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Why does my dog chew on wood?

This is a question that we often get from sitter and owners who work with Rover. Help the community out by answering them in our forum!

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Typically in puppies or younger dogs, you will see this behavior as they learn. Puppies tend to be very mouthy as they grow into their bodies. In older adults, this behavior may signify anxiety, stress, separation, boredom.

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I've had clients whose dogs chew on their wood furniture legs and would like to change that behavior. Dogs will chew on wood for a few reasons.

  1. Boredom

If the dog is home alone all day without entertainment or toys, they can turn to chewing on your furniture to entertain themselves. There are chew deterrents, but I would start with providing your dog with more toys to play with and chew on.

  1. Separation Anxiety

A dog who experiences distress from being alone might start chewing to soothe their anxiety. You could try leaving out chew toys and leaving the TV or radio on so they feel like they aren't alone. If these don't work, you could try having someone come by everyday to walk and play with your dog or taking the dog to a doggie day care.

  1. Teething

Puppies go through teething just like people do and they want to chew to alleviate the discomfort. Again, providing appropriate things for your puppy to chew is essential. It will require some training for your pup to understand what is and isn't appropriate to chew.

  1. They just like it

Chewing is one way dogs explore the world around them so it is essential that you teach your dog appropriate chewing behavior. Correct them when they chew furniture and reward them when they chew a toy or treat.

It might take some time to identify the cause of your dog's inappropriate chewing, but with a little patience you should be able to get it under control.

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Anxiety and Teething are the most common reasons. Our pooch will never give up a good stick found at the park but she will not chew furniture. We make sure she gets plenty of exercise every day before we leave the house and she has a couple of chew toys that she loves every time we leave.

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Because I have a puppy I have actually experience this personally and not to only wood. Because your dog could be teething, I would recommend getting more durable toys as well as distraction toys. Dogs will bite anything to take their mind off of being bored and alone without their puppy parent! I personally enjoy Kong toys because you can put a treat in them which makes a pup play and try to get the full treat for hours! Biting wood is also a behavioral condition. I personally crate trained my puppy to keep her away from my furniture when i'm not home. At first it was terrible and I did not like the idea, but she now loves it and even sleeps in her crate on her own at night! The area also helps with separation anxiety and the crate eventually makes a pup feel safe. It is their own personal area!