Dogs love to chew, and often, they don’t care what they chew. It might be your shoes, furniture, or even your baseboards. You might think that your dog will grow out of this behavior, but if they don’t learn appropriate chewing behavior, you might just find some of your furniture and baseboard destroyed. Here’s how to stop your dog from chewing on your furniture and baseboard:

Why Do Dogs Like to Chew?

As dogs go through puppy teething, chewing is necessary because it can relieve the pain. Because of this, dogs associate chewing with pain relief and see it almost as a reward. As your dog grows up, they still see chewing as something fun to do.

Chewing is also a natural and common dog behavior, as their wolf ancestors used their teeth to tear apart their food. Chewing also helps dogs keep their teeth clean, and it’s a good jaw exercise. It’s also a great way for your dog to unwind and relax. Because of this, it’s important you let your dog chew, but in a constructive way.

There are many reasons why dogs chew, and while all this chewing behavior is natural, your dog must be trained on what’s appropriate to chew and what is not. Their chew toy is a perfectly acceptable choice, but your baseboard and furniture are not.

What Causes Destructive Chewing?

If your dog chews way more than normal or chews things like furniture or other household items, this is destructive chewing. There are a few common causes behind destructive chewing that can include:

1. Boredom: If a dog isn’t getting enough physical and mental stimulation, they may start chewing on furniture or baseboards. Excessive chewing is often a sign your dog is bored.
2. Hunger: If your dog is on a calorie-restricted diet or their diet is unbalanced, they may begin to chew to satisfy their hunger.
3. Stress and anxiety: Because chewing is a comforting behavior, they may begin chewing to help relieve stress from things like separation anxiety, phobias like storms or fireworks, and other stressors. This can be a sign your dog is stressed.

How to Stop Your Dog From Chewing on Your Furniture and Baseboard

If your dog’s chewing is out of control and is destructive, here’s how to stop your dog from chewing on your furniture and baseboard:

1. Provide chew toys for your dog.
2. Teach your dog appropriate chewing behavior.
3. Give them lots of physical and mental stimulation.
4. Dog-proof problem areas.
5. Crate train or use pet gates.

1. Provide Chew Toys For Your Dog

If your dog is destructively chewing furniture or anything else, you need to provide them with an alternative chewing option. However, you can’t just give them a chew toy and hope for the best. Some dogs might immediately be excited by a chew toy, but others might not.

You have to make this chew toy appealing and desirable. You want your dog to think they’re extremely lucky to have this chew toy, so they stay preoccupied with the toy rather than your baseboard or furniture.

Chew Toys That Provide Treats

You might want to look at a treat-dispensing chew toy. These toys are often made up of very durable rubber, so they last a long time and are safe for your dog to chew. You can also find these types of toys that can be stuffed with food, such as cream cheese or peanut butter. You can also layer peanut butter and cream cheese with dog treats so there’s an extra special surprise as your dog chews.

Non-Edible Chews

It’s important to pick the right dog bone material option for your dog. Rawhide is not a great option because it can break off in large chunks and is often treated in ways that can make dogs sick.

Nylon and rubber are much better choices for chewing, but these are not edible. Antlers are not fully digestible, but they do tend to be a long-lasting chew option and are considered safe, provided dogs are monitored while using them.

Edible Chews

You can also try edible chews. These don’t last nearly as long as the treat-dispensing rubber chew toys, but they are very appealing to dogs. These toys are also helpful in cleaning your dog’s teeth and gums. Dental care is important for dogs, so be sure you keep up with it.

Nylabone does make edible chew options. Other edible chew options that are safe for dogs include Bully Sticks, Yak Cheese Chews, sweet potato chews, beef trachea, backstrap chews, other tendon chews, and more. Although pig ears can be a good fit sometimes for small dogs or light chewers who cannot break off big pieces, they are often coated, which can upset a dog’s stomach.

2. Teach Your Dog Appropriate Chewing Behavior

What if you’ve given your dog plenty of chew toys, but they still prefer chewing on your furniture, baseboard, or other things? If you can remove the temptation, do that. For example, hide the remote or put the shoes in the closet.

For larger items or things like door frames and baseboards, try blocking access or making them as unappealing as possible. You can also try sprays that have a bitter taste to try and deter your dog. Apply this to any area where your dog chews and keep this up for about 3-4 weeks. This should be long enough to teach them not to chew in these areas. Take this time to establish better and more constructive chewing habits.

The key is to use a popular dog training method like positive reinforcement so your dog learns what’s appropriate to chew and what isn’t appropriate. When your dog has the option of chewing a toy stuffed with peanut butter and other treats, they’re probably going to choose that over a dry and dusty baseboard. When they choose the treat chew toy, be sure to praise them for choosing it. Dogs love attention, so they’ll learn that if they pick the right toy, they will get praise and attention.

