentally.
Don’t just go for a walk, find a park where you can play with your pet, take its toys or snacks and teach it some tricks, make sure it runs and has fun.
This is also important for socializing with other dogs.
All it will want to do when coming home after having fun is rest, so you can leave without worrying about the mess.
Create a routine
Creating a routine is essential to give your dog security and confidence.
Have schedules for walking, eating, and playing. This won’t only create a more comfortable environment for your pet, but it will also prevent stress and anxiety, since it will know when it’s time for each thing.
This will avoid the uncertainty that comes from not knowing when you are coming home, when to eat or when to go out.
Therefore, create a routine according to your time and your dog’s needs. A puppy needs to go out about 5 times a day (if it has already received all its vaccinations), since they have a lot of energy, plus they will want to relieve themselves several times a day (if you want to teach them to do it outside). An adult dog will need at least three outings a day.
For example, if you decided to take him for a walk at 7 am, do it at the same hour from now on, by the time you realize it, your dog will be used to it.
When I started working on a schedule with Amber as a puppy, she adapted in about two weeks, and in fact, she is the one who woke me up to feed her and take her out.
If you leave early in the morning for work, you can take it outside to relieve itself and get some exercise, and before leaving, make sure you feed it. Then in the afternoon, take it out again; if you can’t, ask a friend or relative to help you.
And finally in the evening, when coming home, you can take it out first and then feed it, or feed it, let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes and then go out.
Games for pets
Physical activity is a must, but you also need to stimulate your pet mentally and get him distracted when he is left home alone.
Interactive toys
There are several toys that help to mentally stimulate your pet. So that your dog doesn’t get bored and stressed when alone, you can buy one of those toys to keep it entertained for a while.
You may have heard of the famous “Kong” toy for dogs. This is basically a rubber toy with a hole in it, you fill it with snacks and give it to your dog so it tries to get what you have put inside.
You can also find this kind of games in other presentations that will make your dog use its sense of smell, paws, and snout to get rewards.
Rewards around the house
Before leaving the house you can hide various treats for your dog around the house; this will keep it busy for a while.
You can use snacks, toys, or flavored bones that you can find in any pet store.
Keep in mind that you must choose the places where to hide the treats carefully. Don’t hide them in high places because there could be an accident. You can also build dog games if you want.
Dog training
Basic training, at least in basic commands, not only will make you feel more confident but will give more security to your pet.
In addition, training will create a better bond between you both and make your dog behave better socially.
Behavior problems can be addressed and solved many times with the training you have given your furry friend.
Before you leave home and leave it alone, practice easy tricks such as “sit”, “greet”, “lie down” or “stay still” with it, as it can consider a game. Read these 15 easy tricks for housetraining your dog.
Locking yourself in your room
If your dog is too attached to you, always wants to be with you, and gets stressed when alone, you can do the following:
Don’t spend all your time with your dog when you’re at home, once in a while lock yourself in your room and leave your dog outside.
It may cry and growl at the door, but you shouldn’t listen to it, your dog should get used to spending time alone quietly.
Do this until your dog no longer cares about it.
Time your dog spends alone
How much time do you leave your furry friend alone?
It’s clear we cannot spend all our time with our pets. We must work, study or go out for some reason and leave them alone.
But, you should not leave your canine alone for too many hours, they also need to go out, interact with people, and other dogs, exercise and have fun.
So, if you leave them alone all day, it’s normal for them to look for something to relieve stress, such as chewing and damaging furniture or other objects.
If for some reason, you cannot go home for several hours or you don’t have time to go out with your dog, it is advisable to leave it with a friend, family member, or neighbor or you can pay a dog walker to take it out in the street.
Remember that a pet is a great responsibility, they have needs that must be covered for a happy and full life.
Vick Vaporub or lemon wedges
This tip is secondary, it can be useful, but you must do it together with the other recommendations I have told you since it may not be as effective in some dogs.
Spread some Vick Vaporub (which is an ointment or ointment for nasal decongestion with menthol smell) on the furniture or on the objects that your pet likes to bite the most; they won’t like the smell and will avoid going near those areas. Their sense of smell is very sensitive.
