Welcome to the first official week of the Pupford Dog Training POV Series with Trevor Smith. In the introduction, we talked all about what will happen in this series as Trevor straps a camera onto himself to record his dog in the act. Trevor has been able to capture his new dog Bolt's training, sometimes bad behaviors, and of course, puppy cuteness. 😍
In this episode, we will talk all about something that if you have had / will have a puppy will deal with at one point or another. Puppy chewing.
PUPPY TEETHING
Most puppies experience teething between 12 and 16 weeks. A general timeline looks something like this:
- 2-4 weeks: baby teeth start coming in
- 5-6 weeks: all baby teeth should be in
- 12-16 weeks: teething begins; baby teeth fall out and adult teeth emerge
- 24-30 weeks: by around this time, all puppy teeth should have fallen out and be replaced with adult teeth.
But every dog is different, so it is possible your puppy will deviate from the timeline a bit. For more on puppy teething, check out this guide.
During that time, biting (more on this in a later video) and chewing is quite common. But what can you do so that your dog doesn’t choose you, your sofa, walls, etc as their chew toy?
Watch the video for tips from Trevor Smith.
PUPPY CHEWING
PUPPY CHEWING OVERVIEW
Dogs don’t differentiate between what their toys are and what things they shouldn’t get into (like furniture, shoes, gates, etc.).
For many dogs, you can redirect them to a toy. But that wasn’t working with Bolt. There was no stopping Bolt from chewing on that baby gate.
When redirecting your dog to a different item, it is important that they find that item more valuable than what you are trying to take them away from. So what Trevor did was build value and break down the value of playing with a toy (or chew) vs playing with the baby gate.
Find an item that is more valuable for your dog.
Try items like:
- Tasty chews
- Puzzle toys
- Snuffle mats
- Lick mats
- Squeaker toys
Learn how to find out what items are rewarding for your dog here.
TIPS
- Be patient - training a dog is hard work! It’s important to be patient with your dog and understand that all dogs work at their own pace!
- Don’t leave your puppy unsupervised - you must keep both eyes on your puppy if they are free and loose around the house. In the very beginning puppy stages, you can use a leash, playpen, or other tool to keep your dog under your supervision.
Bonus tip: Don’t leave out items around the house that you don’t want your dog getting into. It’s important to puppy-proof your home to help set your dog up for success. Put away trash, keep shoes out of their reach, keep food away from them, etc. Check out the New Dog Starter Course for more on preparing, expectations, and the first days home with your new dog or puppy.
CHECK OUT THIS BEHIND THE SCENES CLIP FROM TREVOR
“I noticed my puppy and his brother chewing on a wood baby gate together. So I pressed record and walked over with some toys. Guess what….
Bolt would not stop chewing on the gate for the toy…so I grabbed some Pupford Chews and that worked!
I used the opportunity while he was chewing on the Pupford Bully Stick to mark and praise reward for that behavior.”
-Trevor Smith
We hope that you found this video helpful as you work through the super cute but really challenging puppy phase.
Follow along on our YouTube channel (and be sure to subscribe) to watch every video as it comes out each week!
