Dog Owners Battling Destructive Chewing

submitted by /u/Downtown_Teacher_971 [link] [comments]

“My puppy is currently 5m old and from the day we got her has been nooking (I hope that’s the right term) she can suck on her toys (I wash them frequently and take away any with holes so she’s not swallowing fluff) for over an hour at a time. I’m wondering if this is normal behaviour? I’ve never had dogs do this and worry it’s becoming excessive. She can go into states where we can’t pull the stuffy away from her or distract her without her scrambling to find her stuffy to continue sucking on it.”

“We have a 7 month havanese and he loves clawing on our rug to pull out a “thread” and then pulls them out with his teeth. Its frayed on all the edges 😭 Our rug is a superflat woven one (jute blend). Its amazing that he has even figured out how to rip it apart. He pulls out the jute fiber and i find him chewing on them. I always have to pry them out of his mouth. Not only is it annoying that he has ruined our rug, its dangerous for him. Im usually able to redirect him with a toy/chew but i would”

“My 6 month old (spitz-type) of puppy still tries to chew on furniture and other forbidden items. She doesn't do that when she's alone but mainly when we're at home, so it's not separation anxiety. She already has all her adult teeth and doesn't really bite people anymore - unless during a play she gets over-excitedd an grabs your arm instead of a toy or sometimes when she's overstimulated she takes my hand in her mouth, I guess kinda looking for comfort. We have restricte”

“Hi! First post. 1 y/o spayed male from the shelter. Alleged corgi/dachshund mix (doubt it so I ordered embark). Full grown at 29#. He’s potty trained, knows sit and wait, and overall really well behaved. Only things I’m working on are training new things, jumping on people to greet them, and his new zoomies. He’s been home 9 days as of today🥳 He gets bursts of zoomies and high energy where he wants to find the first thing in sight and play with it. Sock, shoe, stick, my forearm 😐. I want him t”

“My 9-week-old Golden Retriever gets bored of his Kong and Toppl almost immediately. He’ll try for a few minutes, then give up and start chewing on something else (usually his playpen/crate bars) even though there’s still food left inside. He might just be a really lazy pup lol but does anyone have recommendations for chews that are safe for a 9-week-old puppy? Ideally something that will actually keep him occupied for a while! submitted by /u/AirVs29 [link] [comments]”

“My Yorkie is 8yrs old and a royal pita with eating. I know. I know this is not uncommon with this breed. I have tried everything and I started making his food and that went well for a bit and then he started rejecting that despite rotating the proteins for variety. Well, most recent blood work is showing he is deficient in some nutrients and I need to switch back to commercial with grains. He prefers wet food. To the question: do I just keep offering the commercial food until he is starving and”

“My dog doesn't let me brush his teeth, so I've attempted to get him started on chewing toys/treats to clean his own teeth but he seriously has no interest. He never plays with toys on his own, no matter what kind I buy him so chew toys are pointless and as far as the treats, I've tried diff kinds of collagen treats, beef sticks, bones and even those greenies even though I don't condone those but I was desperate. He doesn't care for anything chewy UNLESS it's a real outdoo”

“Hi, My lab puppy is 4½ months and is at the peak of teething - He just dropped a molar today! Anyway, within the last week he has begun chewing baseboards and door frames when alone. My first thought was distress/anxiety, but i check the camera regularly when away from home and he seems fine (no sign of pacing, barking, drooling, the chewing is not near the exit i leave out of, etc). He mostly just sleeps, chews a toy, sleeps, and.... Chews the baseboards. So, i'm thinking it must be teethin”

“Hi all! I've been having problems with my 1 year old fox terrier and her destructive chewing behaviours. She is fine while there is someone home, but once she's left home alone with our other dog she will take things from the coffee table and bookshelf to chew on. I know packing away would be an obvious solution, but I live with two younger siblings who have a habit of leaving things out in the living room within her reach. She doesn't go after any particular type of item (E.g. not j”

“My dog is a 3 year old golden retriever/border collie mix. Roughly 3/4 golden, 1/4 border. I love her dearly but she turned out to be a much more intense dog than I had been expecting when I got her. That’s my mistake and I’ve tried to correct it when possible. Personality wise she’s perfect. Loving, submissive without being fearful, an absolute sweetie who adores people and other dogs. She’s the sweetest girl and I adore her personality. I’ve thankfully never had any worries there. Behaviourall”

