Stop Destructive Chewing

by Tise
(Alletown, PA)

How do I get a pit bull to stop destructive chewing?

I am having problems with my boyfriend's 5 year old pit bull. Recently I've been noticing her fascination with chewing things..my things and only my things.

At first I thought it was because of separation anxiety because I am home with her more often. But now I've been noticing even if I am in the same room with her, but not giving her my full attention she still will chew and destroy my stuff (shoes, headbands, brushes, basically anything that's hard). How do I get her to stop?


Gale's Reply:

Hi Tise:

Sometimes dogs chew because they're anxious. But they also chew because it's enjoyable to them. So, if you are in the habit of leaving your shoes and other valuables lying around, you need to start putting things away. It's kind of like child-proofing your home. You don't want her to choke on something. And, you also don't want to keep losing your stuff.

Make sure she has "legal" chew toys. She's going to chew on something. So provide her with regular dog toys that satisfy her need to chew.

Since she has shown a penchant for your things, it seems that she prefers items with your scent on them. You can transfer your scent to her "allowed" chew toys by putting a new toy in your laundry hamper for a day or two before giving it to her.

You might also want to look for toys that can be stuffed with peanut butter or some other treat to make them even more interesting to her.

If you catch her chewing on something of yours, offer her one of her toys in exchange for the contraband item. And praise her for taking the appropriate toy.

In time, you may be able to relax a bit about keeping things out of her reach. But, for now, she's still learning what is and isn't ok to chew.

For additional ideas, check out this previous article: Stop Dog from Chewing. Good luck. Feel free to post back here and let us know how things are going.