CHEWING

In order to protect your furniture from your dog's jaw, we must first understand why dogs chew.

REASON 1 FOR CHEWING: TEETHING

Puppies need to chew in order to teethe and set there new permanent teeth into their jaw. (The teeth are set at about 19 months).

SOLUTION:

1. You must chew toy train your dog. Give your dog appropriate things to chew on as the ONLY options.
   • Marrow bones
   • Frozen raw chicken wings (the bones are just fine as long as the meat is not cooked)
   • Kong toys
   • Nylabones
   • Chilly bones (or a home made version)
   • Ice cubes
2. Puppy-proof your house. Get ?Bitter Apple? for electrical cords, woodwork etc.

REASON 2 FOR CHEWING: LACK OF EXERCISE

Large breed puppies need about 2 hours of aerobic activity a day. If a dog is under exercised they will try to work off some of that energy chewing.

SOLUTION:
Find a way to get your dog a lot of off leash exercise:

• Find a dog park
• Learn lots of indoor games (for example play fetch up and down the stairs)
• Look for activates that mentally stimulate your dog. (This can be exhausting too)
• Learn to play fetch
• Arrange play dates and puppy parties
  (Even if you have a large yard puppies don't tend to run and exercise themselves when left alone in the yard.)

REASON 3 FOR CHEWING: BOREDOM

If your pup is board he may well decide to pass the time chewing.

SOLUTION:
Find other activities to stimulate your dog and be sure they have plenty of ?good chews? all around:

Stimulation:

• Clicker training
• Kong toys
• Bustercubes
• Planet dog Frisbees

"Good Chews":

• Nylabones
• Kong toys stuffed with biscuits
• Other stuffed toys
• Ice cubes
• Marrow bone (with some meat left on it)
• Frozen raw chicken wings