How to make your dog stop destroying everything

Daily routine of physical exercises and play

Dogs need a stimulating environment. Many dogs are not stimulated enough as they do not have escape channels. They can not give vent to normal behaviors, such as walking, running, smelling, seeing new things… They will go out to less desirable behaviors to fill that void… Sometimes leading to compulsive boards.

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You may even think that your dog does a lot of exercise and has a lot of toys. But you are seeing from your human point of view. From the point of view of the animal is very different:

A daily 30-minute walk is not enough, the dogs would be walking almost 80% of the day.

A large yard from a human point of view is a cubicle for a dog, which would have territories of a few thousand square meters.

Weekend walks are not fun and exercise enough, much less escape for your energy.

10 squeacky toys do not offer the diversity, challenges and complexity that free life offered.

The same 40 toys that have been in the basket for 1 year, are no longer stimulating as they were 1 year ago.

1. Tours of at least 1 hour per day

30-minute ride is not enough – long walks, tire positively (and care: without the use of punishment, which can lead to more anxiety…), it is no use having a great yard! Until he learns the difference, try to leave his house to the test of dogs: do not leave accessible objects that he likes to chew, if he wants to make the dog stop destroying. In place, give him a suitable toy to bite and always please him for doing the right thing.

2. 2. Create Supervised Sociable Interactions with Other Dogs

Encourage the socialization of your dog with other dogs

For puppies who have had good socialization as puppies, interaction with other puppies can be very positive. It adds challenges, positive changes in the routine. But be careful if your dog is shy, fearful, or sensitive. Some dogs simply prefer to go without contact with other dogs. This, by the way, is very common in selected breeds to work with herds, such as the Australian Cattle Dog and Border Collies. Never force the contact at all. This, in addition to creating a negative association and increasing anxiety, can even lead to a seemingly aggressive reaction, but it is actually fear and defense.

3. Toys

The best way to make the dog stop destroying and biting what should not be done is to give him more opportunities to bite, to bite, to destroy what he must. That is, redirect unwanted behavior to things he can bite. And at the same time, don’t let him bite, flirt, chew, destroy things he can’t. Does it make sense? And how to do that?

– Offer resistant toys. You know those special bones that last almost a lifetime? And educational toys. Those who seem increasingly like the complex toys of children, who create mental challenges. There are many options on the market, some more expensive and others less: Kongs of various formats, Pet Games trays, Buddy Toys bones, smoked ox ears…

Choose safe toys from trusted brands that do not have toxic materials, and take care not to be swallowed. If the toy offers some small risk, always supervise while it is playing.

Remove things that he should not bite or destroy from the place that the dog is. If you have no way to do this, sometimes it is easier to keep the dog somewhere else, safe and without toys that he can destroy or hurt himself. And he’s only going to be able to get out of that place if someone is supervising him. That until the problem improves, there is free life again.

Choose the right toys for your pet

Don’t give him things to bite or encourage him to play with them.

If he has a very particular taste, he only bites or destroys things with very specific characteristics: choose toys similar to the things he bites.

– Feeding the toy instead of in the food pot. Toys like Kongs, Pet Ball, etc. are great and long-lasting alternatives.

– Whenever the dog is towards, touch or pick up the educational toy, make a party, caress, praise, give a snack. In other words, reinforce this desired behavior.

How do animals learn?

Dogs (and other animals) do not know what is right and what is wrong, that biting a shoe is wrong and that biting a little thing is right. And to say this is not to say that they are less capable, less intelligent, less good than we humans (even because we, Pet Angel, believe that animals are much more intelligent and kind than humans). Dogs don’t know what is right and wrong because these are values created by humans.

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After all, each country has different values of right and wrong, in Japan, for example, it is considered normal/correct shouting to call the waiter inside the restaurant, which in Brazil is considered a lack of respect / wrong. Children too, are learning with time what is right or wrong because society goes “forces”… Anyway, I will stop here, because this is a conversation for many posts.

Dogs, other animals, and also human animals learn, in short, two ways:

– By association: positive and negative

For example, from Totó thinking: when I see my owner / keeper take the guide I am already happy because the guide has already been associated with a ride, which is something that I like / that is good; when I see the veterinary clinic through the car window I already start to be afraid because the clinic has already been associated with the vaccine, pain, other animals, unknown smells, which is something that I do not like / is not good.

– By consequence

For example of Totó thinking: when I sit to wait to cross the street, my owner speaks super happy with me and makes me a super affection, which is a great result; when I bite the shoe of my owner/back, my owner screams with me and makes a brave face, and I hate it!

So to teach dogs anything, including making the dog stop destroying everything that he sees ahead, we need to follow these principles of behavior analysis. When we teach the dog what he can and cannot chew, destroy, dig, we will teach through what gives or does not give results, and what has a positive or negative association, not of what is wrong and what is wrong.

4. New is always good

One of the factors that makes your dog like a toy is it is a novelty. When you arrive with market bag or pick up and show something new, doesn’t your dog go crazy, super excited thinking it’s for him? And you do not need to spend all your salary on toys to be able to have news for your pet! There are two ways to offer news to your pet, spending little:

– Rotating toys: add all toys and then divide them into kits of 2 or 3 toys. Keep the ones you will not make available for the pet in the fortnight or week. And do this, alternating the toys, so that there is always something new and interesting. And remove if there are any broken or that can hurt the dog.