“Now I’m not sure how to phrase this but my dog Joy is wonderful and such a good girl when we are at home with her but the moment we leave the apartment she immediately goes and either eats things of the counter or she will have an accident in the apartment. She knows how to alert to use the restroom and goes out as frequently as our busy lives can handle. She kind of looks around the kitchen the very second we leave. she devours anything in sight and sometimes pulls it off the counter. she also”

“He’s a 8 month old boxer/hound mix. I feel like we take him on enough walks etc. he has access to any toys he wants. He sometimes chews on bones but won’t even look at a bone tonight. I’m like literally at my wits end and regret ever getting a fucking dog. Have tried anti chew sprays, try blocking him from chewing it, try to deter with treats or toy but nothing is really working. submitted by /u/everyday_koala11 [link] [comments]”

“my dog is around 4 possibly (not sure) had her for 2 years I think she was around 2 when I got her, she is completely untrained mainly because her past owners genuinely didn’t care about her and we just never ended up training her because she’s fairly well behaved except for destroying anything soft she can fit in her mouth im starting To train her as much as I can (she only sits, & goes into a room when I tell her too) , so far as far as the chewing whenever I see her chewing anything she’s”

“Unfortunately, my parents don’t clean up after themselves as much as they should. For the millionth time, they told me that the dog ate all the chocolate chip cookies and I mean the whole packet. I have told him 1 billion times to put the snacks away, but unfortunately, with younger children. This doesn’t Ever Really Happen. I took my dog to the vet for a general wellness check plus shots. There was bloodwork done and everything seem to come out fine. She just has an ear infection which we got m”

“My 3yr old dog keeps stealing my puppy’s toys. I will buy them the exact same toys and yet my adult dog keeps stealing my puppy’s. My puppy doesn’t seem to mind but I’m not sure how to handle it. My dog has been a bit jealous of the puppy so I’ve been trying to give my adult dog time alone and lots of extra affection. I didn’t grow up with animals so this is the first time I’m really handling two dogs. I’ve had my 3yr old dog since she was a puppy and she has always adored other dogs and people.”

“My puppy it's a Beagle she is seven months old, and she keeps eating trash when we go outside, we give her dog food 3 times a day and sometimes some treats, and even being constantly feed she always in a hunger for more. She usually prefers plastic bags and things made of paper but sometimes she tries something new like someone's poo (dog poo i hope), I already tried avoiding these things when we go for a walk but she is too fast, and when she takes it is impossible to remove from her mo”

“My 2 yr old Lab mix has a heated dog house that she uses while outside during the winter, she sleeps inside in her bed at night. Anyway she won't leave the blankets or padding in her house. She thinks they are there for her to tear apart. She has always been hard on her toys, and she has many toys. She mildly chews on her night time bedding, not too much. She thinks I exist to serve her, I did spoil her. I am looking for suggestions on how to get her to leave her bedding alone so she has som”

“Hi guys, my dog, around four hours ago, chewed a popsicle stick and ate it, not sure how much was ingested. I'm concerned about the sharp pieces he might of ate, and how they might go down... Currently, he's still acting normal, he slept for a bit since he's still small and is back to playing. Hasn't been eating much food by himself (we have to feed him) for the past like two weeks since his teeth are coming in, so not sure of the symptoms related to that. Please let us know what”

“Hi everyone, I recently moved into a new home after living on the same property as my in laws, so my two Labradors spent the majority of the afternoon playing outside with my mother-in-law and having pretty constant attention. Now, our dogs spend much of their day either alone in our house or in the backyard (depending on the weather) because we both work outside the home. We have a 6 year old English Labrador who is a total couch potato and completely content either in his crate, laying on the”

“For about 3 weeks my dog hit the tip of his tail at exactly the end of it. Tried wrapping it he keep chewing it off somehow, put a cone on to prevent this it didn't work with even the biggest one he still manages. We got him a tail harness cover but he keeps getting caught in it. Not sure what to do? submitted by /u/Skybozer [link] [comments]”

“We have our beautiful dog, Riley. She’s 10 months old. Beautiful dog. Has an unhealthy obsession with tennis balls. We work at a Country Club so we get tons of free, used tennis balls. Thought, “oh she’ll love these!” It’s her favorite thing ever.. to a fault. All she wants to do is be outside. If she can’t find tennis balls (we picked them all up), she digs holes. If she has a tennis balls, she digs holes, puts the ball in the hole and keeps digging. We’re talking 2 feet deep. We have a little”

“We have our beautiful dog, Riley. She’s 10 months old. Beautiful dog. Has an unhealthy obsession with tennis balls. We work at a Country Club so we get tons of free, used tennis balls. Thought, “oh she’ll love these!” It’s her favorite thing ever.. to a fault. All she wants to do is be outside. If she can’t find tennis balls (we picked them all up), she digs holes. If she has a tennis balls, she digs holes, puts the ball in the hole and keeps digging. We’re talking 2 feet deep. We have a little”