3. Give Them Lots of Physical and Mental Simulation

Dogs that get bored tend to chew. There are some ways to keep your dog from getting bored. The most important one is to make sure they have plenty of physical exercise and other mental stimulation.

Remember, a tired dog doesn’t have time to be destructive. When a dog is bored, they’ll find something to do, and that thing is usually chewing something. If your dog gets plenty of playtime and exercise, their chew toy time should be enough to keep them satisfied and busy.

There are a variety of things you can do to help provide mental stimulation. Playing a simple indoor scent game with your dog helps them use their nose to help find treats or their favorite toy. You can also work on basic training. Regular training is a great way to spend time with your dog and work on mastering basic commands.

4. Dog-Proof Problem Areas

Making sure areas where the dog chews are blocked helps prevent this behavior. When you bring home a new puppy or dog, you probably should take some time to puppy-proof your home.

If your dog is having problems with chewing, you may want to go ahead and do the same. You can try covering furniture with blankets or other protective fabrics. You can also get plastic shields to go around the base and legs of sofas and chairs.

To protect baseboards, you might need to create barriers to keep your dog away. Try draping hardware cloths that they can’t chew through on the baseboards or set up furniture to block areas where your dog tends to chew. You can also try spraying baseboards or furniture with dog-safe sprays that leave behind a bitter taste. These sprays can help deter your dog from chewing on different areas, so they learn that chewing baseboards is not a tasty treat..

5. Crate Train or Use Pet Gates

Another way to keep your dog out of problem areas is to use baby gates or crates. These items are must-haves for first-time dog owners and can be really helpful when working on an issue like chewing on furniture and baseboards.

If your dog is obsessed with a specific room or piece of furniture, keep them out of that room by using a baby gate. This can help remove some of the temptation while you work on behavioral issues to help your dog stop destructive chewing. Baby gates are also a helpful tool if you’re unsure of how to handle your dog around people with a fear of dogs if they visit your home!

You can also use a crate if baby gates aren’t possible. If your dog isn’t properly crate-trained, you’ll need to work on that first. Crate training helps your dog feel safe and comfortable at various times, so having a dog that’s crate-trained is really helpful.

3 Things To Avoid Doing When Your Dog Chews Furniture

It’s easy to feel frustrated when your dog has chewed up a piece of furniture or damaged your baseboards. However, there are some things to avoid doing that can actually be counterproductive. Here are a few things to avoid doing when your dog chews your furniture or baseboard:

1. Avoid punishing your dog.
2. Don’t make a big fuss.
3. Be consistent with training.

1. Avoid Punishing Your Dog

Putting your dog on a time-out may stop the chewing for a moment, but it won’t address the problem long-term. In order to help your dog learn, you need to teach them alternate behaviors or give them other things to chew on, rather than your furniture or baseboard.

Punishing your dog can also break trust between you and your dog, which can lead to anxiety. If your dog begins to feel anxious, they may begin to chew even more. There are some signs your dog trusts you, like enjoying training with you, focusing on you, leaning into you, and more. Be on the lookout, and if you think your dog has trust issues, this is a situation you will need to work on.

2. Don’t Make a Big Fuss

Much like you should avoid punishing your dog, you should avoid making a big fuss over your dog’s unwanted chewing. You might feel frustrated at the moment, but it’s important to keep your cool. A dog may not be able to tell that you’re upset, and they might just think you’re actually giving them attention. Dogs love attention, so if they think chewing is going to get them attention, they’re going to keep on doing it.

If you find that your dog has been chewing, speak calmly and definitely avoid yelling. Calmly redirect their attention to something else and get them away from either the furniture or the baseboards, and reward them for not chewing or chewing on appropriate toys.

This way, they’ll learn that chewing furniture doesn’t get them a reaction or attention, but chewing their toys does. Not reinforcing this bad behavior with what can be perceived as attention and rewarding the behavior you want is a valuable dog training tip.

3. Be Consistent With Training

Dogs do best when they have clear and consistent training as well as boundaries. Making sure you consistently work on training will help your dog better understand boundaries as well as listen to you. Not being consistent is just one of the ways you might be annoying your dog, so being consistent can help strengthen your relationship.

This is an overview of how to stop your dog from chewing on your furniture and baseboard. Remember, your dog is chewing due to an instinct, and that behavior is important. However, if chewing becomes destructive, you need to investigate why. Once you know the reason behind the chewing, you can find constructive ways for your dog to indulge in their love of chewing.