Article originally published on The Spruce Pets. Written by Amy Bender. Refer to the original article here.
For puppies, the entire world is a chew toy. Puppies, like babies, explore the world with their mouths. Unfortunately, their explorations are not limited to their own toys. Your shoes, furniture, children’s toys, and anything else lying around your house are fair game for a teething puppy.
Unfortunately, your puppy may chew things that can harm it. You can put a stop to your puppy’s destructive behavior, but It takes time and consistent training.https://959980d490ba4ceaa2688c409992c87e.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
Why Do Puppies Chew?
Most of the time, chewing is normal behavior for puppies and dogs, and it serves many purposes, such as strengthening their jaws and relieving anxiety.
Like babies, puppies experience discomfort while teething, and gnawing or chewing on things provides some relief. Boredom is another reason that puppies chew. Dogs are social animals and need stimulation for their mental health. If you’re not exercising your pup enough or giving it sufficient one-on-one time, it may seek attention by chewing inappropriate objects.
NatalieShuttleworth / Getty Images
How to Stop Destructive Chewing
There aren’t many medical conditions other than teething that cause a puppy to chew on things, but it’s worth a trip to the vet just to be sure. If the vet gives your puppy a clean bill of health, there are several ways to prevent your puppy from wrecking your abode.
Puppy-Proof Your Home
Puppies should not have the full run of your home until they are completely trained. Many people choose to use the kitchen since it’s easier to clean up accidents on an uncarpeted floor.
Once you’ve decided on the areas where your puppy will be allowed to play, take a good look around and begin puppy-proofing. Pick up or move any objects that your puppy might decide to chew. Get down at the dog’s level to see what might appeal to it. Remove or cover any electrical wires, houseplants, garbage pails, children’s toys, and anything else you don’t want your puppy to chew or knock over.
Crate Train Your Puppy
While crate training is usually talked about in terms of house training, it is also a good tool for curbing destructive puppies. When you’re not able to supervise your puppy, crating can keep it and your home safe. If you don’t have a crate, you can confine the dog to a small, puppy-proof room such as a bathroom or kitchen.
Provide Your Puppy with Toys
Chewing allows puppies to ease teething pain, and it alleviates boredom. To prevent your puppy from getting in the habit of inappropriate chewing, make sure you provide it with lots of appropriate things to chew on.
Toys that work well for puppies are rubber toys with a hollow center, stuffed animals with squeakers inside, and nylon bones. Avoid animal bones, hooves, and antlers.
Don’t give your puppy old shoes or socks as playthings; you’re likely to cause confusion between which shoes are OK for chewing and which ones are off-limits.
There is some controversy over the safety of items like rawhides, pig’s ears, and other edible chews. Be sure to talk to your veterinarian before giving any of these items to your puppy.
Mint Images – Norah Levine / Getty Images
Rotate Your Puppy’s Toys
Since puppies chew to alleviate boredom, it’s a good idea to rotate your puppy’s toys every few days. A puppy will be looking for something new and interesting to sink its teeth into. By changing its toys around periodically, you’ll be keeping it interested in the things you want it to chew, and it will be less likely to start gnawing on the kitchen cabinets.
Offer a Swap
Try giving your puppy a treat in exchange for whatever inappropriate object it has in its mouth. This is a good way to train your dog to learn the command “give” if you repeat it before giving the treat. Over time, your puppy should learn that “give” means “give me that thing in your mouth!”
Just take care not to lavish your puppy with praise when it swaps the inappropriate object for a treat. You don’t want to turn it into a game where your puppy expects a reward for chewing on the wrong things.
Redirect Your Puppy
When you see your puppy begin to chew on something inappropriate, don’t scold it. Instead, move the puppy away from the object and redirect it to something you want it to chew. Make your puppy’s toy more interesting by squeezing a squeaky toy or shaking a bone while talking to it in a happy tone of voice. Give the pup lots of praise for chewing its toys.
If you think your puppy is teething, you can give it a doggy version of a teething ring: Dampen a washcloth; then place it in the freezer for about an hour. Give it to your puppy to tug and chew on, allowing the cold to soothe its sore gums.
Give Your Puppy Plenty of Exercise
A tired puppy is a happy puppy. Be sure to give your puppy enough playtime and cuddle time. If it’s had all of its puppy vaccinations, make walks part of your dog’s daily routine. If left to its own devices, your puppy is going to start looking for ways to burn off energy. This leads to destructive behavior. A puppy who gets regular exercise is much more likely to be well behaved.
Article originally published on The Spruce Pets. Written by Sally Bahner. Refer to the original article here.
