How I Helped My Dog Through His Biting and Chewing Stage

 

When my dog was still around five or six months old, he started chewing on almost everything he could get his eyes on - toys, slippers, wood, etcetera. He would also playfully bite relentlessly. More than the digestive problems that this behaviour was causing, I just knew I needed to correct this stage before it became permanent.

I knew for a fact that at that time, his actions were natural at his age. It was a stage that needed correction to avoid violence from becoming a part of his immediate response.

I am not a dog trainer but here's what I did to help him through this stage:

Correcting every single time he bit and chewed

I am lucky that I work from home so I got to really pay attention to his growth stages especially this one. Every single time he tried to bite and chew on things that are not his toys, I either corrected it by saying "no" (he learned to stop when hearing the word NO very early on) and/or redirecting his behaviour.

It was very important for me to be firm when saying "no" by not petting him or giving him any treat for an hour or so after he chewed.

Redirecting using toys

He had a couple favourite toys that I kept near me so that whenever he bit something else, I take him away from that object and offer one of his toys instead. I never offered anything that was mine or anything for humans. 

There were a couple times when he rejected his toy because he wanted to chew on other things instead, but I was just persistent and kept putting the toy close to his mouth each time and rewarding him when he chose the toy.

I also avoided toys that resembled human objects.

Using dental treats

Every single day until he got over this stage I gave him Pedigree Dentastix for puppies to further "channel" his biting rage. He really loved this dental treat so it was a great help as well.

I know there are other owners who would choose to just leave the dog as it is thinking that it's just a stage that will eventually pass. However, I just did not want to leave this behaviour to chance. I did not want my dog growing up thinking that biting and chewing things other than his toys are okay.

If you have a little pupper, I hope this helps you too! Good luck.