Like barking, digging, and jumping, dog chewing and puppy chewing is a natural canine behavior. It helps clean teeth, strengthen gums and the jaw, and quite honestly, it passes the time. Here’s how to redirect that energy toward something more productive.

1. Look for tempting targets of dog chewing or puppy chewing and either remove it or cover it with something that’s resistant to teeth penetration. Things like door knobs, furniture legs, draperies, plant leaves, and shoes are prime targets of dog chewing, and if you’ve ever wondered why your dog insists on chewing your house slippers, here’s your answer: Dogs find the scent of their owners comforting. As a result, they’ll chew on just about anything that comes into close contact with you – your shoes, your pens, your wallet, your underwear -- anything that you use on a regular basis and leave a scent on.

Of course dogs will chew on things that smell like food too. The snack scent that you leave on your remote control or steering wheel will attract a chewer, and so will a rug that bears the scent of a spilled soda.

2. Give your dog free access to his own chew toys. When you catch your dog chewing something that it shouldn’t, distract it with an appropriate chew toy. Then reward it for chewing the toy instead of the couch leg or video game controller. If the dog’s chew toy has a texture that’s similar to the texture of its favorite target, the transition will be easier. At the very least, try to buy the dog two types of chew toys. One should be soft and fuzzy, and the other should be hard and solid. The soft and fuzzy toy will feel like furniture or shoes, and the hard and soft toy will feel like remote controls or cell phones. If these toys are flavored, the dog will enjoy chewing them even more.

3. Teach the dog to trade items for rewards on a regular basis. When the dog has a toy in its mouth, encourage it to drop it in exchange for a tasty treat. Give the toy back, and then repeat the trade with the same temptation. Regular practice will help you retrieve inappropriate items from the dog’s mouth without having to chase after it.

4. Cover wires and tubing that can’t be relocated with antichew solutions. This strategy may not work with persistent dogs that develop a taste for antichew flavoring, so you may have to additionally keep the dog away from the area in which wires and tubing are exposed.

5. Protect your plants. Many beautiful plants and flowers are toxic if ingested. You’ll need to research which ones in your home pose a threat. If you find a few, move the plants to an area that the dog can’t access, or replace them with a non-toxic variety. If your chewer seems to prefer the soil that your plants sit in over the plants themselves, cover the soil with a screen or piece of metal hardware.

6. Keep the dog exercised. An underexercised dog will chew because it provides a physical activity that the dog needs and wants. Remedy this by making sure your chewer gets at least one hour of hearty exercise (running, playing, etc.) each day. In the even that you’re unable to exercise your dog yourself, hire someone else to do it: a dog sitter, a dog walker, or a dog daycare, neighbor, friend – anyone!

A list of dog breeds that may resort to chewing due to a lack of sufficient exercise:

Afghan Hound

Ainu

Airedale Terrier

Alaskan Klee Kai

Alpine Dachsbracke

American Foxhound

American Pit bull Terrier

American Staffordshire Terrier

Appenzeller

Ariegeois

Australian Cattle Dog

Australian Kelpie

Australian Shepherd

Australian Terrier

Barbet

Bavarian mountain Hound

Bedlington Terrier

Berger Picard

Bleu de Gascogne

Bluetick Coonhound

Border Colllie

Borzoi

Boykin Spaniel

Briquet Griffon Vendeen

Brittany

Canaan Dog

Canadian Eskimo Dog

Carolina Dog

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Cesky Fousek

Chesapeake Bay Retriever

Chinese Shar-Pei

Chinook

Dalmation

Deutscher Wachtelhund

Doberman Pinscher

English Foxhound

English Shepherd

English Springer Spaniel

Field Spaniel

Finnish Hound

Finnish Lapphund/Swedish Lapphund

Fox Terrier

German Longhaired Pointer

German Pinscher

German Shepherd Dog

German Shorthaired Pointer

Giant Schnauzer

Golden Retiever

Gordon Setter

Grand Anglo-Francais

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog

Greenland Dog

Griffon Fauve de Bretagne

Hamiltonstovare

Harrier

Ibizan Hound

Iceland Dog

Irish Red and White Setter

Irish Water Spaniel

Irish Wolfhound

Jagdterrier

Jindo

Kai

Kangal Dog

Kerry Blue Terrier

Kraski Ovcar

Kuvasz

Labrador Retriever

Large Munsterlander

Louisian Catahoula Leopard Dog

Miniature Pinscher

Mudi

Name

Norwegian Buhund

Norwegian Elkhound

Norwich Terrier

Otterhound

Perdiguero de Burgos

Perdiguero Navarro

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

Pharoah Hound

Plott Hound

Pointer

Polish Lowland Sheepdog

Portuguese Water Dog

Rat Terrier

Redbone Coonhound

Schipperke

Shetland Sheepdog

Siberian Husky

Sloughi

Small Munsterlander

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

Spanish Greyhound

Spanish Hound

Spanish Water Dog

Stabyhoun

Standard poodle

Standard Schnauzer

Stottish Deerhound

Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog

Swedish Vallhund

Thai ridgeback

Treeing Tennessee Brindle

Treeing Walker Coonhound

Weimaraner

Welsh Terrier