Revealed a way to wean dogs to gnaw everything

Zoopsychologist told how to discourage dogs from spoiling things at home

Recommendations on how to discourage the urge to gnaw things from your favorite pets were shared with the owners of dogs of all stripes by zoopsychologist Daria Noikina. Expert advice published by the portal “Sport Express“.

As Noikina emphasized, it is common for dogs to try everything “by heart” – this is their way of learning about the world. But there is a difference between trying something and systematically destroying an apartment. “This behavior can have different reasons,” the expert explained. According to the zoopsychologist, for example, puppies most often gnaw everything when changing teeth. This is normal behavior for a four to six month old dog. Here, the owners just need to take precautions. “The puppy’s space needs to be limited, all dangerous and easily accessible objects should be removed, and he should be provided with a sufficient number of toys,” Noikina advised. – At this age, it is important to teach the dog commands “Fu!” and “No!” to save yourself from problems in the future.

Other reasons are caused by the desire to gnaw things in adult pets. Dogs may destroy property out of loneliness, boredom, or a desire to get attention. “In the first case, the dog is stressed due to separation from the owner and, chewing on things, tries to calm down,” says the zoopsychologist. “Here it is necessary to work with the so-called “separation anxiety”, gradually accustoming the dog to be alone.” Boredom in a dog can be corrected by providing her with an interesting activity. For example, by providing her with a sniffing mat and an automatic ball thrower. If the pet chews on things to attract attention, then this indicates that the owner does not devote enough time to him and this needs to be changed.

In addition, a beloved dog may gnaw on things when he lacks physical activity. This can be easily fixed by simply increasing the time of walks and making them more dynamic. “Also, a dog can gnaw on everything if there is another pet in the house that has shown by example that this is possible,” added Noikina. Sometimes their owners are to blame for the harmful behavior of pets, who, with their improper upbringing, stimulate the bad habits of their wards. “The owner himself gives old things to be torn to pieces, not realizing that for a dog there is no difference between old slippers or new ones – it will gnaw on any,” the expert gave an example.

The animal psychologist warned that punishing an animal – hitting or scolding it after committing a “crime” when the pet has already forgotten what it was doing – is an ineffective strategy. In the eyes of the dog at this moment, the owner looks like an inadequate creature, who scolds for some reason, and in the future this will certainly negatively affect the behavior of the tailed pet. “You can pull the dog up only if you caught it red-handed,” Daria Noikina emphasized. The expert added that if the owner, after all the efforts, failed to solve the problem, then you should contact a cynologist or zoopsychologist.

Formerly MK toldHow to calm an aggressive cat. It is not necessary to pick him up while he is angry, “like a dog”, as this can backfire and make the pet angry. It is better to disorient your tailed friend – cover the cat with a blanket or towel. From surprise, the fluffy will be confused and emotions will subside. As soon as the cat calms down under the covers, you can try to pick it up.