Is your dog chewing up his bed? That’s probably something you wish he wouldn’t do.
Don’t worry, there are ways you can teach him to stop. It can take a little time and work, but you can show your dog that chewing his bed isn’t a great idea!
Here’s everything you need to know about why your dog is chewing his bed and how you can get him to stop.
Why does my dog chew his bed?
When you adopted your dog, you probably picked up a bunch of great things for him. You hustled up a comfy crate, some food bowls, toys, and a bed.
You might expect your dog to chew things up like all his toys. A dog’s mouth is how he gets to know the world around him, after all.
But it might seem weird and a little annoying that your dog keeps chewing on his bed. He’s supposed to sleep on it, not try to eat it!
And it could be pretty frustrating for you, since it’s not one of the cheapest dog things, and it’ll start looking ugly pretty fast. So what can you do?
There are lots of great ways you can prevent your dog from chewing his bed. But before we get into them, you should understand why your dog is doing it in the first place.
There are several reasons why your dog won’t stop chewing on his bed. He might actually just be hungry or bored. A puppy might gnaw anything to relieve the discomfort of teething. However, the chewing might also signal separation anxiety or stress.
Let’s go through these one by one.
Separation Anxiety
If your dog struggles with separation anxiety, this can be really hard on both of you. It can be hard for you to get out and do the things you need to do when your dog gets too anxious if you’re away.
Separation anxiety can show a lot of different symptoms. One of the major ones is becoming destructive.
A dog that’s experiencing separation anxiety might try to deal with that anxiety by getting into things he shouldn’t. That could be the reason why your dog is chewing up his bed.
It’s important to remember that separation anxiety isn’t your fault. This is a very common issue that many dogs and their owners experience.
If you’re looking for some assistance with your dog’s separation anxiety, these related articles might be able to help:
Stress
When you feel stressed, you probably feel a burst of energy. Stress makes our brains release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into our bodies. These hormones are what make us feel this energy.
The same thing happens to your dog when he gets stressed out. The hormones that his brain is producing in his body are giving him a little extra energy.
And then he has to get rid of it somehow. Unfortunately, he might spend that energy by chewing things up, like his bed.
If you think stress might be the cause of your dog’s chewing, you’ll want to identify what exactly is causing your dog’s stress. Then you can work on positive reinforcement dog training to help your dog feel more comfortable.
You should also take a look at these related articles:
Boredom
Boredom is a big problem in many dogs. A lot of unwanted dog behavior is caused by dogs being bored.
This is why it’s so important to make sure that you’re giving your dog the daily stimulation that he needs.
If you don’t your dog is going to find other ways to try and keep himself busy. For instance, he might start looking for things to chew up to keep his brain stimulated.
His bed is probably easily accessible to him, so he’ll start tearing away at it.
If you and your dog are experiencing this problem, you should make sure to address it right away. If you don’t find ways to keep your dog busy, then he might start getting his teeth into more than just his bed.
Teething
Is your dog still a puppy? Raising a puppy is a really exciting and rewarding experience.
But it doesn’t come without its challenges. Puppies are a whole lot of work, just like human babies!
One of the biggest challenges that puppies and their owners go through is teething. During this stage in your puppy’s life, your puppy is going to feel pretty uncomfortable. Teething can be a pretty painful process!
When your puppy is teething, you’ll need to make sure that he has access to safe things around him to chew. Otherwise, he might start chewing on things like his bed, or things that could be dangerous for his mouth.
If you’re looking for a little more advice on teething, these related articles can help:
Over excitement
If your dog gets a little too amped, this can make it difficult for him to control himself. When dogs get overexcited, they tend to lose control of themselves.
Your dog might start doing things that he knows he shouldn’t, like chewing up his bed.
It’s important to be mindful of how much exercise you’re giving your dog, as well as the kind of exercise. If your dog doesn’t get enough and becomes bored, this can cause issues.
But it can also be a problem if your dog is getting too stimulated, since he’ll start losing control of himself.
Do you have questions about over excitement in dogs? These related articles might be able to help:
- Dog Humps When Tired or Over Excited—What Can I Do?
- Why Is My Puppy Overtired After Daycare?
- My Dog Gets Overly Excited When Guests Come Over—What Can I Do?
Hunger
If your dog is chewing him bed, then the issue could be that he’s hungry.
Does your dog usually chew up his bed around the same time of day? Pay attention to when he starts trying to chew his bed. If he chews it before mealtimes or when it’s been a long time between meals, he could be hungry.
If this is the case, then it might help to increase your dog’s food intake. You might also want to think about taking his current food volume and splitting it into several smaller meals.
