Often this can be quite destructive depending on exactly how you handle this situation.
Instinctively puppies often chew because they need to – not because they want to destroy your personal items.
As puppies begin to loose their “milk teeth” and get their 42 adult teeth they chew to help alleviate some of the discomfort they are experiencing. This is known as teething.
Overall, the best thing you can do is protect your puppy from potentially harmful situations and help set him up to be successful in getting through this developmental stage.
Below you’ll find several ideas to help your puppy from being “bad” and to help it through this time.
Give plenty of exercise and attention to relieve boredom which often leads to chewing
Crate the puppy if you cannot watch it
Use commercial sprays to alleviate chewing of household items – Listerine is also good
Do not give the puppy old shoes or socks to chew on – it cannot differentiate old ones from your brand new ones
Give your puppy toys of its own to chew on – it is also good to give these to your pup when he begins to teeth on you
Give your puppy one of its toys when it acts as though it may chew something it should not
Move items you do not want the puppy to get into out of its reach- cover all power cords, remove pens/ pencils, plants (many are poisonous), books, etc.
With a little bit of planning, patience and caring, you can help your puppy through this important teething stage of it’s life.
Debbie Ray, owner of http://www.pedigreedpups.com, is a lifelong animal lover and dog enthusiast. Interested in more dog information? Training and health tips? Thinking about getting a purebred dog? Check out http://www.pedigreedpups.com or http://www.total-german-shepherd.com for more information.