“We have an 8mo rescue (lab mix?) puppy who is overall pretty good, but she’s a chewer. The thing she chews the most is the bed/pad in her crate. Doesn’t chew her other bed, just the one in the crate. I think it’s in the morning when she wakes up and no one has let her out yet. We’ve tried blankets and towels and 3 different (expensive) “chew proof” ones. The best one (which was zip-tied to the crate) made it about a week before it had a big hole. I hate to think of her just sleeping on the plast”

“I’ve been using lick mats or (to a lesser extent) kongs when we put our pup in the pen for a nap (which is also when we leave the house for work). However I need some better ideas on what to put on/in them. I’ve been using Greek yogurt or peanut butter on the lick mats… and while that works, the peanut butter is pretty high in calories, and (I’ll be honest) the Greek yogurt I buy for myself is really expensive lol. I could buy a separate tub of yogurt for the puppy, but that seems silly… As far”

“is there anything that a dog can chew on after tooth extractions? she had 8 teeth removed yesterday and she always chews on bones and toys, but i know she can’t for a little while. is there ANYTHING she can chew on while healing? eating hills science diet (metabolic) kibble normally, but currently eating a wet food version of her prescription diet, and she’s on pain meds 2x daily and antibiotics 2x daily for i believe 2 weeks if that matters! species: canine age: 9-11/12 years sex/neuter status:”

“Hello! When we were searching for help there wasn’t much outside of staying on top of them. Our mini bernedoodles that we’ve had since 7 weeks began to chew on their pads around 11 weeks old. They’d do it together, separate, in front of us, because they were bored, because it was a game, any reason, because it was there lol. Ended up grabbing a 6pk of reusable wee pads generic target brand for like $20. One pad lasts all day while we work (they are in separate pens so two), then we usually just”

“I have a dachshund. From a young age, he has absolutely destroyed every toy in his path. The only thing he hasn't ripped to shreds is this one blue Kong stick and purple spiky ball he keeps around to scratch his back with. He chewed through a $36 Kevlar toy in 3 minutes down to the fluff. I'd love for him to have squishy, soft toys, but it's impossible. The only thing he chews on is toys, btw; it's not behavioral. He gets plenty of enrichment as well. At this point, I am consider”

“I work at a shelter, and many of the dogs do this, but one does it especially a lot, and i was wondering if this is a hunting instinct, a stress response, or possibly due to a tooth issue? They'll pick up a toy, most often a toy, and just start chewing on it. The one specific dog also really nods her head along with the chewing motion. Im kinda new to dogs, never owned one, never took care of one for multiple days, but have spent a good bit of time around them, and rarely saw this behaviour,”

“My 11 month old mini golden doodle that will rip the fabric off her toys and eat it. I really don’t want to take away all toys because my older dog loves them. Is there any solution? Maybe offering different chews to satisfy that need. I will take away toys for now but I would like to be able to give my older dog her toys. submitted by /u/Neonaxolotol [link] [comments]”

“Hi all! I have a 9 month old belgian shepherd and I thought I'd share some of our favorite and least favorite chews, plus pros/cons of each. Keep in mind, all dogs are different! What worked for our large breed working pup may not work for a shih tzu. And what works for him now may not have worked 4 months ago! Also, ALL CHEWS should be given with supervision! Our favorites: Freezbones — Not exactly a chew, but these are amazing. We like them more than kongs and woof pupsicles because the sh”

“Hey! My roommate's dog has a bad habit of eating acorns. We had to take her to the emergency vet last night because she swallowed several whole. They were able to get her to throw up all but one, which an x-ray showed was in her intestinal tract but *almost* all the way through. They asked my roommate to come back in today to re x-ray. The problem is, with the cost of an emergency vet, she can't afford another x-ray NOR surgery atp. So, she wants to at least try to get her to pass the ac”

“My dog is one and a half years old, she’s a smaller breed dog, half chihuahua. She will not stop eating her poop to move it to the bed when I’m gone. We have a studio. I cover it and she still will manage. I work 6 hours of the day so I can’t clean it right away. How can I get her to stop! Please help. She does have some vitamins but they only work up until the poop then it leaves her body whatever it is that makes her stop submitted by /u/Right_Ad6400 [link] [comments]”

