How To Stop A Miniature Schnauzer Chewing

Chewing is a behavior that anyone who owns a puppy has to deal with. Your miniature schnauzer may drive you crazy with his chewing and you may think it is just something you will have to deal with until he grows out of it.  Think again.  You don’t have to put up with chewing.  You can teach your pup to stop chewing and put an end to this annoying behavior.

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Reasons for Chewing

Puppies chew for three basic reasons – they are bored, they have excess energy or they are teething.  A dog’s mouth is their basic tool they have to explore the world around them.  As they are growing a developing they will naturally chew on things to learn more about them.  It is your job, as their owner, to help teach them what is appropriate to chew and what is not.

Stopping the Behavior

There are actually many things that you can do to stop your miniature schnauzer from chewing.  You have to understand that your dog often chews because he is teething and it is a natural thing he wants to do. With that in mind you need to first set up your pup’s environment to discourage chewing.  Try doing the following things:

-        Puppy proof your home.  Just like you baby proof your home before your child starts exploring, you can do the same for your pup.  Put away items that may encourage the dog to chew or that you would rather not have chewed up.  Cover electrical outlets and keep cords out of the pup’s reach.

-        Keep your pup in a crate when nobody is there to watch him. This not only keeps him from chewing, but also protects him since some things he may chew could be dangerous.

-        Always supervise your pup.  Keep a good eye on him and act quickly if he starts to chew.

There are other things that you can do once you notice chewing behavior to help train your pup to not chew.  Try doing the following:

-        Buy chew toys.  There are many doggy chew toys on the market, so you can find something your pup will enjoy chewing on.  Make his toys special and make sure he knows the toys are all his and that he is allowed to chew them.

-        If you catch your pup chewing on something he should not be chewing then act quickly.  Take the item away or remove your pup from the area and give him a chew toy instead.  Once he chews on the toy make sure to praise him.

-        You can also use a type of positive reinforcement training.  Place your pups chew toys along with some items he is not allowed to chew on the floor.  When he chews on the wrong items simply ignore him, but when he chews the toys offer him a lot of praise.

Sometimes your miniature schnauzer will chew because he has excess energy and needs something to do.  In this case you might want to try the following ideas:

-        Give him extra exercise and play with him until he seems to have burned up the excess energy.

-        Make sure that you always exercise your pup on a regular basis and avoid missing scheduled exercise and play time.

Getting your miniature schnauzer’s chewing problem under control should come in time.  If your pup’s main issue is teething then you can probably easily fix the situation as he will grow out of it on his own.  Even if it is a behavioral problem, with consistent work you should be able to teach him how to curb his chewing to only his own toys.