5 Tips to Stop Your Dog from Chewing Sticks
Chewing is a natural dog habit and dogs enjoy it too. But if the chewing material is hard, then it’s the owner's responsibility to judge whether it should be chewed or not — the dog won’t know this on its own.
Before writing this article, I deeply understood the question: Can we allow dogs to chew sticks? But I discovered some dangerous harms, which are:
● Stick pieces can get stuck in the throat.
● Risk of bacteria, fungus, or Pesticide infection.
● Internal injury can happen.
● Even teeth can break from hard sticks.
Due to these issues, I based this article on ways to stop dogs from chewing sticks.
What are the 6 Tips to Stop Dog Chewing Hard Material?
Bring Some Chew Toys:
This is the most recommended option. One technique is to always keep Rubber toys, nylon bones, or Edible Chew Toys with you. As soon as the dog starts chewing a stick, gently take it away and give the chew toy instead.
This is a kind of replacement and the dog will start understanding what’s okay to chew and what’s not. In the beginning, you’ll have to practice this repeatedly, but trust me, gradually your dog will stop chewing sticks.
Use Some Training and Commands:
This is an interesting method but works slowly. As soon as your dog grabs a stick in its mouth, gently take it and put it down while signaling and saying “Leave it.” You have to repeat this first yourself.
But as soon as the dog follows it even once, immediately give a reward.
This will make the dog feel that leaving the stick earns a reward. It can be a tough practice but will give results.
Do Monitoring and Leash Control:
When you're taking your dog outside, first of all, keep it on a leash and just monitor.
As soon as the dog goes towards a stick, control it using the leash and divert its focus to something else.
Plus, you can take a Chew Toy along to help distract the dog if needed. With consistent monitoring and redirecting, this habit gradually reduces.
Increase Physical Activities:
Most of the time, dogs chew excessively due to boredom or having too much energy.
Give your dog proper walks, fetch games, tug-of-war, or Interactive Puzzle Toys so that energy is used properly and mental health remains good.
That’s why when dogs are mentally and physically satisfied, they stay away from destructive chewing.
Use Taste Deterrent Spray:
This is a Smart Technique for smart dog owners. You can spray vet-approved bitter-tasting sprays on the sticks lying in your garden or walking area.
When the dog puts them in the mouth, it’ll taste bitter and lose interest. In my opinion, this can be a long-term method too.
And this technique becomes more effective when combined with training.
Everything I mentioned is only effective when you consistently work on one thing.
One important thing is that it’s not just sticks — anything hard that causes harm while chewing should be monitored. Always monitor your dog.
If you want to hire a dog sitter, I’ve also written some tips for that in my article How Much to Pay a Dog Sitter.
Conclusion:
In short, I wrote this article based on the idea that chewing sticks is harmful for dogs. So here are 5 expert tips that can help stop it:
● Chew toys are a great option
● Use of positive & negative command
● Monitoring & leash control
● Increase physical activities
● One long-term tip with spray
All these tips are based on expert research and veterinarian advice. If you want to suggest any improvement in this article or if you have a topic to share, feel free to Contact us.