“Our nine week old lab loved to chew on everything, even when he has a nice pliant bone accessible. He especially loves to chew on hard stuff like the side of his crate or xpen. I feel like we’ve removed what we can. We’re teaching leave it. If your puppy liked the hard stuff … did anything help? I know it’s really bad for his teeth. submitted by /u/howzaboutthis [link] [comments]”

“Hi, my dog is a cross breed 1.5 year old who is chewing everything she can find. We got her in Dec 2025 and she’s currently in her teenage phase and has gone back to chewing things. This time she is chewing shoes, blankets and beds… pretty much anything. We’ve had to remove all blankets from her crate and separate her from her bonded pair as he’s a skinny dog and needs a bed to sleep on, otherwise he cries and shakes. She’s destroyed so many toys, beds and household things which we have removed.”

“So our puppy (almost 6 months old, Toller retriever, female), loves to steal socks and other things. We’ve been trying to react calmly but sometimes she picks up plastic from the street or things that could be dangerous. This morning she stole my socks and my partner tried to take it from her (gently). She then proceeded to growl and bite him. This has never happened before, she just likes to run away and she seems to find it amusing. We’re quite shocked that she actually bit and we don’t know w”

“Hi. people. I have to buy a new leash for my Aussie every 3 or 4 weeks because when he gets really excited, he turns and chews at it, which is no match for his teeth. Does anybody have a brand suggestion that is heavy duty, preferably 30'? Thank you. submitted by /u/Shitbagsewerpickle [link] [comments]”

“What are some quirks your dog has? Please make me laugh. I am post partum and I’m so sad / weepy about my baby growing up. I’ll go first. My coton de tulear HATES bath mats. She will rip them up, fold them over, pee on them, wreak havoc on them. Extra thank you for videos!!!! Sorry I just need the smiles rn hahaha submitted by /u/AdTime2271 [link] [comments]”

“She's a 6 month old Golden Retriever. Everything she sees, she grabs. I understand she is a puppy and that's how they explore the world, so people say she will eventually stop doing it (at least that frequently) as she gets older, but right now it is exhausting. We can literally ask her to drop something every three to five steps we take. Sometimes she'll do it, sometimes she won't, and we have to get it out of her mouth with our hands, which she accepts with no problem, but it w”

“Hello, for context I am currently a master’s student living alone with my dog who’s a 1 1/2 yr old Carolina/shepherd mix weighing ~80lbs. Due to my schedule I’m often gone for upwards of 8 hours a day with some days allowing for occasional breaks for me to come back home and check on him. When I first got him I had crate-trained him (although he wasn’t a big fan of it) and once he got to a point where he could be left out I would leave him while I ran small errands. As of recently however, he’s”

“I have a 2 year old GSD who, for the last year, will not stop chewing on her leg. It is to the point that its is constantly raw and bleeding. We have done multiple rounds of antibiotics, allergy meds, gabapentine, even fancy red light therapy. We have made it to the point where it was fully healed twice, then a week later I wake up to blood everywhere and a hole in her leg. We are on our 3rd leg compression sling which is soon to be our 4th because she won't stop chewing them, dont even get”

“Hello! I wanted to share a tip for teething puppies (this is completely unsponsored lol). Get yourself some No Hide Stix (the smallest size) and soak them in some water for a bit and then freeze them . I personally used the Earth Animal brand cause that’s what we sold in the pet store I worked at (I can’t figure out how to attach a picture of the product). Do NOT give your dogs actual rawhide, puppies or adult dogs. Real rawhide is very dangerous for dogs. I’ve raised two puppies using this tric”

“My 13 year old lab has been tipping over my garbage can to get to the bag and rips it apart to eat out of it. Obviously, this is super inconvenient for everyone. Does anyone have any budget bin suggestions (under 75$)? This is my current bin submitted by /u/_AsterOleander_ [link] [comments]”

“My fiance and I have a 10 month old Huskie Brittany Spaniel mix who is a ball of joy and energy. We adopted her about 8 months ago and are still getting her trained on certain things but we are having a difficult time with her chewing on random objects. For example, we have gotten her multiple dog beds since we adopted her but they have not lasted longer than 2 days since she tends to chew them up and completely destroy them within that time. She's also chewed through multiple different thin”

“My 16 week old standard poodle puppy tries to eat stuff outside constantly. Well this morning she was chewing on a stick and got a piece of it stuck across the roof of her mouth. She started thrashing her head around but luckily I was able to force her mouth open and pull it out. There was a little bit of her blood on my hand but fortunately I don’t think it’s too bad. I’m still shaken up and would love advice on how you guys trained your pups to not pick up everything. submitted by”

