Is Your Dog Chewing Your Shoes?
by Friends of the Dog
by Friends of the Dog
When you arrive home and find your favourite, and probably more expensive shoes have just become your dog’s favourite chew toy, odds are your not just going to ignore it! You may very well have a temper tantrum and shout at your dog, even resorting to smacking.
Will temper tantrums and shouting work?
No, especially if your dog is no longer chewing your shoes! Dogs are beings that live in the moment and if any type of punishment is given, it must be ‘while the dog is engaged in the inappropriate activity’, of the ‘correct’ intensity, and must occur ‘each and every time’ the dog is caught in the act.
If you do have a situation such as this and call your dog to you to reprimand him, all you are doing is damaging your current relationship. As above, dogs live in the ‘now’ and he would associate the reprimand of actually coming to you, rather than what he was engaged in 5 minutes before! If you do come home and find that your dog is busy chewing again - walk away, then pick up a newspaper, roll it up tightly and hit yourself over the head, for not finding out why the behaviour is happening and taking the steps to stop it happening!
So, what can be done?
We give you some ideas below, plus do bear in mind, that chewing actually helps a dog to release stress. Chewing has a calming and comforting effect on the adrenal-pituitary area in the brain. Chewing actually triggers the release of various endorphins and helps the dog to reduce anxiety and stress, as well as relieve boredom.
We also suggest that you teach your dog to Fetch and Retrieve and item and also how to Swap the item so that you don’t end up with the situation of your dog running away from you!
So in ending, determine why your dog is engaging in this inappropriate activity (to you at least!) and try the ideas mentioned – good luck!
Will temper tantrums and shouting work?
No, especially if your dog is no longer chewing your shoes! Dogs are beings that live in the moment and if any type of punishment is given, it must be ‘while the dog is engaged in the inappropriate activity’, of the ‘correct’ intensity, and must occur ‘each and every time’ the dog is caught in the act.
If you do have a situation such as this and call your dog to you to reprimand him, all you are doing is damaging your current relationship. As above, dogs live in the ‘now’ and he would associate the reprimand of actually coming to you, rather than what he was engaged in 5 minutes before! If you do come home and find that your dog is busy chewing again - walk away, then pick up a newspaper, roll it up tightly and hit yourself over the head, for not finding out why the behaviour is happening and taking the steps to stop it happening!
So, what can be done?
We give you some ideas below, plus do bear in mind, that chewing actually helps a dog to release stress. Chewing has a calming and comforting effect on the adrenal-pituitary area in the brain. Chewing actually triggers the release of various endorphins and helps the dog to reduce anxiety and stress, as well as relieve boredom.
- Management – yes that’s right, put the shoes where they belong – in the cupboard and restrict dog access to this place, and supply the dog with the appropriate chew toys.
- Management – put on a few drops of pure Citronella oil onto the sole of the shoes. Use the citronella that comes in the small dark bottles, not one mixed with oils of any kind. The majority of dogs do not like the scent and taste of Citronella oil, and tend to back away from it. However, there are the odd dogs that do not mind Citronella oil, and if this is the case, then rather get hold of a pet deterrent product from your local vet shop.
- Dogs tend to engage in behaviours such as this for varying reasons, and below may give you an indication as to why your dog is chewing your shoes and some idea as to what you can do.
- Easy access if the shoes are left lying around or on a shoe rack with no door. Think about shoes from your dog’s point of view – easy to access, just the right size, the wonderful smell, and also the consistency – from soft chewy types to those of leather which last so much longer. They can be tossed in the air easily and chased after, and an extra bonus for the dog is when they contain shoelaces – perhaps like the tail of a rodent?
- Teething – this really can be a painful time and chewing is more likely to occur, so do ensure that the pup is being given constant access to chew toys, especially those that can be stuffed with delicious goodies.
- Boredom/Frustration - Supply varied chew toys such as Kong and Busy Buddy and anything that can be stuffed. Vary often, and change the stuffing that is used.
- Lack of social interaction – ensure that your dog is receiving more than sufficient social interaction with the family. Some dogs will actually engage in the inappropriate behaviour in order to receive attention, even if it is being shouted at – attention to a dog is attention, whether it is negative or positive!
- Not enough walks – a dog’s sense of smell can be up to 45 times stronger than our own, and being able to scent and smell to a dog is a need, not just something nice that happens once a week. Even if you have a big garden, a dog needs to scent new smells. Even if you can slot in ten minutes once a day – this does not have to be a long walk – just let the dog walk at its own pace and scent and smell as much as he wants too – the walk is for the dog, not for you!
- Insufficient mental stimulation – just as we need to be mentally stimulated, so too do our dogs. It really is not necessary to spend much money on this either, we have supplied you with an article at the bottom which will give you lots of ideas for both mental and additional stimulation.
- Separation Anxiety. If the chewing is ONLY occurring when you are not home, there is a chance that separation anxiety may have occurred. This needs to be dealt with separately, and we have supplied you with an article at the bottom that will give your some information on separation anxiety, signs, what to do etc.
We also suggest that you teach your dog to Fetch and Retrieve and item and also how to Swap the item so that you don’t end up with the situation of your dog running away from you!
So in ending, determine why your dog is engaging in this inappropriate activity (to you at least!) and try the ideas mentioned – good luck!
How to stop your dog resource guarding objects, including teaching him to 'swap' - saves your fingers!
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Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not come with an innate ability to fetch and return items to us - here is how to teach same in a simple and easy manner.
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Sep anxiety is the last thing you want your dog to develop! Have a look if your dog is showing any signs of developing and how to change the behaviour.
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