How do I get my 1 year old dog to stop chewing up everything in the backyard?

Question

My dog is about 1 year old, he's a german shepard mix and he will chew up everything he can get his hand on outside. Shoes, ropes, cans, his own bed, my hammock. How do get him to stop?

Answer 1

Chewing, ripping, shredding, tearing up and generally destroying stuff is as normal for dogs as tail-wagging. If you have a dog, expect chewing. Provide him with his own toys and teach him to use them or he will destructively chew anything available, such as your furniture, carpet, clothing or shoes.
Dogs do not chew and destroy your house and belongings because they are angry, jealous or spiteful. They do it because they are dogs. They may be lonely, bored, frustrated or anxious, but they are not malicious, vindictive or petty. Active dogs can become restless when left alone for long periods. If you always come home at a certain time and you are late, your dog may become anxious. Your dog does not punish you for being late by destructive chewing. The dogs' chewing is a form of occupational therapy to relieve stress and release energy. If you come home and find that your dog has destroyed something, do not punish the dog.

Passive Training to Prevent Chewing Problems
Until your dog can be trusted not to destroy your home and yard, do not give him free, unsupervised run of your house. Give him a pleasant area or room of his own where he can enjoy himself and relax when you are not home or are unable to supervise him. Literally litter his room with a wide variety of toys. Since he will have no other choice of things to chew, he will learn to chew and play with his own toys. Make the toys enticing. Soak rawhide and long marrow bones in different flavored soups. Let them dry and give a different flavor to the dog each time you leave him alone. Sterilized marrow bones and Kong toys can be stuffed with liver treats or cheese. The dog will be entertained for hours trying to extricate the treats from the toy. Bury these toys in the dog's digging pit.
Active Training to Prevent Destructive Chewing
When you are home, take time to teach your dog to play with her toys and to seek them out whenever she feels like chewing. Always lavish your dog with praise every time you see her playing with or chewing on one of her toys. Teach your dog to "find" her toys. Scatter several toys in different rooms throughout the house. Tell her to "find it," then immediately lead her from room to room encouraging her to pick up a toy when she sees one. When she does so, reward with praise, affection, play and even a food treat, then continue the game.
Anticipation Chewing
Most destructive chewing occurs just before the owner returns home. The dog is anxiously anticipating the owner's return and this energy is released by chewing. You can prevent your dog from indiscriminately chewing whatever is handy and instead chew her own toys. Whenever you return home, insist that your dog greet you with a toy in her mouth. At first you will have to help her by telling her to "find" her toy. Do not give your usual home coming greeting until she has a toy firmly in her mouth. Within a few days, your dog will realize that you never say hello unless she has a toy in her mouth. Now when your dog starts anticipating your return, she will automatically begin looking for a toy with which to gain your greeting and approval when you do return. If a toy is already in her mouth, she will be likely to chew on it, rather than on the furniture, to release tension.
Chewing Deterrents
If you catch your dog in the act of chewing a forbidden item, you can sternly scold her with a verbal warning. Immediately direct your dog to one of her own toys and praise her for chewing it. This will teach your dog not to chew forbidden items when you are present, but it probably will not discourage the dog from investigating these items when you are not there. The only way to prevent your dog from chewing these things is to make them inherently unattractive. There are many products in pet stores that are designed to apply to furniture, etc that are safe but repulsive to dogs. Why chew on something that is boring, distasteful or unpleasant when there are plenty of fun, exciting and tasty things to chew on?
Common Sense and Chewing
By far the simplest way to keep your dog from chewing on forbidden items is to prevent access to them. Put your shoes in the closet and shut the door. Place the trash outside. Keep doors closed; keep valuables out of reach. Praise and reward your dog profusely for chewing her own toys.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Dog Chewing Everything

Answer 4

First of all you have a beagle, LOL. They are very active and SMART dogs and you have to keep them entertained. He has to have regular exersize (just running in the backyard isn't going to do it) and interaction that challenges his brain. Think about it: Beagles are hunting dogs, usually going after rabbits or other small prey. They can be hyper and NEED the stimulation and can also be obsessive about digging, chewing and eating. That's just the way they are. I found the book "The Idiot's Guide to Beagles" extremely helpful to my husband and me. We learned a lot, and had we known ALL of the breed charactaristics instead of relying on the shelter to find us a dog that suited our wants and needs, we honestly wouldn't have gotten her. However, she's a loyal, loving dog who thinks the world of our family, she's just got some beagle quirks. Get your dog some obedience training. PetsMart offers great training if you have one nearby. Also, start walking him for an hour a day. If he won't walk on a leash properly, get a no-pull halter (this one works really well on our dog) or a gentle leader. A choke chain or prong collar didn't work on controlling our dog. It just hurt her or choked her while she still pulled and pulled. She didn't care if it hurt her. Outside dogs are often understimulated. If we left our dog outside for more than a couple of hours we'd find huge holes dug into our yard, flowers eaten (none were poisonous) and bushes chewed. Good luck!!

Answer 5

Let's see. I assume he is aware that it is wrong. At this point, since it's been a year, use strict prevention tactics where he can't get to anything, give him toys that allow this behavior and rotate them to prevent boredom. He is what I consider a high maintenance dog. Run him on a leash daily.Even 15 minutes a day could make a big difference.It could be he's so bored that even negative attention is desired. Be diligent and don't give up and in about 2 weeks, you may have a dog that has adapted well to his human pack.

Answer 6

Chewing stuff is a stage that puppies go through. However, if not broken it can carry into adulthood. Our German Shepard chewed just about everything as well. I suggest a lot of chewing toys/ bones. That kept our shepard busy while we weren't there. The vet also recommended we take her on a 45 minute walk. That surprisingly helped a ton. good luck

Answer 7

He should hopefully be growing out of it soon. My Border Collie stopped chewing everything when he was about 18 months. My Lab mix is now 7 months and loves to chew. The only think I can recommend is scold the dog and give him plenty of toys he can chew on. You could also try crating him.

I can definitely sympathize with you :o)

Answer 8

its not all about getting him his own stuff to chew, though he does need his own stuff for just that, but he does this because he can. you have to stop him from this activity. a dog such as yours, especially yours, must have adequate exercise. it is a reality that you must walk a dog such as yours for at least 45 minutes a day. if you are already doing that then you have to show him that you are the leader of the pack, not him, and that he cannot get away with this.

watch the dog whisperer, cesar milan. i swear to god, you will have a whole new understanding of your dog once you see a few of his shows. he has even done shows with people who have the exact problem that you are having. he loves dogs and does not harm them in any way. he uses psychology and calmness to make your dog behave. he is on national geographic channel. he says do not try things without a professional, but there are things you can do, i think, to safely and effectively get your dog under control. good luck!

Answer 9

Give him appropriate things to chew. Lots of big rawhide bones, etc. These should taste better to him than ropes and cans. HOWEVER, it could be difficult to break him of the habit, now that it's established. Try not to leave him alone too much. Dogs often chew things when they are bored.

Answer 10

Try a spray called "Bitter Apple" Spray it on the items that he likes to chew. When you catch him in the act, Spray the Bitter Apple in his mouth and firmly say "No" I did this with my Boxer. You can also try putting up an electric fence around the areas you don't want him to chew up. I know it takes time and work when they are young like that. You can get this spray at Pet Smart or any kind of Pet store. This also works inside!

Answer 11

The only way I got my dog to stop was by hiring a behavior therapist for him. He chewed everything in the house and out. He loves wood, metal, fabric. We were taught "leave it" and how to stand (up straight and tall, no leaning), how to say it (not yelling, just firm and low voice). It worked. He only chews on his toys now (Nylabones).