How to Stop Your Dog from Chewing Everything

Chewing is completely natural for dogs.

The problem is… your dog doesn’t automatically understand the difference between their toy and your expensive pair of shoes.

That’s something we have to teach them.

The goal isn’t to stop your dog from chewing altogether.

The goal is to clearly teach them:

• This is mine.

• This is yours.

1. Start With Supervision

This is where most people fail.

In the beginning, your dog should only have freedom around the house when they’re supervised.

Why?

Because you need the opportunity to catch the behavior and clearly communicate what they can and cannot chew.

If your dog starts chewing something they shouldn’t:

1. Say “No.”

2. Give an abrupt pop of the leash (or tap on the nose).

3. Take the item away.

If your dog immediately walks over and starts chewing something else they shouldn’t... correct that decision again.

Then, once they’ve disengaged, give them something they are allowed to chew.

The clearer you make the difference, the easier it becomes for your dog to understand the rules.

2. Start With Primarily One Toy

In the beginning, keeping things simple can make training much easier.

Instead of giving your dog a ton of toys… start with primarily one toy they consistently have permission to chew.

Think about what you’re trying to teach: Everything in this house is mine… except for this. This is yours.

If you have a ton of different toys scattered throughout the house, your dog now has to learn that all of those different objects are theirs while everything else isn’t.

That’s a much bigger difference.

Start simple.

Once your dog understands the concept, slowly weave their other toys back in.

Eventually, your dog understands the difference between their belongings and yours.

3. Reward What They ARE Allowed to Chew

You need to make the right decision extremely positive.

When your dog chooses their toy instead of something around the house:

• Praise them.

• Give them attention.

• Play with them.

• Make it exciting.

Make them feel like they just made the best decision in the world.

Now your communication becomes extremely clear:

Chewing this = No.

Chewing my toy = Reward.

Dogs repeat what gets rewarded.

Don’t only pay attention to your dog when they’re doing something wrong.

Reward them when they’re doing something right.

If You Find Something Already Chewed

Ideally, you want to catch your dog while the chewing is happening. That’s why supervision is so important.

If you find something your dog has already chewed, bring them over to the item and correct it.

But understand that catching the behavior while it’s happening gives you a much clearer opportunity to connect your communication directly to what your dog is doing.

This is why giving your dog unlimited freedom too early can make this process much harder.

4. Don’t Give Too Much Freedom Too Quickly

Just because your dog went two days without chewing something doesn’t mean they’re reliable.

Trust is earned… not assumed.

In the beginning:

1. Supervise them around the house.

2. Keep them near you.

3. Use a leash when needed.

4. Keep valuable or dangerous objects out of reach.

As your dog begins consistently making better decisions, slowly increase their freedom.

Maybe you start by leaving the room for a short period.

Then a little longer.

Then you allow more unsupervised access to another part of the house.

Build gradually.

Key Takeaway

Your dog wasn’t born understanding that their toy is okay to chew but your furniture isn’t.

That’s something we have to teach them.

To stop your dog from chewing everything:

1. Only give them freedom when you can supervise them in the beginning.

2. Correct inappropriate chewing when you catch it.

3. Start with primarily one toy that’s clearly theirs.

4. Heavily reward them for choosing that toy.

5. Slowly increase freedom as they become reliable.

6. Gradually add more toys once they understand the difference.

Remember, dogs repeat what gets rewarded.

Make the wrong items clearly off-limits…

And make choosing the right item feel like the best decision they could have made.

Over time, your dog learns what’s theirs and what’s yours.

That’s where trust comes in.