Before attempting to stop golden retriever puppy chewing, you have to first recognize that chewing is a natural behavior in puppies. They will chew things whenever they are bored or because they are teething, and besides the chewed up shoes and other things he might have chewed on, chewing is good for strengthening the overall health and strength of a puppy’s gums.
Because of the positive aspects of chewing, you might not want your puppy to stop chewing all together, you might be better of by directing this desire to something else besides shoes and socks. There are a number of toys designed for this, they are specially suited for puppy teething, and will provide him with something to play with whenever your puppy is bored and decides to chew up your shoes or slippers.
Golden retriever teething goes on until they have their adult teeth, this usually happens till they are 6 months old, but even then it is common to golden retrievers to keep chewing through their life and there isn’t much of a problem and is quite healthy, besides as long they have their toys and bones to chew on they will leave your shoes alone, if trained of course.
Why to Stop Golden Retriever Puppy Chewing
Dogs during their times as a puppy go through a period of time called teething, because of this, pups are motived to find something to chew on in order to alleviate the teething sensations or pains. Since because most people forget this and don’t give them the toys and bones necessary for teething, they end up finding some pair of shoes, slippers or something else suited enough to alleviate the teething sensations.
Chewing is natural and common among dogs, because of it, some people think they can let the dog keep on chewing whatever they see fit, others do the complete opposite, beat and yell at the poor puppy. Of course that by doing this, you have good chances stop the chewing problem, and causing all sort of problems associated with harsh treatment, the pup can grow up to become an aggressive dog, or the complete opposite, a very submissive and complacent living being strip of his identity as a dog, one when looked at the eyes we get the distinct feeling that is hurting and afraid.
By being too harsh on your dog, not only you will stop golden retriever puppy chewing, but you will stop most, if not all behaviors characteristic to dogs, specially with golden retrievers who react poorly to harsh treatment and fall on this kind of mindset as mentioned earlier more easier than most dogs. On the other hand being too good and gentle, might sometimes prove counterproductive, try having a middle term and not exceed yourself, try finding the best approach to your golden retriever in particular, but I advise you to try the nice way first, it usually pays off and never be harsh or mean to a puppy.
You do not necessary need to stop chewing, you only need them not to chew your shoes or something else your wish, isn’t this the reason who motivated you to read this, you only need to apply the same idea and incentive your dog to chew his toys or bones and leaves your shoes and socks alone.
How to Stop Golden Retriever Puppy Chewing
There are good ways to stop your puppy’s bad chewing behaviors, but before going into that, you need to consider some things, to begin with, do not treat your puppy harshly, regardless of how angry you are or what he might have chewed this time. This will only intimidate and confuse you pup and he won’t understand what he did wrong, instead consider the following courses of action you can take:
- Chewing target replacement – Completely stopping chewing is possible, but how hard it really is, that mostly depends on the breed and personality of your dog. With that in mind golden retrievers are generally know to be chewers through all their life’s. Because of this, instead of trying to stop golden retriever puppy chewing, it will certainly be best and easier to replace the target of your puppy chewing habits, there are many toys and bones more tasty your puppy will surely prefer. So, when you catch your puppy chewing your shoes, this would be a good time to switch your shoes with the toy, remember do it in front of your puppy while he’s chewing on your shoes or whatever he’s used to chew on, this way he will see things more clearly than in any other way and understand that the toy is for chewing and shoes aren’t. It might take a few times like this to get your puppy to become used with the idea, but with each passing time you will see it goes longer and longer until the next time arrives, and eventually there will be no more times.
- Distraction – To help stopping your dog from chewing things he shouldn’t, you should try to keep him from being bored. Bored dogs chew to keeps themselves active and busy, for them it’s much like watching television or reading a newspaper. Golden retrievers are a fairly active breed, who can get bored quite easily if not exercised properly daily, it is then advised to exercise your dog regularly, and to have stimulating toys for him to play with whenever you aren’t home.
- Crate Training – If your golden retriever gets into your belongings when you are away from home, crate training them to they don’t have such unlimited access to the whole house. You can even limit his access to a single room while you aren’t home.
- Aversion Sprays – Aversion sprays are quite useful and is good way to keep your puppy away from things he or she isn’t supposed to chew. These sprays are applied to the item itself giving them a bad and bitter taste, a taste most dogs aren’t too found off, therefore this will motivate your dog to stop chewing whatever item you sprayed. This should be used along with training in order to effectively stop your puppy from chewing things.
Once again remember, chewing is very natural and normal, even healthy for dogs, try not to became angry at your puppy whenever he chews something and instead try one or a group of these approaches mentioned before. Furthermore, dogs learn better if you keep their training consistent, this is will reduce confusion and accelerate the overall process, and before we finish, let me just remind not to keep your clothing and other belongings laying around, just waiting and inciting your puppy to get them.