Suddenly, that adorable new puppy seems more like a baby shark. Your feet, your furniture and even your walls are all falling prey to those razor sharp little teeth. Are you doomed to spend your life covered in bandaids and sitting on the remaining half of your sofa cushion? Well, while you won’t be able to completely stop your puppy from chewing, you can stop him from chewing everything you own.

Teach Your Puppy Proper Chewing Manners
If you leave a chewing puppy to roam at will, it can destroy your home very fast. It is important that pet owners understand that teaching dogs chewing manners is as important as housebreaking them.

Why Do Puppies Chew?
Many people feel that when a puppy is left for a longer period of time with its siblings and mother, it will be less likely to chew on its new owner’s possessions. Studies have shown that puppies that are taken from their mothers and siblings before eight weeks of age do exhibit more aggressive forms of chewing than puppies that were taken from their mothers at 10 weeks of older.
Why? Probably because there is nothing like being scolded by your mother, even if your mother is a dog. When puppies start cutting their teeth and start to chew on their mothers, they are quickly scolded with a painful nip. Mother dogs will not tolerate being a chew toy to their puppies. If nipping the young pup doesn’t curb the pup’s desire to chew, the mother dog will leave the area and force the puppy to be alone. Puppies soon learn that chewing is not tolerated.
When puppies find that their mothers won’t put up with their chewing, they usually start taking their aggression out on their litter mates. When they hear a yelp from their siblings, they are shocked to discover they were the cause of the yelp. When the offending pup is nipped in return, or if its litter mates refuse to play with it, the chewing pup learns again that biting and chewing is not tolerated or acceptable.

Dealing With a Chewing Puppy
If you come home to find your expensive pillows torn to shreds or your nice leather shoes torn apart, it can be very frustrating. If you have a puppy that likes to chew, it usually won’t stop at your possessions. The pup may also try to chew on your toes, fingers and clothing. It is important to understand that all puppies will go through a teething stage, much like human infants. Expecting a puppy to not chew is virtually impossible, especially when it doesn’t see a difference between your nice new belt and a chew toy.

In fact, if your puppy is feeling lonely when you are gone, the scent of your personal possessions will probably be more intriguing to it than a bone or chew toy. Understanding that all puppies will go through a teething and chewing process is important. However, you must teach your dog chewing manners. If you do not, it will never learn boundaries and everything in your home will be up for grabs.

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