Destructive Dog Behavior
When dogs are little puppies, human owners tend to forget that these are animals which need training and simply enjoy the play and fun they have.
Very soon the puppy stage is over and suddenly the grown dog, which is in its mind still a puppy, but fully grown, displays certain behavior which can be classified as destructive.
Dogs have certain instincts which make them do things we humans disapprove of. Marking the territory is perhaps the number one on this list, but digging and chewing rank pretty high as well. If you don’t make sure to train your dog what he is allowed to chew and what not, you will run out of sneakers and undergarments very soon and all your furniture will display chew marks.
Dogs, like babies, start chewing when they develop teeth. Chewing helps them alleviate pain and train the newly developed teeth. They will chew on something, no matter what you do; the trick is to give the dog something to chew on, which is a chew toy or a fake chew bone. Do not give the dog an old sneaker, it will not comprehend why this one is okay to be chewed, but all the other shoes are off limits. Keep it simple: No shoes at all.
If you have a back yard, the dog will dig in it. It does not matter if the dog is burying his bone or digging up something he smelled up, the natural instinct to dig will make it dig. If you are gardening, then you will have problems. Perhaps the best thing you can do is fence off the part you are trying to cultivate and to spray the boundaries with some strong repellant, like Citronella. Pet deterrents are widely available at every pet store, you may also use them to spray your indoor furniture, prohibiting the dog to chew on it or ever spray around, marking the territory.
If you find your favorite pair of sneakers somewhere all chewed up, there is no sense in reprimanding your dog after the fact, it will not understand what it is being reprimanded for, no matter how loud you yell or how often you wave the sneakers in front of its snout. You need to catch your dog doing the chewing and then start the ruckus. Immediately reprimand the dog, make sharp verbal instructions filled with no and bad dog talk and show just how angry you are. Remove the dog from the scene of the crime right away and don’t give it any treats.