How to Stop a Puppy from Chewing Its Bed

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methods

1Distracting Your Puppy

2Tiring Your Puppy out

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Training a new puppy is a difficult process on its own, and watching them destroy their bed every night adds another level of frustration to the situation. While it’s tempting to yell at or scold your puppy for chewing, try to hold off. Instead, you can replace their bed with other things to chew on and give them positive reinforcement for good behavior. Soon, you’ll have a cute and playful puppy that will hopefully choose other things to chew on besides their own bed.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Distracting Your Puppy

1. 
   1
   Provide plenty of other toys for your puppy to chew on. Chewing is a normal behavior for dogs. You can help them pick the right things to chew by providing toys, bones, and balls for them to chew on instead of their bed. Keep a wide variety of toys in your home so your puppy has some options to choose from.

   • If you already have a lot of toys for your puppy, they might be bored of the ones that you have. Try putting half of the toys away for 1 day and then switching them out to vary your puppy’s entertainment.
2. 
   2
   Keep a few edible chew toys around to distract your puppy. Edible toys like bones and rawhides are a great treat to keep your puppy entertained. You can give them an edible chew toy as a reward for good behavior to distract them from chewing on their bed.

   • Keep an eye on your puppy as they eat their chew toy to make sure they don’t choke. If you’re going to leave your puppy alone, don’t give them a toy they can eat.

   Warning: Always give your puppy bones that are made for dogs. Chicken bones, beef bones, and other animal bones from your kitchen can splinter in your dog's stomach and cause a lot of problems.

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3. 
   3
   Entertain your puppy with a puzzle toy. Dogs are super smart, and their brains need entertainment too. Purchase a puzzle toy that you can fill with treats or kibble to give your puppy a game to play for their reward. These toys will require your puppy to play with them in order to get the reward, so they’ll have a lot of fun while exercising their mind.

   • You can buy puzzle toys in the shape of a ball or a small maze at most pet supply stores.
4. 
   4
   Give your puppy ice or cold toys if they’re teething. If your puppy is younger than 6 months old, it may be chewing on its bed because its teeth are still coming in. To help with the mild discomfort of teething, put a few toys in the freezer or give your puppy a couple of ice cubes to chew on and numb their gums and mouth.

   • Teething is a normal part of your puppy’s development.
5. 
   5
   Praise your puppy when they chew on a toy or treat. Puppies are still learning what they can and cannot chew. When your dog starts chewing on their toys or a treat you gave them, be sure to give them lots of pets and verbal praise so they know it makes you happy.

   • Try not to yell at your dog or scold them for chewing on their bed, as they probably won’t understand what they did wrong.
6. 
   6
   Direct your puppy’s attention to a toy when you notice them chewing. If you see your puppy starting to chew on their bed, gently place a toy or a chew bone in front of their nose. Then, get super excited when they start chewing on the right thing instead of their bed.

   • Dogs crave attention, so the more you give them for chewing on the right items, the better they will be.
7. 
   7
   Spray anti chew spray on your puppy’s bed. Anti chew spray smells and tastes pretty bad, so it may stop your dog from biting or chewing their bed. Spray a thin coat of the spray on your dog’s bed to deter them from chewing on it when they feel the urge.

   • You can find anti chew spray at most pet supply stores.
   • While anti chew spray is a good deterrent, it won’t stop your puppy from chewing their bed all on its own. Use the spray in conjunction with the other methods for the best results.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Tiring Your Puppy out

1. 
   1
   Exercise your puppy for 1 hour every day so they are tired out. Take your dog out on at least 1 walk per day, play fetch with them in a yard or a field, and let them run around to expend energy. Puppies have the most energy out of all dogs, and when they get bored, they’ll be more likely to chew on things they aren’t supposed to.

   Tip: Puppies usually get their energy in short bursts, so try doing a few quick play sessions or walks throughout the day instead of one long walk.
2. 
   2
   Let your puppy play with other dogs for some social stimulation. Just like humans, dogs need to interact with others to stay healthy and happy. Take your dog to a dog park or set up a dog playdate so your puppy can “talk” with other dogs and make new friends.

   • If your puppy isn’t vaccinated yet, hold off on letting them play with other dogs. Your puppy could catch or spread dangerous viruses that they aren’t equipped to fight off yet.
3. 
   3
   Ensure that your puppy feels calm and relaxed at home. Sometimes, dogs will chew because they feel nervous or anxious. Try to give them an area of your home where there aren’t any other animals or loud noises so they can relax.

   • You can put their bed in a corner of your home that’s relatively quiet or keep the bed near you so they feel at ease.
4. 
   4
   Avoid leaving your dog in a crate for more than 6 hours at a time. Puppies have a lot of energy and need to be active every single day. Try to take them out of their crate as often as you can, and never leave them cooped up for longer than 6 hours.

   • If you have to go to work and leave your puppy alone, consider hiring a dog walker to let your puppy out in the middle of the day for some exercise.
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Expert Q&A

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• Question

  How do you discipline a puppy?

  

  Elisabeth Weiss
  Professional Dog Trainer

  Elisabeth Weiss is a Professional Dog Trainer and owner of Dog Relations NYC, a dog training service in New York, New York. Elisabeth relies on science-based, force-free, and reward-based techniques. Elisabeth offers behavior training, puppy manners, body awareness and injury prevention, diet, exercise and dog nutrition services. Her work has been featured in New York Magazine and on the Dog Save the People podcast. She also trained all the dogs in the movie "Heart of a Dog" by Laurie Anderson that features Elisabeth's journey with Laurie Anderson's and Lou Reed's dog Lolabelle and how her passion for playing the keyboards played a significant role in improving her quality of life after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

  

  Elisabeth Weiss

  Professional Dog Trainer

  Expert Answer

  In general, positive reinforcement works much better than negative reinforcement. Giving a dog attention when they are being well-behaved is really the best way to reinforce good behavior in a dog. A big mistake people often make is giving a dog attention when they are engaging in behaviors like chewing or barking. By screaming at a dog or saying no, without giving the dog an idea of what to do instead, you are giving the dog the message that they will get attention from you every time they engage in those behaviors. Try to give your dog enough stimulation so that they can find things to do and remember to reward them for good behavior.

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Tips

• If you’re having trouble training your puppy, try going to a puppy training class to get tips and expert advice from a professional dog trainer.
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• All dogs are going to chew on something. Try to make sure your puppy knows what they can chew on so they don’t chew their bed.
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