How Do I Teach My Dog What It Can Chew?
How do I teach my dog what it can chew? Teach your dog by preventing access to inappropriate objects, providing suitable things to chew, and consistently rewarding your dog for choosing them. Your dog needs to learn which objects are appropriate through repeated practice, rather than simply being told what not to chew.
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Why does my dog chew things it should not?
Dogs may chew inappropriate objects for several reasons.
Common causes include:
- Exploration.
- Teething in puppies.
- Enjoyment.
- Boredom.
- Frustration.
- Attention-seeking.
- Excess energy.
- Stress or anxiety.
- Habit.
Understanding why your dog is chewing can help you choose the right solution.
What should I let my dog chew?
Provide appropriate, durable and dog-safe chewing items that are suitable for your dog’s size, age and chewing behaviour.
Different dogs prefer different textures and types of toys, so observe what your dog enjoys while ensuring the item is safe and appropriate.
Check chewing items regularly for damage and replace them when they become unsafe.
Do not give your dog household objects as substitutes, because this can make the distinction between permitted and forbidden items harder to understand.
How do I teach my dog what it can chew?
Use a simple and consistent process.
Step 1: Prevent access to inappropriate objects
Put shoes, clothing, children’s toys, cables and other tempting objects out of reach.
Management is important because every opportunity to practise chewing an inappropriate object can strengthen the habit.
Step 2: Provide an appropriate alternative
Make suitable chewing items easily available.
If your dog is looking for something to chew, offer an appropriate item rather than waiting for it to choose a household object.
Step 3: Reward the correct choice
When your dog chooses the appropriate item, reinforce the behaviour.
Depending on the situation, this could mean calm praise, food, continued play or simply allowing your dog to continue enjoying the appropriate chew.
The reward should happen because your dog has made the correct choice.
Step 4: Repeat consistently
Your dog learns through repetition.
Everyone in the household should follow the same rules about what can and cannot be chewed.
Over time, your dog should become more likely to choose appropriate items independently.
What should I do if my dog starts chewing something it should not?
Stay calm and avoid turning the situation into a game.
If appropriate, interrupt your dog and calmly offer a suitable alternative.
When your dog switches to the appropriate item, reward the correct choice.
Avoid chasing your dog around the house or forcibly pulling objects from its mouth unless there is an immediate safety concern.
Repeated chasing can turn object stealing into an exciting game.
Should I take objects away from my dog?
If the object is safe and your dog can be calmly redirected, an exchange can be useful.
Offer something appropriate in return and allow your dog to release the unwanted object.
This helps prevent conflict and can teach your dog that giving something up leads to another positive outcome.
If your dog has swallowed something dangerous, do not rely on training alone. Contact your vet for appropriate advice.
Should I teach my dog “leave it” or “drop it”?
Yes, these can be useful skills alongside teaching appropriate chewing.
“Leave it” can teach your dog not to approach or take an object.
“Drop it” can teach your dog to release something it already has.
Neither command replaces management and teaching your dog what it can chew.
The overall goal is for your dog to understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate objects.
How do I teach a puppy what it can chew?
Puppies need particularly careful management because exploration and teething can make chewing very frequent.
Keep tempting household objects out of reach and provide suitable puppy-safe chewing options.
When your puppy chooses an appropriate item, reward the choice.
If your puppy repeatedly becomes interested in furniture, shoes or other household objects, improve management rather than repeatedly correcting the puppy after it has already started chewing.
How do I stop my dog chewing furniture?
Prevent access where possible and provide appropriate alternatives.
If your dog begins chewing furniture, calmly interrupt the behaviour and redirect it towards an appropriate chewing item.
Reward your dog for choosing the alternative.
If furniture chewing occurs mainly when your dog is bored, frustrated or left alone, address the underlying cause rather than relying entirely on chew toys.
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How do I stop my dog chewing shoes and clothing?
Keep shoes and clothing stored where your dog cannot access them.
If your dog repeatedly finds these objects, simply removing them after each incident will not solve the underlying habit.
Make appropriate chewing items more accessible and reward your dog when it chooses them.
Do not chase your dog if it steals a shoe. Calmly exchange it for an appropriate item when possible.
What if my dog only chews things when I am out?
Chewing when left alone may be related to boredom, frustration, habit or anxiety.
Look at what happens before and during the behaviour.
If your dog shows other signs of distress when left alone, such as persistent vocalisation, pacing, destruction around exits or difficulty settling, seek professional advice rather than assuming the problem is simply boredom.
A crate may provide a positive resting space for a dog that has been properly introduced to it and is comfortable using it, but it should never be used as punishment or as a substitute for addressing separation-related problems.
What equipment can help teach appropriate chewing?
Only use equipment that genuinely supports the training.
Appropriate chew toys are the most important alternative because they give your dog something suitable to choose.
A crate can provide safe management and a positive resting area when your dog is already comfortable with crate training.
Baby gates or other suitable barriers can help prevent access to rooms or objects when supervision is not possible.
Equipment should reduce opportunities for inappropriate chewing while your dog learns the correct behaviour. It should not replace training.
What mistakes should I avoid?
Avoid:
- Punishing your dog after finding a chewed object.
- Chasing your dog when it steals something.
- Using household objects as toys.
- Allowing inappropriate chewing sometimes but correcting it at other times.
- Giving your dog too many stimulating choices when it is already overexcited.
- Assuming chewing is always caused by boredom.
- Leaving unsafe objects within reach.
- Expecting your dog to understand the rules without consistent teaching.
The clearer and more consistent the boundaries are, the easier they are for your dog to learn.
