Dear Chow: A young pup loves to put everything in his mouth. Dogs investigate things with their mouths and your puppy may be chewing because he is curious, teething or just bored. Your pup will continue to do all of the above until you intervene. A puppy needs to know what toys are good toys and what toys, shoes, pillows, furniture, baby toys, etc. are bad or “off-limit” toys. Any new item you bring into the house is fair game for the puppy to investigate. Place those items out of puppy’s reach as well.

Anytime your puppy is loose in the house and has access to anything he might chew on, he must be supervised. Design his access to puppy-proofed areas for starters. When you are away from the house or very busy and can’t keep an eye on him place him in his crate.

Prevention

What you want to create is a happy chewing environment for both you and your puppy. You can’t stop the puppy from chewing, it’s natural. But you can train the puppy when and where he can chew and that this activity pleases his master. It all begins with supervision. This way you can catch him as soon as he begins to chew on an off-limits object, including you hand. At that moment you can quickly replace that item with an approved toy.

 Whenever you catch him with anything in his mouth that is not puppy-specific, walk up to him (don’t run at him or scare him) and remove the item and say “At” in a stern voice with a sharp snap to it. Have a puppy-approved toy handy and give it to him. Then praise the puppy, “good boy” and make a big deal about the fact he is chewing on the good toy. Be sure to show your puppy your pleasure in his deed. He needs to know his new behavior is pleasing you.

Doggie Decor

Before this exchange can begin you need to get a box and a bunch of puppy toys. Why not make this box a new feature to your family room, where the family gathers and supervised puppy chewing can become a form of entertainment. My dog’s box sits in my living room where our family gathers. The box is made of sturdy wood and has a beautiful hand-painted scene of an elkhound in an English garden on the front. It is filled with white hard bones, soft beige fleece-covered squeaky toys, rope knots and a few rubber toys they could care less about. I have put cocoa-colored cotton waffle throw rugs next to the box to designate their “play and chew” area.

Have some fun with this task. Buy toys that match your room’s décor and are totally different from anything the toddler has. The pup will learn to find his own toys in his own special box. Maybe the box will be a big wicker basket or old tin ice chest. Be creative while letting the pup know this is his box. Opt for a container without a lid that way he can have easy access to his toys.

Experiment with what types of toys the pup likes. You need an assortment to choose from so the pup won’t get bored with the same old toys. But favorites will immerge and as the pup gets older, you will know what toys work for him and which ones he’ll always leave in the bottom of the box. Eventually you can discard the “untouchables” and replace them with more of his favorites. And as he ages you can rotate the favorites to keep him guessing which toy will immerge next.

Whenever you want to give him a toy make sure he sees you taking the good toy out of the box. When he’s done playing with his toys put them back in his box. Before long he will learn to take his own toys from the box. It becomes a fun game because the puppy loves to show you how smart he is while pleasing you at the same time. Now, if we could just figure out how to get them to put their toys back in the box!

Lisa Peterson, a long-time breeder of Norwegian Elkhounds, is the Director of Club Communications at the American Kennel Club. Contact her at ask@lisa-peterson.com or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.