Frederick Jace
Puppies may be known for their destructive behavior, but even young adult dogs can cause mayhem in your household. While the behavior is expected from puppies, it’s not normal for a dog to be in a constant state of destruction. There’s typically an underlying reason for why dogs become destructive and, once you’ve identified the reason, you can find a solution. From treating anxiety with dog CBD to dog proofing your home, read on for some must-have tips to quell this behavior.
Determine the Root Cause of Destructive Behavior
A dog that begins showing destructive behaviors such as digging or chewing is typically a response to something else. Some common reasons dogs become destructive are:
- Anxiety
- Boredom
- Nervousness
- Frustration
- Hyperactivity
Once you figure out the reason why your dog has destructive behavior, you can find solutions to help them combat that. For example, if your dog exhibits hyperactivity and high energy indoors, they may need to get more time outside to run around and use up that energy.
Provide Chew Toys for your Dog
Whether your pet is at home and chewing on various items in your house such as shoes or furniture or your pet is outside in a fenced yard and gnawing on a wooden deck or house siding, providing chew toys to give your pet a new outlet to take their boredom on is an effective solution. Chew toys, rawhides, or edible chew bones, are great options to provide your pet to feed their chewing tendency.
You may be tempted to just buy a bunch of toys and have your dog let loose, but this can have the opposite effect. When your dog sees a bunch of toys available to them, one of two things can happen. One is that they think everything is fair game to gnaw on and they will continue to chew on things you don’t want chewed on. Two is that they’ll feel overwhelmed by the choices and become anxious, which could be a reason your dog is chewing in the first place, which doesn’t serve as a solution to the problem.
Feel free to purchase a bunch of toys for your pet, but only offer them one new toy at a time and keep the remaining on hand. Your dog will feel excited with their one new toy and will fixate on it. Dogs will get bored with the same toy after a while. By keeping toys on hand, you have an easy way to swap out the old toy for a new one to maintain their interest as well as an extra toy in case the first one becomes too destroyed and is unsafe for the dog to have.
Use Dog CBD to Reduce Anxiety
It is quite common for dogs to suffer from anxiety. Whether they suffer from separation anxiety, a perceived fear or phobia (such as noises or strange people), or some other reason, that anxiety can result in destructive behavior. While you can try to eliminate the factors that result in anxiety, it’s not always easy to do. A great alternative to combat their anxiety is dog CBD.
While dog CBD has been effective for pets with health concerns such as joint issues or itching, it’s also an effective stress-reliever. Created specifically for pets in mind, dog CBD is completely safe for pets and works to quell those stressful and anxious feelings to allow your dog to feel relief. Some dog owners use CBD for specific events that could cause stress, such as fireworks on the fourth of July, but many dog owners use CBD practically for dogs that exhibit ongoing anxious behavior.
Dog Proof Your Home
Dog proofing your home isn’t necessarily a long-term solution to your dog’s destructive behavior but is definitely a good idea while you work on finding solutions to the problem. Put away valuable items so your dog can’t get to them. Avoid leaving out shoes or dirty laundry. Keep decor and any other items you might leave out to a minimum.
Once you’ve found a working solution to your pet’s destructive behavior, slowly reintroduce items into your home that you’d prefer to be left out and test the waters. If your dog’s behavior has found a solution, you’ll likely be safe in resuming your previous practices.
Conclusion
Destructive behavior in dogs can feel stressful for a dog owner. You’re not alone in that feeling. There are solutions that can help both you and your dog find peace in the home. Work on figuring out the best solution for both of you so you can eliminate the behavior and help your dog feel more comfortable.