How long does it take to teach a dog what it can chew?
There is no fixed timeframe.
Puppies may need frequent management while they are exploring and teething, while adult dogs may learn the distinction more quickly.
Progress should be measured by whether your dog is increasingly choosing appropriate items and needing less intervention.
As reliability improves, you can gradually provide more freedom.
More freedom should come with more behavioural responsibility.
When should chewing become a concern?
Seek veterinary advice if your dog suddenly develops excessive chewing or shows signs of pain or illness.
Professional help is also appropriate if chewing is persistent, destructive, associated with anxiety, or difficult to manage despite consistent training.
If your dog repeatedly swallows non-food objects, this should be taken seriously because some objects can cause choking or intestinal obstruction.
Conclusion
Teaching your dog what it can chew is about making appropriate choices easy, preventing access to inappropriate objects and rewarding the behaviour you want.
Provide suitable chewing alternatives, calmly redirect inappropriate chewing, teach useful skills such as “leave it” and “drop it”, and gradually increase your dog’s freedom as its reliability improves.
The goal is not simply to stop your dog chewing. It is to teach your dog what it is allowed to chew and make that choice rewarding enough to become a habit.
GPK9 — The Five Golden Rules
The GPK9 Five Golden Rules provide the foundation of the GPK9 Professional Training System. They give new dog owners, new dog handlers, experienced handlers and professional dog trainers a clear structure for developing the dog and the handler together.
The GPK9 Five Golden Rules cover five essential areas of development: Home & Social, Obedience, Prey Drive, Toilet and Social Walking. Each area has its own purpose, but they are designed to work together as one complete training system.
The GPK9 approach is based on CATEGORY → STATUS → DRIVE → CONTROL and the handler’s ability to OBSERVE → INTERPRET → DECIDE → COMMUNICATE → OBSERVE RESPONSE → REASSESS. This gives the handler a consistent process for understanding what the dog is doing, why the behaviour is occurring, what level of control is appropriate and how to communicate effectively.
The purpose of the GPK9 Five Golden Rules is not simply to teach a collection of individual exercises. They are designed to develop the dog’s behaviour, motivation, communication, control and reliability while teaching the handler how to make better decisions.
Golden Rule One — Home & Social
Golden Rule One — Home & Social establishes the foundation for everyday life with the dog. It focuses on communication, boundaries, calm behaviour, household routines and appropriate behaviour around people, animals and normal activity.
The purpose of Golden Rule One — Home & Social is to help the handler understand the dog’s behaviour and recognise changes in arousal before they become larger problems. The handler learns to observe, assess and communicate rather than simply reacting after unwanted behaviour has already occurred.
Golden Rule One — Home & Social provides the foundation from which the handler can develop a calmer, more predictable and better-communicating dog.
Golden Rule Two — Obedience
Golden Rule Two — Obedience develops the dog’s ability to understand and respond to the handler’s communication.
The focus of Golden Rule Two — Obedience is not simply teaching commands. It is about developing understanding, reliability, timing, reward, release and control so the dog learns what the handler is communicating.
Through Golden Rule Two — Obedience, the handler learns to progress training appropriately, gradually increasing the dog’s freedom and responsibility as understanding and reliability improve.
Golden Rule Three — Prey Drive
Golden Rule Three — Prey Drive focuses on understanding and developing the dog’s natural motivation to chase, pursue, engage and work with an appropriate toy or prey-based reward.
The purpose of Golden Rule Three — Prey Drive is not simply to increase drive. The handler must learn how to recognise the dog’s level of motivation, select an appropriate reward and use timing, communication and control to channel that motivation productively.
Golden Rule Three — Prey Drive teaches the handler that motivation can become a powerful training tool when it is developed and controlled correctly.
Golden Rule Four — Toilet
Golden Rule Four — Toilet establishes reliable toilet habits through consistency, observation, timing, supervision and appropriate reinforcement.
The handler learns through Golden Rule Four — Toilet to recognise when the dog is likely to need the toilet, provide the correct opportunity and reinforce the desired behaviour.
The objective of Golden Rule Four — Toilet is to establish a predictable routine that helps the dog understand where and when toileting is appropriate while reducing opportunities for mistakes.
Golden Rule Five — Social Walking
Golden Rule Five — Social Walking develops the dog’s ability to walk calmly and appropriately in the real world while remaining connected to the handler.
The focus of Golden Rule Five — Social Walking is the relationship between the handler, the dog, the environment, distractions, distance and available control.
Through Golden Rule Five — Social Walking, the handler learns to observe body language, identify potential triggers, assess distance and recognise changes in drive or arousal before behaviour escalates.
The objective of Golden Rule Five — Social Walking is not simply to make the dog walk beside the handler. It is to develop a dog that can experience the outside world while remaining connected to the handler and capable of responding to clear communication.
How the Five Golden Rules Work Together
The GPK9 Five Golden Rules are designed to work together rather than being treated as five completely separate subjects.
Golden Rule One — Home & Social establishes the foundations for everyday behaviour and communication.
Golden Rule Two — Obedience develops understanding, responsiveness and control.
Golden Rule Three — Prey Drive develops motivation and teaches the handler how to channel natural drive appropriately.
Golden Rule Four — Toilet establishes essential household routine and reliability.
Golden Rule Five — Social Walking takes the communication and control developed through the other areas into the outside environment.
Together, the GPK9 Five Golden Rules help the handler develop a complete understanding of the dog rather than treating individual behaviours as isolated problems.
The overall objective of the GPK9 Five Golden Rules is to train the human, train the dog and build the partnership through clear observation, communication, appropriate control and progressive development.
