It was raining, and I did not want to leave my Golden Retriever in the house alone. I put him in the laundry room, and planned to be back within the hour. One hour became two; when I finally got home, my beloved, handsome two year old dog had chewed through about five rolls of paper towels. My How is my sweet dog? voice changed to WHAT HAVE YOU DONE' in about half a second. My dog cowered in the corner, begging me to forgive his destructive behavior. I quickly began picking up the shredded paper and found myself lecturing my dog about why he should not chew paper towels. I soon stopped myself, realizing that a ten minute lecture was not going to train my dog. I started to look up ways of correcting dog behavior and found some helpful tips online.

First and foremost, I learned that all dogs chew. It is a fact of life, and one that all dog owners must understand and accept this fact. (Puppies especially need to chew because of teething.) Part of the paper towel fiasco was my fault. I didnt leave my dog any other toys to play with while I was gone, and I was gone much longer than I thought. My dog was not used to being cooped up in the laundry room for long periods of time and was most likely chewing because of stress, anxiety, or simple boredom. Dogs often become restless when alone and chewing relieves that stress and energy.

Second, I learned that I should leave a variety of toys for my dog to chew, whether I am home or not. Tennis balls, rope toys, Kongs, compressed raw hide are all good choices and add some variety to my dogs chewing life. Whenever I see my dog chewing on his toys, I praise him for his behavior. If I catch him chewing on one of my shoes or my couch, then I firmly scold him with a verbal warning and then direct him to one of his toys. As soon as he starts to chew on his toy, I praise him. Dogs need a lot of praise and consistent behavior in order to learn not to chew. Dont set your dog up for failure. If you dont want him to chew up your shoes, dont give him an old shoe to play with. Also, if there are items that you think he might be tempted to chew, put them out of his reach.

As with any dog training issue, stay patient and be consistent. If your dog is chewing up your house, it will take awhile to change his behavior. If the toys dont seem to be helping, there are some safe products you can buy to spray on items you want your dog to avoid. Sometimes it also helps to hire a professional trainer to get some additional tips on training your dog. Dont give up on your dog. Hang in there and put the paper towels on a higher shelf!