Cats may eat litter—and other undesirable materials—for a variety of reasons. This behavior is referred to as pica, the eating of non-food items.
Pica has a variety of causes and may stem from a mom abandoning her kittens, which can manifest itself in nursing behavior. Cats with pica can target all types of materials: plastic, fabric, string, paper, dirt, and even litter.
Some forms of pica may be relatively harmless or annoying—such as licking plastic bags—but eating non-food substances can cause intestinal blockages. Also, it can be a sign of an illness.
Why Do Cats Eat Litter?
If your cat or kitten is eating litter, it could be either a health or behavior issue. If you suspect it’s a health issue, you should bring your cat to the veterinarian right away, especially if the behavior appears suddenly.
Some kittens may eat litter purely out of curiosity and will grow out of the behavior with close monitoring.
Anemia
Eating litter could be a sign that your cat is sick, and in particular, anemia is a condition where an affected cat could be exhibiting this sign. Anemia occurs when there is a lack of red blood cells and hemoglobin. Cat owners should check for gums that are pale, white, or bluish. Anemia can indicate a deficiency in iron, trace minerals, vitamins, or essential fatty acids.
Additionally, if your cat is eating litter, this could also be a sign of leukemia (which causes anemia in itself) or kidney disease.
Your veterinarian will perform a standard exam, including a complete blood count (CBC) and urinalysis. The blood count will determine if the cat indeed has anemia and the urinalysis will reveal the concentration level of the urine; urine that is too dilute is an indication of kidney disease. If your cat shows symptom of a blockage, your veterinarian will do radiographs or an MRI.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Your cat could be eating litter if it’s not getting sufficient nutrition from its food. Deficiencies in Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), L-Carnitine, Magnesium, Pyruvate Kinase, Sodium, and/or Taurine may also trigger litter eating in cats. Clay-based litters contain minerals, which may compensate for the deficiency. Your veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist can recommend dietary changes or supplements.
Curious Kittens
Kittens may eat litter out of curiosity, so it’s recommended not to use clumping litter until they are older. Ingesting clumping litter may cause an intestinal blockage. Be sure to use a non-toxic litter and monitor use. Remove your kitten from the litter box if you see it’s eating the litter—just be sure your kitten has finished its business first.
Adult cats may also snack on litter if the type of litter has been changed recently, for instance, to a wheat- or corn-based litter.
How to Stop Your Cat From Eating Litter
Once your cat has received a clean bill of health, you can concentrate on redirecting his behavior from eating the litter. Of course, there are many types of litter: clay, clumping (scented and unscented), corn-, wheat-, or paper-based. If your cat is eating one kind, try another.
Your cat may be bored. If you see it eating litter, redirect the behavior with play. Toss a crinkle ball or toy mouse, or dangle a fishing pole toy and lure him away from the box.
Reevaluate your cat’s diet. Upgrade the food you’re feeding, especially if it’s a supermarket-grade dry food. Many high-quality food options are more nutritionally complete.
Enhance your cat’s natural prey behavior. In addition to ramping up playtime, look into food puzzle toys, which encourage natural foraging behavior. There are many ways to make your own using common household items, as well as different models available in pet stores. Puzzle toys are fun ways for your cat to work to get its food, thus distracting it from undesirable behavior.
Try offering a pot of cat grass. Again, this is a distraction from the litter and gives your cat something else to chew on. And don’t forget that happy cat standby—catnip. You can grow your own and offer it fresh, sprinkle it on scratchers, or buy catnip-filled toys.
For people that know me personally. I am very candid and transparent about my dog’s (Kobe) behaviour. I often tell people not to do certain things because my dog might or will become aggressive. Although I might sound rude and too straightforward sometimes, my intentions are good, because it’s for the benefit of the dog and the human.
Am I a victim of Kobe’s aggression? The answer is yes. I often tell myself that I would rather he bite me, than anyone else gets hurt.
So what is resource guarding?
Resource guarding is when a dog reacts when they feel threatened by a valuable resource in their possession. It feels that they are about to lose whatever they have, so they take action to guard it. Resource guarding doesn’t (often for my case) always have to end with growling, lunging, biting, or fighting by doing that is to discourage another to take, or get too close to, an object or valued area in the dog’s possession. Sometimes it could be as simple as a look, head turn, or slight baring of the teeth.
Well, the thing is that guarding resources is a natural instinct. We humans guard our own resources too. Access to resources like food, water, and a safe space is essential to survival. It’s hardwired into animal nature to protect the things we believe we need to survive. While it is a normal dog behavior, it’s not a desirable one. Resource guarding becomes a dangerous problem if a dog is willing to bite or fight to keep an item. This is especially worrisome in a home with young children, elderly family members, or if the dog is not predictable in what items they decide to guard. In multi-dog households or environments, resource guarding becomes a problem if the dogs resort to fighting over their resources, and the environment is not managed to prevent these conflicts from escalating.
