Many dogs, including Dobermans, have a tendency to chew on various items around the house. This behavior can be due to boredom, separation anxiety, lack of training and exercise, or teething. If you’re wondering whether Dobermans are big chewers, you’re in the right place.
The answer is yes, most Dobermans are big chewers. However, this behavior can be avoided by keeping them busy with toys and activities, crate training, obedience training, providing sufficient exercise, using bitter sprays, supervision, confinement, redirection, and positive reinforcement.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at whether Dobermans are prone to chewing and the possible reasons for this behavior. We’ll also provide you with several straightforward methods that can be used to eliminate this behavior and ensure that your furry friend has a happy and healthy life filled with plenty of playtime and exercise.
By following the right approach and taking the necessary precautions, you can ensure that your Doberman has a long and healthy life free from destructive chewing behavior. So, let’s dive into the world of Dobermans and chewing!
Are Dobermans really big chewers and the reasons why?
In general, Dobermans can be big chewers. Frankly, this may depend on the individual dog’s personality and what they really enjoy doing the most, but almost every dog likes to chew up to some extend. BUT, NOT DOBERMANS, RIGHT!!!
This can be developed from normal nibble on you and up to annoying, destructive chewing.
These dogs tend to chew on anything they encounter in the house, and people find it hard to protect their clothes, shoes, furniture, and other belongings.
So, it’s time to figure out what are the reasons without scratch the surface!
But, before that, Here is another article based on a topic you possibly thought about: Why does my dog only chew my wife’s shoes?
Here are the reasons why would they do that,
- Doberman puppies chew on things to relieve teething pain.
- Puppies use their mouth to discover the world.
- Due to boredom.
- Due to separation anxiety.
- Lack of training.
- Lack of exercise.
- Some Dobermans may find it soothing.
Doberman puppies chew on things to relieve teething pain.
In general, these puppies teethe relatively early, which can happen reasonably within a short stretch of time. This fact may lead to puppies chew pretty often during the first few months of age.
Chewing on things can make Doberman puppies feel so good, and it can relieve their teething pain.
In this case, providing your puppy with something to chew on can protect your belongings while making feel them better.
You can provide them a chew toy like KONG Classic Dog Toy to make them feel better while resolving several other issues in your puppy. So, just try that!
Puppies use their mouth to discover the world.
Not only Doberman puppies but also almost every other puppy are much like human babes and love to explore the world with their cute mouths. They love to pick up and chew everything that they encountered.
They would love to nibble on things like your shoes, your fingers, sticks as they walk outdoors, toys, and everything that can be caught in their mouth.
Doberman chew on things due to boredom
Oftentimes, Dobermans will chew because they feel bored and as a result of finding something to engage in. As we know, Dobermans are one of the strongest dogs with high exercise requirements.
So, Dobermans are extremely active and like to run, jump. play throughout the yard all over the day.
Observe whether this destructive chewing happens when you are away from the house for an extended period of time, then you are the culprit for this issue.
Sometimes, your Doberman may bark when they are alone, and you will receive so many complaints from the neighbors.
Keeping your Doberman active when alone can be done with lots of toys and making the yard more playful if you decided to let the dog stay outside. (But for this, you need to a properly fenced yard. )
Don’t worry, we gonna discuss a whole bunch of methods to avoid this behavior before the end of this article, so keep reading to the end!
Recommended reading: Can Dobermans chew on bones?
Dobermans tend to chew a lot due to separation anxiety.
Usually, Dobermans may engage in destructive chewing when they feel anxious or in a specific situation that will make the dog nervous.
- Lack of training: This is another reason why do most Dobermans chew on inappropriate things.
- Lack of exercise: As we discussed so far, Dobermans have high exercise requirements. If you do not meet their exercise needs, they are more likely to show up with behavioral issues like destructive chewing.
- Some Dobermans may find it soothing: Some Dobermans tend to do this as they find it soothing. So, they do this without the intention of destroying anything. Just for self-satisfaction.
Suggested Reading: Here is if dogs tend to chew more when in heat.
Why should you stop your Doberman from chewing?
It’s a natural fact for the Dobermans to chew on certain things, especially when they are really young. Even though this small chewing or nibbling in their early stage can be developed up to destructive chewing over time.
So, this is something that you really wanna consider and shouldn’t allow doing that.
It’s because this destructive chewing hurt or possibly damages their teeth while destroying items in your home. As we discussed earlier, this can happen due to many different reasons.
So, you got to spot the exact cause of this matter and apply the solutions right away before things get even worse.
Suggested Reading: Here is a full guide to choosing appropriate foods for your Doberman.
How to stop a Doberman from chewing?
Now you have spotted the reasons for the problem, then it’s time to consider the solutions.
So, there are several remedies that you can consider doing to eliminate this bad behavior and not letting them feel differently without messing everything up.
If you are a first-time dog owner, these things can feel a little bit strange to you. But, don’t worry, I got you. Apply the solution where it’s applicable.
