Ask A Dog Trainer: How do I teach my puppy what they can and can't chew on?

Q: How do I teach my puppy what they can and can't chew on?

A: Teaching a puppy what they can and can't chew on is simple: always reward them with, "yes!" or, "good choice!" when they choose the correct toy to chew on, and always correct them with, "no!" or, "ehp!" when they choose the wrong toy to chew on.

Most puppies will pick up on the difference if you're 100% consistent and clear with them. So, in other words, we often want to correct our dogs when they choose the wrong behavior, but we need to keep in mind that they learn the right behaviors 50% faster when we clearly reward them for the right behaviors.

So if your puppy begins to think that it's a game to chew on the wrong toy only to get attention from you rather than getting attention from you by chewing on the right toy, then what you can do is take all the toys away from them and walk away the minute they choose the wrong toy. By removing all the fun, all of your attention and all the games, they instantly want to know what they did to deserve that kind of a reaction from you.

So keep in mind: clarity in your verbal reward vs your verbal consequence, and if the dog begins to think it's a game to get your attention by doing the wrong thing, then take away all the fun and when they wonder, "what's wrong?" and they come back to you, give them the good toy to chew on and reward them heavily for picking that toy.