– Creating new toys from the old ones: you know that ball-shaped toy that had holes and has been sewn several times? What if you sew more ribbons, ropes, put inside a bottle or plastic pot, creating challenges for your pet? You can also join toys by joining several older… Use imagination and your handmade side!

5. Teach new behaviors and tasks

Teach new behaviors: sit down, roll, stay, catch, come, give the paw… Ixi, it is an endless list! And give him new tasks to perform: bring the newspaper, picks up the ball, holds the spoon in the nose, finds the snack… Do sports with your dog: agility, flyball, fresbee, running… All are options of mental enrichment and exercise that your dog will love! And they will keep him busy, making the dog stop destroying the objects of his house and obeying his commands.

6. Increase the hit by avoiding the error

When we talk about health and well-being, prevention is always more indicated. Do not forget to keep well guarded objects that should not be bitten. Don’t leave anything that is at risk of being bitten within your dog’s reach. Don’t we do this with children? We lock the drawers, take the cleaning products out of the reach of human babies. Remember that the best way to protect objects and your dog is not to let him create the habit of biting.

Strengthening the desired behaviors

We want to encourage the dog to bite and destroy what he can. We already understand that I think he will never bite and destroy anything is wrong. He will need to have things that he can destroy, it is no use thinking that this behavior will never happen again.

The point is that now, instead of biting your favorite shoe, it will bite the new toy, things you have selected for him to bite. Whenever he does, we will encourage! If the dog is in direction, touch or take the educational toy, we will make a party, caress, praises a lot, give a very appetizing snack!
Also, give small and intense periods of attention every day! Program periods of play and intrinsic to encourage you to interact calmly and not get so anxious.

Positive reinforcement is always the most advisable!

How to make your dog stop destroying the entire perimeter of the house or the doors, windows.

If the problem happens due to the defense of the space, the house:

– At first block the windows with curtains or other materials that decrease the external stimulus, that is, the neighbor’s dog. Just for him not to see the neighbor.

At the beginning turn on the TV, the sound, drowning and decreasing the perception of sound out of sound.

And while doing this, look for a professional who implements a behavioral therapy plan based on desensitization and conditioning of visual and sound stimuli.

But what if the dog starts destroying, biting, digging?

The question that doesn’t want to shut up! But what if the dog does the wrong thing, bit things wrong, destroy what it doesn’t? We will try to prevent this from happening by removing the objects from the site, but this will not work 100% of the time, test all the ways to make your dog stop destroying the objects.

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We’re not going to fight, push, yell, punish the animal. If we see this happening in front of us, let’s immediately give him a warning: say “a-ha”, “oioi”… A short and simple word, said in its normal tone of voice. And as soon as we say the warning, we will ask him to do something: sit down, look at us, come to us, ask to pick up another toy, etc. With this we are redirecting the animal to the right behavior and we can then reinforce it for it! This is a great way to make the dog stop destroying that object you like so much.

If the situation is much, much more difficult, you can put bad smells or bitter tastes on the object or place to prevent it from biting. A little lemon with water does not hurt the animal, but it tastes bad. But don’t use it as your first, not a second option.

We want to prevent him from doing the wrong behavior. Remember that it is interesting to select a specific location, a fenced area and no objects that cannot be bitten local, remove the things that can be destroyed.

Avoid the negative reinforcement!

What if destruction is secondary to a behavioral or general health problem?

If the dog is suffering from a behavioral problem:

if only when alone;

– if you do this all the time it seems that you can not control and accompanied by sucking and/or licking;

if you have fears or phobias

Or if you are suffering from a health problem related to:

– mouth, mouth,

– the intestinal gastro-into system,

– changes in food,

– is very quiet,

-has alteration of urine or faeces,

– drink a lot of water

Look for a reliable behavioral veterinarian or arist/educated from dogs. Always those who do not rely on punishment and who do not use terms like “dominant”, “sole of the pack”, “submissive”… Before making your dog stops destroying everything, you need to understand what reasons he does this.

But be sure to offer him a lot of physical exercise, especially long walks, and play and interaction. These are factors that will often make the treatment process walk much more quickly and with much better being. But carefully, always following the signs that your dog passes you: balance is key.

If your dog digs the whole yard

If your dog digs the entire yard or destroys the backyard plants, separate a little piece from the backyard to your dog. Leave a corner without plants, with sand or dirt so that your dog can dig a lot without spoiling your things. So both are happy!

We can help you

You certainly don’t want Toy to destroy your home, turn your trash, end up with the garden. And especially: that he suffer! You should be a busy person who works a lot, which makes it more challenging to have time to take a long walk with your dog! The day-to-day is increasingly busy even (and the dogs are not to blame for it!).

To help you keep you always busy, away from your stuff and make your dog stop destroying everything, Pet Angel offers the service of exceptional walking quality (dog walker).

But it is not any dog walker, it is not equal that walks with dogs in the intervals, nor like the neighbor who wants to gain a little money at the end of the month. Nothing against them, but… we are talking about something different! quality of life and higher training. At Pet Angel you can find the best professionals in the industry.

The tour of the Pet Angel is not only for your dog to go out on the street, pee and come back, and also does not use punishment (which nowadays is not with anything…). The dog walker serves for your dog to exercise, be stimulated, have environmental and social enrichment, and achieve various benefits for his physical and mental health – especially the prevention of home destruction.