Pug chewing is a problem that all owners face and within this article, we will outline some recommendations you can follow in order to deal with this habit effectively. One thing that you should bear in mind is that not all chewing is destructive and in some cases, this is considered healthy as it helps with teething and maintaining good mouth hygiene.
Nevertheless, if your pug begins to chew everything within reach and tears up expensive stuff, this is not a good sign for you or the ones around you. This is not only causing damage to you or your belongings, but also it can cause damage to themselves and they may get injured by breaking sharp objects, but also depending on what they swallow, they can get an intestinal blockage.
Firstly you’ll need to understand what encourages this behavior in them and find the best way to stop it before it gets out of hand. The approach you need to adapt to this problem should be mainly concentrated on having your pug chew less and not completely remove it from his routine.
How to distract your pug from chewing
Sometimes your pug will begin chewing everything around him just because there’s nothing close at hand they can do in order to divert their attention. Here are some suggestions you can take note of and use with your pug.
Give your pug a chewing toy
As you most likely would not want to find your pug chewing items like furniture, rugs, pillows, or clothes, then you should give him some chewing toys that he can get distracted with and forget about other stuff in his area. You can look for interesting and attractive toys to give him when you notice that he’s started chewing on something.
Keep your pug active
Most pugs chew because they lack exercise and they have a lot of energy to consume. If they also get bored, chewing would seem like the perfect activity for them. In this case, make sure you walk your pug for several minutes every day and engage him in different activities so that he’ll no longer have the energy for chewing.
Thorough training
Whenever you see your pugs taking something in their mouth and chewing it, you can remove that item and give them a try. In order to encourage him chewing toys instead of unusual objects, you can reward him by addressing positive expressions and caressing him, or give him some treats for being such a good puppy.
If you do that very often, he’ll associate chewing toys with good habits and will do it every time, just to know he’ll get rewarded. Most owners consider crate training as being an effective solution to fixing any behavior-related problem. Putting your dog in a crate can divert his attention from chewing and all you need to do is to create a happy and entertaining place in the crate.
Use anti-chew sprays
Sprays that have particular scents can prevent your pug from chewing your belongings. If he doesn’t like the way it smells or tastes, he’ll no longer be tempted to grab a thing in his mouth. They can also be multi-purpose, for instance, when your pug tends to lick or bite his itchy areas on the body. For some pugs, these sprays can work well because they dislike the bitter taste, whereas others can get used to it and continue with their bad habit. For the latter case, you can come up with other solutions.
Understand your pug
Inappropriate chewing in pugs can occur when the teething process begins as young pups. Their tendency is to chew on stuff in order to get rid of the pain, especially if they have sore gums. Chewing ensures good dental health, but you’ll have to make your pug understand from a very little age what is good to chew and what isn’t. During the teething phase, which is from 2-3 weeks of age up to 7-8 months of age, you can give your pug wet towels to chew or icy treats that also help with sore gums.
Another reason may be boredom or separation anxiety which occurs mostly when you leave the house and this fact causes them distress. In order to help them deal with this kind of stress, you can walk them out just before you leave, so they’ll feel a bit tired and rest when they are back in the house, but also you can make their living area very comfortable, by leaving them food and toys.