Guarding toys
So like what Cesar Millan says
“ There are three degrees of food aggression:
Mild: the dog growls and may show its teeth.
Moderate: the dog snaps or lunges when approached.
Severe: the dog bites.
While it’s easy to assume that all cases of food aggression are a show of dominance, this isn’t necessarily the case. In a dog pack, the alpha dogs always eat first after a successful hunt, and then the other dogs get what’s left according to their pack position.
For an Alpha, showing food aggression is a form of dominance, but for dogs with a lower pack position, it can be a sign of anxiety or fearfulness. Remember, in the wild, dogs never know where or when their next meal will be, so it’s very instinctual for them to gobble up whatever food there is whenever they have it — and to protect it from anything that approaches.”
Guarding toys.
Common Items That Trigger Resource Guarding in Dogs
While most often seen around food items, a dog can develop resource guarding with any item that they deem “valuable.” This might be something we don’t consider very important, like a ball, but that ball could be your dog’s most beloved possession.
Food and Treats
Food Bowl (filled with food or empty)
Bones and Edible Dog Chews
Toys
Space (dog bed, crate, their position on the couch or bed)
Their owner (from other pets in the home or even from other people)
Signs of Resource Guarding in Dogs
These are the most obvious signs of resource guarding:
Growling
Snarling (Bare teeth)
Lunging and Air Snapping (a no-contact bite)
Biting
Kobe my dog, does all the above.
For mild and moderate case of resource guarding, a dog might show less intense (and therefore less obvious) signs of guarding behaviour. I am not a certified in anything but what I believe is that you will often see these more subtle signs like:
Freezing
Eating faster
Taking item and moving away
Braced body position over the item
Side eye staring or tracking of the person or pet approaching
Raising lips and baring teeth
Ears pinned flat against the head
death stare
I am trying to let Kobe know that there’s no need to guard food, toys, or space because we are family, and we live together. So now I’m trying to teach Kobe to give up something to me willingly. “Drop” / “Leave it” use a balance training and reward, so that hopefully resource guarding will not worsen over time.
Unfortunately, I started my way of dealing with Kobe’s resource guarding all wrong. So let me tell you that Using punishment and aversives as a response to resource guarding can result in more resource guarding.
So… Base on my blood, sweat and tears, I’ve concluded what we should NOT to do if your dog growls or shows other signs of resource guarding.
Don’t Punish the Growl
Never punish a growling dog. You can punish away a growl, sure, but all you’ve done is make a dog bite more likely. If your dog learns that growling to express their discomfort at your approach results in an aversive (such as yelling, hitting, a “tap” from a shock collar), and the loss of the item they were guarding, the next time you reach for it, they’re more likely to skip the growl and go straight for a bite. (Which is what happened to me)
If someone keeps stealing my mala shaker fries after asking them to stop, the next time they reach across the table, I might smack their fingers away (or worse … so don’t steal my shaker fries). Ignored warnings will escalate behavioral responses, in both humans and dogs. You don’t want to take away important warning signs that your dog needs to communicate with you.
Don’t “Play” With Their Food and Chews
Someone once told me after I expressed my concerns with Kobe’s Resource guarding issues is that: “To prevent resource guarding, we’d always stick our hands in our dog’s food bowl while they were eating, or randomly take away their chew. That way, they know who’s boss and that the food or chew belongs to us.” Instead of fixing the issues, now Kobe will just bare teeth and snaps when I reach for the bowl or lashes out even if I was just standing there or walking past him.
All you’re doing is annoying your dog and teaching them that when you reach for something, they’ll lose it. So please don’t be like Me.
Don’t Leave Out Items That Your Dog Might Guard
Kobe loves to guard hard chews or any form of treats that takes time to eat, so I DO NOT GIVE HIM ANY. I will just remove the opportunity of him guarding. Don’t leave items lying around that your dog might find valuable enough to guard. I pick up his food bowls between meals after he finished eating and have walked away.
Once I gave Kobe a Kangaroo Rib. He took it up my sofa to enjoy it for a while, and I went to the kitchen to grab a drink and return back to the sofa just to sit down and continue my Netflix. I wasn’t even gonna take the chew, or to touch him, but he side-eyed me and gave me a low growl, and bared his teeth slightly. I immediately stopped myself from sitting down, and I called him into the kitchen and trade him with an air-dried mince lamb and while he’s enjoying it, I quickly rush to the sofa and remove the rib, and then never bought those ribs again. BUT IF only all my resource guarding encounters with Kobe were that simple.
