Ever come home after a long day of work to find some unexpected damage inflicted by your dog; or, more specifically, your dog's teeth? Fortunately, chewing can be directed onto appropriate items so your dog isn't destroying things you value or jeopardizing their own safety. Let's take a look at some tips and products to help your dog stray away from this behavior.

Chewing is a normal, natural canine behavior. There are two chewing phases. Between 4-6 months puppies begin to loose their puppy teeth. Puppies like to chew on soft items, like carpet, rugs, rags or soft toys, squeaky toys and rope toys. Then they may stop for a while until the second phase, which occurs between 10-12 months when the adult teeth settle into the growing skull of the dog. During this phase, dogs like to chew on more dense objects, like wood, furniture, plastic, rawhide, hard rubber toys. To correct chewing, follow these basic steps: Get your puppy or dog’s attention using a low-pitched, stern voice saying “No!” to stop the behavior. Provide an acceptable alternative behavior or distraction. Praise correct behavior in a positive voice (“Good dog!”) and pet them or give treats.

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