Is your puppy chewing everything? Why does my dog eat his toys and what you can do about it now.
Okay, so I noticed something kinda weird, well, maybe not weird for dogs, but annoying for me. My buddy, Max, he wasn't just chewing his toys, he was straight up eating them. Little bits first, then bigger chunks. Found myself picking up shredded plastic and fluff all the time. It got me worried, you know? Like, is this stuff gonna block him up?
So, I started watching him like a hawk. When did he do it? Mostly when he was alone, or maybe when I was busy and not paying him enough attention. Seemed like boredom was a big part of it. Or maybe he just really, really liked the taste of synthetic squeaky chicken? Who knows.
My First Steps
First thing I did was take away all the soft, plushy toys. Those were the easiest targets. Gone. Poof. Then I tried getting him those "indestructible" toys. Ha! What a joke some of those are. He still managed to gnaw off corners and edges from a few. Took maybe a day longer, but the result was the same: bits of toy potentially heading for his stomach.
I thought maybe he was hungry? Tried feeding him a bit more, or splitting his meals up. Didn't seem to make a huge difference, honestly. He'd still go find a toy remnant and start chewing after dinner.
Trying Different Things
So then I got more strategic. Here’s what I started doing:
- Supervised Play Only: This was the biggest thing. No more leaving toys scattered around when I wasn't watching him directly. Playtime became interactive time – fetch, tug-of-war, that sort of stuff. When playtime was over, toys got put away.
- Toy Rotation: Didn't leave the same toys out all the time. Kept things fresh, hoping novelty would make him less likely to destroy them out of boredom.
- Edible Chews: Got him more things he was supposed to eat. Like those tough dental chews or natural bully sticks. Gave him an outlet for that chewing urge that was actually digestible.
- More Exercise: Upped our walks and park visits. Figured a tired dog is less likely to get into trouble. More running, more sniffing. Seemed to help take the edge off his energy.
- Puzzle Toys: Used these during meals sometimes. Made him work for his food, kept his brain busy. He seemed to enjoy the challenge, and it directed his chewing towards getting the food out.
Where We Are Now
It's gotten a lot better, truly. Does he still sometimes try to nibble on a toy he shouldn't? Yeah, sometimes. Especially if it's a new one and I forget to watch him closely at first. But the constant destruction, the eating of parts? That's mostly stopped.
It's really about management. Knowing your dog, right? Max just seems to have this thing where shredding is super fun and rewarding for him. So, I can't just leave any old toy around. The ones he has access to now are super tough rubber things that he genuinely can't seem to break pieces off of, even when he tries. And lots of supervision.
It's ongoing. It’s not like I flipped a switch and he was cured. It’s just being consistent with putting toys away, making sure he has safe stuff to chew on, and keeping him tired and busy. Cost me a few bucks in destroyed toys to figure it out, but hey, at least he's not eating plastic anymore. That's the main thing.
