Do It Yourself Prevention for Dog Chewing and Escaping From Your Yard

Like humans, dog can develop bad habits. For most dogs, these types of habits, such as destructive chewing or escaping from the yard, are instinctive and natural behaviors. In some cases, they develop out of anxiety or boredom. These behaviors can be frustrating for you and even dangerous for your dog, which may swallow something dangerous, be hit by a car or picked up by the local animal control officer. You may not be able to stop your dog from chewing completely, but you can redirect it to more appropriate items. There also are a few steps you can take to prevent your dog from pulling a Houdini and roaming the neighborhood.

Things You'll Need

  • Dog toys and chews
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Instructions

  1. Destructive Chewing

    • 1

      Confine your dog to a crate when you aren't home to supervise. This will prevent it from chewing on your furniture, clothes or other belongings.

    • 2

      Remove all unsafe objects, such as power cords or household chemicals, from your dog's reach. This will keep it from eating something that can harm it. Keep other items, such as dirty clothes and toys, off the floor and put away to restrict your dog's access to them.

    • 3

      Provide your dog with multiple items to chew on, such as rawhides, chew-bones, hard rubber toys, chew sticks or stuffed toys. Dogs chew to strengthen their jaws and clean their teeth as well as to stimulate their minds. Keep different types of chew toys on hand to keep your dog from getting bored with a particular texture or flavor.

    • 4

      Interrupt your dog when you catch it chewing on inappropriate items. Give it a treat for turning its attention to you, and replace the object with one of your dog's own toys or bones to chew on. Praise it for continuing to chew on its own belongings. This will teach your dog what it is and is not allowed to chew.

    Escaping From the Yard

    • 5

      Discover how your dog is escaping from the yard. Look for holes in or under the fence and fix them or fill them in with rocks. Place a padlock on the gate to keep your dog from opening it. If your fence is low enough for your dog to jump over, consider getting a new fence. Smooth fences, such as wood or vinyl (as opposed to chain link) will keep your dog from climbing out of the yard.

    • 6

      Observe your dog to determine why it is escaping from the yard. Some dogs simply want to roam and explore the neighborhood. They aren't actually trying to escape. Other dogs escape because they are bored or lonely.

    • 7

      Spend time with your dog, especially if it lives primarily outdoors. Play with it and help it get the exercise it needs to expend its extra energy. Take it for daily walks. Provide chew toys for it to play with when it is alone in the yard.

    • 8

      Provide shelter for an outdoor dog during bad weather. If your dog is afraid of storms or has nowhere to escape rain and snow, it may try to escape from the yard. Purchase a dog house and place blankets or cushions inside to create a cozy, safe space for your dog.