This can help your dog feel fuller throughout the day. In turn, that’s going to help prevent him from trying to eat things that aren’t edible, like his bed.
How to stop a dog from chewing his bed
Now that you know the reasons why your dog could be chewing his bed, it’s time to talk about how you can help him stop.
Here are a few helpful tips you can use to help prevent your dog from chewing up his bed.
Figure out the underlying reason for his chewing
The most important thing to do when you’re trying to fix any kind of behavioral issue is determine the cause.
It’s going to be pretty hard to fix a problem if you don’t know exactly what the problem is, after all!
Make sure that you’re paying attention to when your dog starts chewing his bed. If he’s chewing it when you leave the house, the problem could be separation anxiety.
If he’s chewing it after you have a very active playtime, then the issue could be over excitement.
Once you’ve figured out why your dog is chewing, you can find the right ways to deal with it.
Make sure he gets enough physical and mental stimulation
You should make sure that your dog is getting a healthy amount of stimulation every day. A tired dog is a happy dog, after all!
Too little stimulation and your dog will look for other ways to entertain himself. Too much and your dog might get over excited.
There are a lot of great ways to exercise your dog. Take a look at these articles for some ideas:
You should also make sure to provide your dog with enough mental stimulation. If you’re not sure what to do for that, take a look at these 10 brain games for dogs to play at home.
Mental stimulation can also be a wonderful training tool if used correctly. Check out Braintrainingfordogs to learn how to train your dog to be the best dog he can be by using mental stimulation! Or have a look at Dogpackr’s review first to see if it’s a fit for you and your dog!
Work on his separation anxiety
Separation anxiety can be really difficult to deal with—for both you and your dog! If your dog is struggling with being without you, then make sure you find ways to help him.
The most important thing to do when you’re working with a dog with separation anxiety is to be patient. It can take a lot of time and work for dogs to get over an issue like this.
If you need a little bit of help with your dog’s separation anxiety, then check out these 9 signs and symptoms for separation anxiety in dogs.
Give him something else to chew
Dogs need things around them to chew. Dogs love chewing, and chewing helps to release feel-good hormones in their brains.
Chewing is a natural dog behavior. You can’t expect your dog to stop chewing things altogether. What you can do is provide your dog with things that are safe to chew.
If you don’t give your dog things to chew, then he’ll try to satisfy his needs in other places, like on his bed. So make sure that your dog has access to toys and things around him that are safe and appropriate for him to chew.
Get a chew proof dog bed
It can be hard to get a dog to stop chewing his bed. If the behavior has gone on too long, then this might have become a habit for your dog.
Using the above tips can help keep your dog from chewing up his bed. But sometimes it can take a dog a long time to learn that chewing his bed isn’t the right thing to do.
Some dogs may always struggle with chewing their beds! But don’t worry, you don’t have to give up completely.
Many companies make chew-proof dog beds. These are beds specifically designed so that dogs aren’t able to chew them up.
FAQ about how to stop a dog from chewing his bed
Still have questions about your dog chewing his bed? Here are a few answers that might help.
Why does my dog chew his bed at night?
If your dog is chewing his bed at night, you’re probably wondering why. If he only seems to be chewing it up at bedtime, then your problem could be boredom.
Are you providing your dog with enough mental and physical stimulation during the day? If you’re not, he’s going to have a lot of pent up energy by the time you go to bed.
And he might try to get rid of that pent up energy by chewing his bed.
That means that the solution to this problem is simply to make sure you’re spending more time giving your dog the stimulation he needs!
How to stop my dog from chewing his bed when left alone
Does your dog struggle with being alone? If your dog starts chewing his bed when you’re gone, the issue could be separation anxiety.
It could also be that your dog gets bored when he’s home alone. In either case, the main thing to do is to set up a good routine.
Are you wondering what a good routine for you and your dog should look like? Here is how you can set up the best morning routine before work.
Why is my dog eating the bed stuffing?
If you don’t address it soon enough, your dog’s habit of chewing the bed out of boredom or anxiety could turn into eating.
If your dog is just eating a little bed stuffing, that’s probably okay. But too much could cause a blockage—and that could be really dangerous for your dog!
Your dog could be eating bed stuffing because he’s getting hungry. In this case, feeding him more or splitting up his food into more meals can help.
You might also want to think about investing in a chew-proof bed. A nice, thick blanket instead of a bed might also be a good solution.
Conclusion
Taking care of your dog means buying him a lot of comfy, fun things. But if your dog starts destroying the things you buy for him, like his bed, that can be pretty frustrating.
There are ways to help your dog stop chewing his bed. Try out the above tips and allow your dog to enjoy his nice, comfortable bed.
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