Being consistent with this process, you can help your Doberman to understand not to chew on things that they are not supposed to do.
Prior to work on the solution, you got to address the issue and understand why this can happen. So, start asking the following questions about yourself.
- Is this is the teething period of my puppy?
- Is my dog properly trained?
- Is my dog prone to separation anxiety or feel bored?
- Has my house been dog-proofed during their puppyhood?
- Does my Doberman have appropriate items to chew on?
After brainstorming yourself with the above questions, you can understand the exact reason for this behavior is. It’s time to figure out the solutions.
Here are some ways worth considering.
- Keep the puppy busy.
- Use bitter sprays.
- Crate training.
- Provide good training.
- Meet the exercise requirements.
- Supervision and Confinement.
- Redirect and praise.
- Use hot sauce
Keep your Doberman puppy busy to avoid chewing.
It’s a common fact that Doberman puppies tend to chew things as they get bored. If you leave your puppy home alone, chances are they are gonna roam throughout the house and find something to chew on just to relieve their boredness.
Providing them various kinds of chew toys or any other toy that they would possibly love can keep them busy up to some extent.
But, the fact is, dogs can even get bored with toys they love.
Because of that, it’s better to consider taking the Doberman for a walk before you leave the house. Since they need to release so much energy, you can play fetch for about half an hour and make them tired.
So, it will make them feel sleepy. Perhaps he will take a nice nap when you leave.
Use bitter sprays.
This is an excellent method to give a shot. If your Doberman doesn’t stop chewing on your shoes, clothes, furniture, or other belongings, just give bitter sprays a try.
Use this spray and spray on things that you wanna protect from the dog, and this can make dogs disgusted with the taste of those items.
Crate training.
If your Doberman tends to chew on things that won’t stop this bad behavior whatsoever, it’s time to bring in some crate training.
This can make this behavior minimize when you are away from home, but make sure the crate is large enough for the dog and provide everything they need.
However, this is a really temporary solution, and crating them for a long time could increase your Doberman’s psychological issues.
Even though it’s temporary, it can be used to keep them calm for a few days, and hopefully, you can start the training after several days.
Provide good training to stop chewing behavior in your Doberman.
As we discussed earlier, lack of training is also one reason why most Dobermans chew on certain things?
Even though you have participated your dog in training classes, or you might have done it by yourself, It does not seem to be effective at all.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a first-time dog owner or an experienced one, most of them seek at least a little bit of extra help in training their dogs.
If you feel something like eliminating this behavior from your Doberman is really tough, it’s worth considering taking your dog to a dog training class.
Starting with Obedience training is always better. In fact, make sure to hire a professional dog trainer in order to avoid such problems in the future.
Meet the exercise requirements.
Not meeting their exercise requirements is one of the main reasons why do most Dobermans become destructive and mess everything up by chewing.
If you are unable to meet their exercise requirements, they will get bored and frustrated they will find chewing as a way of relieving their frustration.
It’s better to spend as much time with your dog and provide exercises on a daily basis. If it’s a rainy day, at least use your stairs to give a little bit of exercise to your Doberman.
In fact, if you are away from home most of the day, it’s better to take your Doberman to a Doggy daycare without just leaving the dog home alone.
Supervision and Confinement to stop destructive chewing in your Doberman.
It’s better to avoid the chance of letting them roam freely around the home until the chew training being done. So, you got to limit the access for some parts of the house as they can find so many things to chew on.
Most importantly, you should supervise your Doberman puppy around the house.
When you are away from home for some time, the Doberman should be confined in a room or the crate and shouldn’t be anything that will encourage to chew.
Redirect and praise.
As you understand the previous section, now your Doberman should be supervised or confined. Now you should wait until they start to chew on something.
In such a case, use the “stop” command in a firm voice and redirect the Doberman to an appropriate chew toy to chew on.
When the dog stops chewing the appropriate thing and starts to chew on the chew toy, use nice words to verbally praise him while providing tasty puppy treats.
By doing so, your Doberman will understand that things like shoes, clothes, furniture, or other belonging are not to chew on and leave them alone.
Suggested Reading: Why do dogs chew on their tags?
Things to be aware of.
Okay, now you have a proper understanding of whether Dobermans are big chewers, and if so, what can you do about that. But, there are still a few things you need to be aware of.
- It doesn’t matter what the training is. Always be consistent with incredible patience.
- Never, ever punish the dog.
- Supervise your Doberman not to chew sticks or stones when they are outdoors.
- If your Doberman attempt to dig the ground and chew or eat dirt, that’s may some problem with the diet.
Conclusion
When a small Doberman puppy chews on your fingers and sucks on them, it’s a kind of cute thing to watch for hours. But, the real problem here, though, is when this behavior continues to grow as they grow. So, what are the reasons for that? What should you do about that? And other related concerns that you actually worry about have been discussed through this comprehensive guide. Hope you found like it. But for now, have a nice day.