So now you’re wondering, did I manage to successfully desensitise the behaviour?
I am still working on it as I’m writing this article.
Every day I’m risking my hand getting bitten, or chewed off. But it’s all about being consistent. It’s not about you being afraid that you might get bitten, and just allow your dog to do its thing even if he is the sweetest thing on earth and that One behaviour is undesirable, and that’s ok. NO ITS NOT OK.
Kobe my dog, he doesn’t have a lot of self-confidence, so every day I am trying to build up his confidence and teach him that his food and space are safe with humans around.
Theres are a few guarding behaviour that I’m known of, as of now.
Guards his food.
Guards any treats that cannot be eaten immediately.
Guard his space when he’s resting.
Guard his bed, during bedtime.
SO what is my own process of desensitisation and conditioning training? I am not certified, and all dogs work differently, so here’s mine:
Part 1
For food guarding aggression a friend advised me to let my dog work for its food, and hand feed IF I CAN.
First week of desensitisation for food aggression.
Sit stay before mum mum
I put Kobe on a sit-stay command right in the middle of the living room where’s he doesn’t feel cornered. I stand about a meter away in front of him while he is having his meal. Each day I move a bit closer to him to test the threshold of the aggression.
Second Week of desensitisation.
I have already made sure that he is now cool with me hanging around while he is having his meal. Now I proceed to his food bowl while he is eating.
At first, he isn’t very comfortable with me making eye contact with him while he is eating off from the bowl I am holding. So I will avoid eye contact while just holding the bowl while he is eating. Every day I will move my body bit by bit to face him and eventually let him realise it’s ok to make eye contact.
Third Week of desensitisation.
I will ask Kobe to go back in sit-stay halfway while eating. Then remove the food bowl, and put it back again, and eat on command. Just to let him know that it is okay, the food is gonna come back.
Fourth Week of desensitisation.
I made Kobe do a bunch of tricks to work for his food, and I start hand feeding. And his food is used as a form of treat to reward him for doing tricks. While hand-feeding Kobe. I will often make some physical contact bit by bit. To make him realise it is ok to feel all these things while eating because the food won’t run away.
And now I am just doing this everyday.
As for guarding treats that cannot be eaten immediately. I just don’t buy that kind of treats anymore.
Guarding his personal space while sleeping.
First week of desensitisation for personal space aggression.
The nun awaken?
This period I am trying to find out how close can I be around him while he is resting. And when he starts to growl or side-eye me. I will stop and just sit there use my phone, and once he realise I’m just sitting there minding my own business, he falls back asleep. So for the first week, I just sit at the rough distance that we both establish to be okay for me to hang around.
Second Week of desensitisation.
I start to move closer to him. And now I am almost right by his side. He starts to get angry at me when he feels me around him physically. Meaning if his butt touches my thigh, he gets angry. So I just hang around 1-2cm away from his body and mind my own business again.
Third Week of desensitisation.
I start to put my hands on him. Just placing it on him gently and slowly without moving.
Fourth Week of desensitisation.
The patting on the chest is a way of me coping my fear.
I start to do mini intermediate stroking sessions. Maybe between 5-10 seconds I will stop and freeze my hands on him. And if he shows he is ok, I will do another 5-10 seconds and repeat.
So now I am still trying to desensitise the personal space when he has tired aggression, I just recently got bitten again after being too confident and trying my luck.
Key is that you just have to keep working on it even if you’re scared. I am scared, but I love Kobe. So I will do it.
Selfie while he is going to sleep. That took some courage for me.
Its all about rehabilitation. Being patient is the key.
Aggression, a feeling of anger which may result in hostile or violent behavior. We are no strangers to this, we’ve all felt it before. Normally, we minimize hostile behavior with communication and persuasion, but what should we do if we can’t? This is our story, on how we’ve learnt to stop violent outbursts and understand where the attention was lacking.
Lyra
I adopted Lyra when he was about 3 months old, he was extremely hostile to us, hissing and on guard 24/7, watching us. After about 2 months, he was accustomed to his new human owners but still wary, and would attack me by lunging forward, aiming for my neck, if he was upset at something I did. As he is a Bengal, I understood that he is more instinctive and that may be the reason why he would aim for the neck. Additionally, Lyra is also a very needy cat, he would get upset and start biting me before I left for school, this biting worsened when I started working shifts as I was leaving at odd hours. As such, he could not track me and worries that I will not return. I spent hours researching on ways to stop these ill behaviors, and failed countless of times. After 1 year, this is the method that works best for him.
