Yesterday someone asked me if I’d write a post on puppy chewing, Ive been thinking about doing it since then and writing it in my mind and then this morning when I fell asleep on the couch accidentally Beka decided to chew apart my last pair of sandals…
Out of my 3 kids Beka has chewed the least, I think thats partly because shes the oldest and partly because as bad as a chewer as the others have been Beka doesn’t seem that bad at all
If I was to list all of the things the puppies have destroyed it would be never ending, its a living and learn process which I am going to share with you so hopefully you wont have to make the same mistakes I did…
First of all go out and buy yourself a bottle of Bitter Apple Spray, the biggest you can find, this brand is the best and trust me it tastes disgusting, just beware because it BURNS like FIRE if you get it on a paper cut….
Second WAIT for your dog to start to chew something, I know I know, your first reaction when seeing your dog chew your shoes is to yank the shoe away and yell NO, not only do I think you shouldn’t use NO (we have a ‘no word’) but this wont correct the chewing it just stops it at that moment instead when you see the chewing shake your bottle of bitter apple, say ACK and spray it as close to their mouth as you can (in the mouth is the target but I have bad aim lol) then spray the shoe or whatever a few times with the spray and just leave it there, if they come back to chew on it repeat the first step ‘ACK’ and spray
This applies to anything you dont want them to chew from the couch to the walls to furniture
Soon you’ll only have to show them the bottle and they will stop, and eventually they will realize bad things happen whenever they chew ‘non chew things’
The 3rd step is to supply TONS of chew toys and kennel train your dog whenever you leave the house so they wont have the opportunity to chew on things they shouldn’t and to keep them safe. (I can/will post a blog on kennel training as well)
I hope this helps some pet parents out there! Before I sign off I just have one more tip:
If you cant risk it getting chewed, keep it out of sight/where the dog cant get it. Better safe than sorry am I right?
Thank you so much to everyone who has read and commented on my blog!
~M
From The Desk of Mommah 
Great tip on chewing. I am guilty of using the no word and sometimes you just get plain tired of hearing it. My pup goes from chewing my flip flop to chewing on her brothers……just loves to keep the household stirred up a bit. Bitter apple spray on the list to pick up this weekend! Thanks again.
Occasionally I do slip up and say NO but puppies get desensitized to it because hear us use it in everyday convos, better to have a no sound or word like ACK 🙂
Good luck!!
i was really keen for this blog on chewing.not at your lovely shoes expense.Montana is 3she has good periods then she ate my best boots.we have bolts on the kitchen door cos her and Toto rob it.but yes toys.thank you Bekas mummy.she did have toys but i wrongly thought shed outgrown them.xxx
Lol the shoes just cemented the blog post being written today because it reminds me that a dog of any age can and will chew if they are bored, and Beka was bored, its important to always have age appropriate chew toys for your dogs! 😀 Good luck with everything!!
Great blog! Sorry for the loss of your sandals, though! I just wanted to point out, since you mention the bitter apple, that it is also very useful for excessive barking. And like you said, the mouth is the target!! Maybe a blog about barking?
We are still working on barking! Teddy is an obsessive barker, which he learned from Beka, who learned from Daine…. lol! Thanks!
Great post and dare I say…too funny after Beka’s confession yesterday LOL.
I’ve tried the apple bitter but my dog must like it.
I make sure to keep all shoes and remotes and anything else of value out of reach.
Looking forward to the crate training tips. We had no problem crate training our older dog when he was a puppy but our rescue dog (we got him at 4 months) developed crate anxiety after a month and it wasn’t pretty. After some tears from me on that last day I tried to put him in the crate, I let him out and he hangs out with our big dog. He is fine for the most part but I am still dealing with some potty issues after 6 months.
There are many other ‘bitter’ things out there, try bitter lemon or cherry! Some dogs actually do like the taste of bitter apple! o.o
I will work on a crate training tips blog post!
Thanks!