How to Stop Your Dog from Chewing the Furniture

Does your dog chew like there’s no tomorrow? Does he destroy furniture, shoes, and the carpet? There is hope; dogs can be trained not to chew the furniture.

Most advice says start young, and that’s good advice when you can do it. Chewing starts in puppies as a response to teething, and if left unchecked, can become a problem as the dog gets older.

First, re-direct the behavior. If you catch Fido chewing the furniture, take a chew toy and move the focus from the furniture to the chew toy. Praise him for making the switch and give him the toy to keep chewing.

Chewing is normal dog behavior, often out of boredom, so Fido needs his own set of chew toys – active toys that will keep his focus off of the furniture. What are active toys? Active toys stimulate your dog’s ability to play alone, such as Kong toys that have the hole for the treat inside, or others that he has to manipulate to get a reward or food.

Keep chewing targets such as shoes, purses, etc. out of reach of Fido, so there is no temptation to stray. Teach your dog commands such as “drop” or “leave it” so that he will leave an item on command. Do not play tug of war with Fido to get the forbidden item back. If it is something you chase Fido to get, he will have a ball keeping it away from you, especially if he is a Jack Russell. Don’t make it into a game!

Punishment does not deter chewing, but often increases the behavior. Redirection and conditioning will always work better. Bitter Apple, or other unpleasant scents for dogs can be used to protect some furniture items. Changing behavior takes time and patience, but is ultimately worth is for the sake of your furniture.