“My 5-month-old husky/lab mix loves socks! He never used to swallow them until recently! I now have hidden all socks, and he just swallowed one, and I wasn’t even going to go near him to grab it; I was trying to distract him so he could drop it, and he just straight up swallowed it anyway. He throws them up, and the first two he threw up, he allowed me to pick up and throw out. Now he just throws them up and swallows them. How do I approach him throwing up so I can grab the sock before he swallow”

“Any tips to train a puppy to stop putting everything in his mouth? I’m exhausted watching him everywhere he goes 😵‍💫 (3 month labradoodle) submitted by /u/Sufficient_Item4271 [link] [comments]”

“My pomeranian really likes chewing on cardboard. Is there a dog safe alternative I can give her to chew on instead? submitted by /u/HeftyCollection9615 [link] [comments]”

“I've seen destruction boxes and foraging boxes, but unfortunately at the moment my girl will chew and actually swallow anything not meant for consumption at this stage. Paper, cardboard, etc, are all confiscated within minutes. She's very food orientated/motivated and not long occupied by toys before she's moving on to furniture and other things she shouldn't be chewing or tearing. I often get creative with hiding kibble in a box full of her toys, but I am looking for enrichment”

“Hello! My doxie (Male, 1 yr 8 months) is due to go to the vet tomorrow for a pre op assessment (getting snipped) and I'm wondering if I should bring up paw chewing while I'm there? It's not necessarily excessive and he doesn't seem to be in pain or anything but I've never had any other dogs that do it. We'll be sitting on the couch and he chews on one of his hind paws / just shoves the whole foot in his mouth. Should I bring this up or is it just a weird quirk? Thanks in”

“My dog is still chewing everything, shoes, clothes, walls, etc. I’ve tried training but doesn’t seem to work. Any advice? submitted by /u/AlinaTheWaldenU [link] [comments]”

“my puppy is a male intact 10 month old pitbull x rottweiler (a bad combo, i know) i hate taking him outside, because he always tries to eat something. every single time. i look away for one second and he’s eating something. he knows he’s not supposed to eat things, when he sees something he wants he’ll eat it as fast as he can because he knows i’m going to take it out his mouth and he hates knowing i’m upset with him. today, that backfired. i noticed him eating something when we were walking on”

“I understand it could be allergies - but it's just one paw in particular... she started it a few months ago, on and off. Her paw pads are rough, so I'm wondering if she is "filing it down"? Species: Dog Age:4.5 Sex/Neuter status: female, fixed Breed: Mutt Body weight: 50 lbs submitted by /u/UpstateSoCa [link] [comments]”

“Hi all! My puppy is 8 months old, Australian/golden mix, and we’ve had him about 4 months. The dude is OBSESSED with eating chunks of mowed up grass almost any time he goes outside or on walks. I read online that it could be issues with his gut or fiber intake, but his poops seem normal and regular. Is he exploring the world or do we need to make a vet trip? Thanks soooo much! submitted by /u/Quiet-Armadillo-2808 [link] [comments]”

“A few days ago on Saturday my 13 yr old beagle went around like crazy and started eating all the hair in the apartment. We have two dogs so there was quite a bit of fur on the floor that he went out of his way to eat. Then he went into the bathroom to start eating all the human hair he could find and eventually vomited. He had never gone out of his way to eat so much hair in one go before. Thought it was a one time thing but when I came home today I found more hair puke. I don't understand w”

“He is an almost 4 months old Westie, not sure if it is due to his teeth bothering him but he LOVES to chew on random stuff. One of the many things that he knows is not allowed to chew on but does anyway when he gets the chance are cords, with hands and feet a close second. I have been trying to keep stuff out of his reach but it's like he has an innate talent to find dangerous stuff to chew on or try to eat. Out of those, I feel like the most urgent one are the cords, so far we have been kee”

“Why is she always eating her poop she eats her poop just to poop it out again like whut the fuck she’s 3 months old submitted by /u/HRUSoDumb [link] [comments]”

“My dog picked a new behaviour recently whereby she holds things in her mouth without necessarily chewing them. She's very playful but whenever she's calm or just resting, I know she has something in her mouth and this goes on for hours sometimes submitted by /u/corleyte [link] [comments]”

“Hi I have a lab who’s about a year and a half old and I’ve tried training him by trying to trade him treats whenever he picks something up he shouldn’t he seems to do somewhat better when I’m around but he is awful when I don’t watch him he chews anything he can reach I want to be able to leave him out when I’m at work I don’t like I have to keep him in a crate all day submitted by /u/mike98235 [link] [comments]”