Teething
During times of excessive chewing/teething try a piece of towel, knotted, dampened and chilled in the refrigerator or freezer. It’s more satisfying to teething puppies because it massages their gums as they chew, allowing their teeth to sink into it.
A young pup is not capable of reasoning out what could or could not be harmful to him.В He learns through doing. Put away all potentially harmful objects such as needles, pins, household cleaners, insecticides, poisonous plants and anything else that could easily be ingested. Get into the habit of looking for trouble before it occurs. (In an emergency if unable to reach your vet call Animal Toxicology Hotline at (1-800-548-2423.)
Example
Chewing mistakes can be extremely expensive. A single chewing spree can cause damage that easily runs into thousands of dollars. My most expensive case history involved an Akita, that in less than half an hour, caused $10,000 worth of damage to the interior of a Doctor’s Mercedes. Chewing is no problem for the dog but, depending on what it’s chewing; it can be a big problem for, the owner. Consequently, it is important to have a good supply of chew toys on hand, and to teach the puppy what they are for.
An easy way to get the puppy hooked on chew toys is to make a habit of having the pup settle down in its dog bed or crate, with plenty of chew toys within reach. In fact, the thinking owner would make sure the only objects within reach are chew toys. Thus the puppy develops a serious chew toy habit right from the outset, if only because there is precious little else to chew.
Chew toys should be indestructible and not consumable. If chew toys are easily destroyed, they will need to be replaced. This costs money. Also, it is not good for your puppy to consume non-food items.
Kong products and sterilized long bones (both commercially available in pet supply stores) are good resilient chew toys for most dogs. As both of these are hollow, they may be stuffed with goodies to heighten the pup’s interest and entice it to chew.
Stuff chew toys with three types of goodies: kibble which come out easily, kibble which takes some time for the dog to extricate, and freeze-dried liver which the dog can never get out. Thus the puppy is rewarded the instant it investigates a chew toy and again and again as it works on it for a while. It will then continue to busy itself with the chew toy knowing the tastiest treats are still stuck inside. For example, different shaped biscuits are ideal for stuffing Kongs and Biscuit Balls. Some shaped biscuits go in and come out easily, whereas other shaped biscuits have to be forced in and require human fingers to pull them out.
Prepare a number of stuffed chew toys for the puppy for whenever it is confined. The puppy will happily worry at the chew toys until it falls asleep. When the owner returns, they should delay greeting the puppy until it picks up a chew toy again. Then pull out the treats remaining in the Kong and give them to the pup. Thus, when your dog wakes up in the afternoon and becomes active in anticipation of the owner’s return it will go in search of a chew toy.
Once the puppy learns what it should be chewing, chewing catastrophes will be minimal. On occasions, though, it may be necessary to let the dog know what it should not be chewing. Whenever the pup even sniffs a likely target, the instructive reprimand “Chew toy!” should quickly set it straight. The tone and volume informs the pup that it is about to make a mistake, and the word instructs your pup what it should be chewing.
All I can say is……..
KONGKONGKONGKONGKONGKONGKONG toys are the most puppy durable and available for a dog’s whole life.