Now, if your dog likes to go to the kitchen and look for what to eat, leave him some traps.
Place lemon pieces around the kitchen or on the counter (if your dog climbs on it), they usually hate the bitter taste and after finding this several times in the kitchen, they will probably stop looking for something to eat.
Repellents
Dog repellents serve the same function as Vick Vaporub, and you can get them at pet stores.
They usually come in spray, you just have to spray where your dog usually bites, damages or even the places where you don’t want it to relieve itself.
This will limit the spaces for your pet in the house, but remember that it must be accompanied by the other tips, this is only a complement in the process of educating your pet.
Don’t punish your dog back home
You get home and the first thing you see is the mess your dog has made, you may want to scold it to make it understand, but this won’t work.
You didn’t catch him red-handed, so scolding it won’t make it understand what he has done, and the only thing you will achieve is to make it fear the moment you get home since you scold him as soon as you walk through the door.
It won’t do any good to instill fear, it won’t teach your dog to behave properly.
Just pick up the mess, and the minute you see it chewing on something he shouldn’t, just tell him “No” in a loud tone and replace the object with one of its toys.
When my little dog was little, she damaged several furniture pieces, in fact, she completely trashed the couch we had at the time. So, what we did was buy different toys, with different textures, and play with her until she learned to only chew on them.
At some point, they will understand that this is just for them and associate it with play, which is a positive thing. This way they will put aside furniture, shoes, and other objects in the house.
It may take a little time, but it is simply a matter of patience and consistency.
Limit the space
Don’t leave all the rooms at your pet’s disposal when leaving the house.
It’s true that your pet needs a good amount of space to feel comfortable and avoid stressing out, but limiting the space while it learns not to do damage is very important. The more access it has to the whole house, the more objects to destroy it has at its mercy.
Close off bathrooms and bedrooms, and leave your pet in the living room, with its toys, food, and water.
If a room doesn’t have a door, but you don’t want it to enter while you’re not at home, you can put an object through the door to keep it out, such as a painting.
Hide these objects that it usually bites.
Cage for dogs
Some people see leaving your dog in a crate as something bad for its mental stability, but it can help to teach it not to wreck things, and also if at some point you have to travel with it; it will be a safe way to transport it.
Teach the dog to enter the cage in a positive way. Put several treats inside the cage, either snacks or his favorite toys to motivate your pet to enter the cage.
There are different types of cages, either a spacious one for your dog to play with or a cage to transport it when going to the vet or when going on a trip.
You must be sure your dog can stand upright inside the cage and move around comfortably, it should be twice as wide as your furry one. Also, take into account that your dog should not be able to open it and that it is resistant.
They can be made of plastic, wood, or metal.
In the beginning, it will probably avoid entering completely and will reach the treats only by stretching its head, but as time goes by, it will gain confidence.
Once it gets to the cage without any problem, we will start to close it. You can give it treats from the outside, after a while let your dog out so it doesn’t get stressed.
Then you can use the “Kong” toy and introduce prizes inside, so it can have fun inside the cage.
Note: Do not use the cage as a punishment, associate it with positive things like playing. This way it’ll learn to spend time alone.
Don’t leave it in the cage for long periods of time, it will help to avoid anxiety. Your dog needs more space to move around if it’s going to be alone for many hours.
Dog Schools
If, after all, you don’t have enough time to train it, take your dog outside as many times as necessary, or simply if the training at home hasn’t been successful, you can opt for a dog school.
Of course, it will be more expensive than training it on your own, but it still is a very good option where your dog can learn basic commands, socialize with other canines and also help you to change improper behavior your dog may have.
For example, biting and damaging objects at home, aggressiveness, territoriality or others.
In these centers, you can even train your furry friends to compete and show their skills in more advanced tricks.
Contact your veterinarian
If, after all, your dog continues to have this behavior, it’s necessary to take it to the veterinarian to find the best treatment, sometimes therapy with medication is necessary.
