If you have a puppy no doubt you also have some things that are being chewed up or destroyed. Chewing is common to puppies, the same way that teething is common for babies Most puppy dogs will lose their baby teeth at around six months of age and their permanent teeth will come in.

To help prevent chewing the most important thing to do is to puppy proof your home first. Make sure cords are up out of reach. You can start by wrapping up extra cords and tape them to the back edges of tables or chairs pushed up against the wall. Or tape to the wall if neccesary. 

Make sure cupboards that are at floor level are closed and cannot be scratched open. It is never a good idea to store the puppy treats in such a place, for a smart dog will try to get at them! Keeping all food up in places that he can not reach is the best idea, and teaching your children to eat ONLY at the table or sitting down so that they can keep the puppy away from their food is important. A toddler wandering around with a cookie in his hand is an open invitation to a puppy!

Dogs read their environment with their noses, the same way we humans read our environment with our eyes. Leaving things around that are enticing to a puppy’s nose is a sure invitation to chew those things. Therefore your leather shoes or tennies, you socks and underwear, you children’s stuffed toys, and even your remote control (you usually handle remote controls with hands that have been in the cheetos snack bag!)…all these things are invitations to to the puppy to investigate and to chew them up. In the photo you will see that these puppies have already learned that it is ok to chew on soft fuzzy things. However remember that if you do have small children who own stuffed animals, then you most likely will NOT want your puppy to learn that it is ok to chew on such toys.
 
Many people will tell you that a dog chews up your best shoes because it is spiteful. It is a far more likely scenario that your dog chewed up your shoes because they smell good to the dog and because they are within reach and because the dog is either teething or bored. You can combat this by having plenty of things that the dog is allowed to chew, such as rawhide rolls or hard rubber toys or even soft furry toys that are made specifically for dogs. Playing with the dogs with those toys will encourage the dog that it is ok to chew on those things and  taking away the forbidden items with a firm “NO!” will definitely show the puppy that you don’t like him when he chews on things without your permission.

Hitting the dog for chewing is not a solution. Dogs do not understand human body language. Removing the toy from his mouth (at the same time saying “Leave it!) will be much more likely to elicit good behavior. After you remove the forbidden item, give him his toy that it is ok to chew on.

When you are going to be gone, always crate your puppy and leave him in the crate with a hard rubber toy that is safe for him to chew on. That way he won’t have the chance to get into things that  could be destroyed by his chewing. A good thing to do is to give him a hard rubber toy like a kong toy with a hole in it, and fill the hole with peanut butter. This will keep him busy for hours. I mentioned rawhide chews and these are great for dogs but only under your supervision, since dogs have been known to choke on bits of rawhide that get too small. Remove the small pieces of rawhide when it gets to a point that the dog could swallow it, since it will become slimey and could get caught in his throat. This is espcially important for big dogs who do slobber and “slime.”

Praise your dog for chewing on things that are ok to chew on. Give him plenty of good vibes and play with him with appropriate toys. Always replace a forbidden object with an object that is ok for him to mouth. Persistence will pay off, so probably the most important thing to do after you have “puppy proofed” your home is to simply pay attention to the dog and make sure that you do keep an eye out for whatever he may be  getting into. A dog that is not watched can get into plenty of trouble, just like a toddler that isn’t being watched. If you keep these things in mind you should be able to survive the teething period of your dog’s life with only a small amount of damage to important things in your home.