Why does my dog chew my shoes?
This is a question that we often get from sitters and owners who work with Rover. Help the community out by answering them in our forum!
1 Answer
How old is your pup?? Usually dogs in their first year (puppy stage) are likely to chew on things. If you have a puppy, it's best to try to break them of this ASAP or they will continue doing this even after the puppy stage. Older dogs chew destructively because 1) they were doing it as a puppy and were never taught otherwise 2) boredom chewing (does your dog have toys? receive enough attention? etc… 3) separation anxiety (this is a tough one to tackle) Does your dog only do it when you're not home?? A lot of dogs experience some degree of separation anxiety. Especially if they're not used to being left with a sitter! A good sitter is knowledgeable on how to handle separation anxiety and you should definitely bring this up during a meet and greet. A good way to prevent this from happening out of boredom or while you are gone is to get them a Kong treat (or something similar) and fill it with peanut butter (or other treat). This will definitely tackle the boredom issue and satisfy their desire to chew. Also, it usually takes them a bit to get to their treat so that will help them kill time if you're away from home.
Comments
To add on to that. If you catch your dog chewing on your shoes take them away and immediately hand them a chew toy. Then get excited and praise them for taking the toy. Promote a toy obsession by giving them treats and praise when they chew on their toys.
Also, try to keep your shoes out of reach till they understand that they aren't toys. especially when you aren't going to be there to discourage the behavior. you can also spray your shows with some bitter anti-chew spray or clean them so they dont smell like your dog or their toys.