Healed Scar on My Cheek
All cats have a cycle of “Hunt, Eat, Groom, Sleep” (Galaxy, N.D.). This cycle needs to be met for a cat to be well- adjusted. Some young cats are playful and crave stimulation. When it is not play time, you may be the only thing it sees moving and be mistaken as a play thing which sparks their excitement.
Hunt
To stop a cat from viewing you as a prey, you will have to redirect it’s attention. Start by having a toy on hand with you, as a standby if you are being hunted. Once your cat targets you, wave the toy in front of it’s face, say ‘bite this instead’ and give it the toy, slowly but surely it will understand to target the toy rather than you. It may be tedious but trust me it will pay off.
Lyra Chowing Down on a Fake Apple Toy
Eat
After hunting, cats will prepare to kill and eat their prey in the wild, but for domesticated cats, they do not get the satisfaction of that. So, after each playtime, it is best to give them a reward to help them achieve satisfaction. Lyra’s go-to would be 1 liquid stick treat. I would recommend either 1 liquid stick treat or a few dry/ jerky treats, about 5-6 pieces.
Eating His Favorite Treat
Groom
After the cat is contented and satiated, it will move on to the grooming phase. In this phase, the cat proceeds to clean itself, just like a shower before bed time. You can help the cat, by brushing it to further aid with relaxation. For Lyra, he prefers for me not to disturb him.
Sleep
The cat may choose to take a short nap, fall asleep completely for the night or even just laze awake. This is when the cat develops safety and security. Waking up from a uninterrupted nap is the best feeling in the world, it helps them feel safe knowing they will be unharmed.
Non-Defensive Sleeping Position
This cycle will repeat itself forever. The most important part would be the conditioning of the hunt and the reward. A huge part of this, is you, the owner. Loving and providing attention to your pet is just the first step. Look out for non-verbal cues to further aid your bond with your pet. Hopefully, this will help you understand more about what your pet wants and needs from you to prevent ill behaviors. Feel free to ask me questions if you have any!
Recently one of our cat started the behaviour of biting wires out of boredom. He bit our Dyson Vacuum wire and Xiaomi Robot wire. I did not notice the broken wire and wanted to charge my Xiaomi Robot, when I switch on the socket, it created a big spark of fire and short circuit the entire house causing the electric to trip outside our electrical riser. And my wife was so scared because I was super near the fire, and I could have gotten electrocuted.
So I am here to highlight how to prevent your cat from biting wires, because its very dangerous.
When cats chew on wires, plastic bags or other foreign objects. These behaviour may be caused by an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); or health-related / environmental factors. EG: Dental issue, a way for the cat to relieve stress; etc. No matter what is the reason behind it, it is extremely dangerous for cats to chew on electrical cords, it could cause short circuit to your house; damage your appliances, or worst electrocuted.
Fortunately, there are a few ways you can address this kind of behaviour.
Reasons for Chewing
It might be a mystery why cats choose electrical wires to chew on. The reasons for cord chewing may include:
Stress
Stress can prompt a wide range of odd behaviors. In these cases, the chewing serves to relieve anxiety and simply makes the cat feel better emotionally.
Boredom
When a cat isn’t having enough stimulation or exercise, it will cause boredom and that will result stress may cause it to seek other outlets.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) usually involves chewing and gnawing behaviour.
Although cord chewing may be the primary OCD behaviour you observe in your cat, you may spot other symptoms as well. There doesn’t seem to be an explanation for why some cats develop a particular combination of OCD symptoms.
Overgrooming, characterised by a cat licking and chewing its fur so vigorously that it starts to fall out in spots, is also common.
Obsessively sucking, licking or chewing on fabric.
Dental
Cats that have pain in their mouths caused by dental problems may indulge in gnawing behaviour in an attempt to relieve the discomfort. So it’s important to visit a veterinary for dental care. EG: Checkups and cleanings.
Pica
A nutritional deficiency called pica is associated with eating odd materials. When a nutrient is missing from its diet, a cat will seek to replace it, but may choose inappropriate items to ingest. Some cats that suddenly begin targeting inedible objects.
How to Stop Chewing
Take your cat to the veterinarian for a checkup if it displays inappropriate chewing behaviour so that any underlying health problems can be discovered and addressed. In the meantime, take steps to keep your cat safe.
Cover electrical cords by running them through wire protector. You can also make them less appetizing by using bitter spray.
Offer the cat alternatives to chew, such as cardboard.
Reduce anxiety to help eliminate the need for chewing. Consider trying a synthetic kitty pheromone (Feliway) to relieve stress and soothe your cat. Otherwise, make sure your cat’s litter box is spotless and that it has enough toys and playtime with you to stave off boredom.
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