As a pet parent, do you return home to find damaged furniture and chewed electric wires? Is there a way to prevent this behavior?
Hot sauce can be used to deter dogs from chewing or biting. It is inexpensive, non-toxic, and widely available. However, causing pain to the dog and sometimes irritating their stomach are a few disadvantages. Additionally, overuse of hot sauce can result in unpleasant smells and stains on furniture.
In this article, we will discuss how to use hot sauce and other alternatives to prevent your pet from biting or chewing on furniture and wires.
Can hot sauce stop dog chewing /biting?
Yes, to simply answer your question, hot sauce can stop your dog chewing/biting your expensive furniture and electric wires when you are not at home.
Let’s find out how to properly use hot sauce to prevent your dog’s inappropriate biting/chewing habits.
- Choose a hot sauce at your convenience, and first apply a small amount of sauce to a tissue or small cotton ball.
- Then allow your dog or puppy to smell and taste it.
- If he throws the tissue out, drools shake his head or show signs of withdrawal from the taste it means this sauce is going to work on your pet.
- Take a small amount of hot sauce which works with your pet and apply it on wooden furniture, electric cords, plastic items which he prefers biting.
- Then when he tries to chew or bite those objects, the hot sauce smell will divert him away or else if he bites it he will get the spicy flavour and leave your furniture.
- You will have to reapply the hot sauce every day for around 4 weeks, therefore, your dog will understand that inappropriate biting and chewing on things are not tolerated by you.
- You have to be consistent with this practice or else he will not receive your message.
- It’s essential to keep in mind is that not all dogs hate the spicy taste of the hot sauce. Some might actually enjoy that. Therefore, choosing the right hot sauce or deterrent is a responsibility that lies upon you.
Tune with us to find out what to do if your dog is an exception and actually enjoys hot sauce.
By the way, here is why does your dog chew your wife’s shoes.
Advantages of using hot sauce to stop dog chewing/biting?
There are many advantages of using hot sauce rather than purchasing a deterrent from your pet shop.
Here are 4 advantages of using hot sauce to stop your dog’s inappropriate biting and chewing behavior.
1. Freely available.
Hot sauce is freely available in the market with a variety of tastes and with different degrees of spiciness.
Therefore, you can choose what’s best working for your playful pooch. Because you have to reapply it every day for about a month, the availability of the product is convenient for you.
2. Not toxic to the pet or yourself.
Hot sauce is edible and not toxic to your pet if consumed in small amounts. Therefore, rather than using a chemical deterrent, a hot sauce is less harmful to your pet.
Not only for your pooch, but hot sauce is not toxic to your skin. So, Simply washing your hands with running water and soap will wash away the hot sauce from your hands.
If you have a puppy or a dog with a very sensitive stomach, even hot sauce can affect them. Let’s find out what will happen if they consume hot sauce.
3. Not expensive.
Hot sauce is not as pricy as a taste deterrent available in the market. Therefore, you can use it as much as needed without costing you a lot of money.
4.Will stop inappropriate biting/chewing behavior of your pet.
The idea of using hot sauce is to prevent your dog’s chewing and biting habits by giving them an unpleasant experience if he bites into something which he should not.
If you apply hot sauce onto your wooden furniture and your pooch tries to bite it, he will taste the spiciness of it and withdraw himself from further biting.
With continuous training for at least 2 – 4 weeks, your pooch will understand that he is not supposed to bite everything at your home.
Here is why does your dog chews your boyfriend’s things.
Disadvantages of using hot sauce to stop dog destructive behavior.
Apart from all the advantages of using hot sauce as a deterrent, it has some disadvantages for both your pooch and yourself.
Here are 7 disadvantages of using hot sauce to stop the biting/chewing behavior of your dog.
1. Pain caused to the dog.
If you have an older dog, the hot sauce might not affect him a lot. But if you have a puppy and he tastes a lot of hot sauce, his mouth will be damaged, causing him pain.
The idea of applying hot sauce is to not give them pain; therefore, always be cautious when you are using hot sauce or any other deterrent on puppies.
Make sure you dilute the hot sauce before applying it if you have a puppy.
By the way, read this to understand if female dogs chew more when in heat.
2. Can irritate the dog’s stomach.
If your loving pooch has a very sensitive stomach, hot sauce can affect him. It will irritate his stomach, causing pain, indigestion, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Literally, as a responsible dog parent, you should know what food items will make your pet’s stomach upset. If spicy food is one such thing better not to use hot sauce as a taste deterrent.
Not only such pets but any dog or puppy can also have diarrhea or vomiting if they consume a lot of spicy food. Always think about the amount of hot sauce you are going to apply.
3. Smell and stains.
Unlike the deterrents available at the market, hot sauce can smell and stain your furniture if overused. You cannot use it on carpets or cushions because it will stain the fabric.
If you do not like the spicy smell all over your furniture, hot sauce is not for you.
4. The dog might enjoy the taste.
Like humans, not all dogs hate spicy food. Some might like it. So if you just apply the hot sauce on the surfaces and he gets the taste of it, he might chew more onto it.
This will fail your effort to stop inappropriate biting as well as cause digestive problems for your pooch if he has a sensitive stomach.
Therefore, testing whether your pet hates the hot sauce smell and taste initially is necessary.
5. Cannot use it on his skin.
Some dogs tend to bite their skin if they have wounds or other irritations. Biting a wound will infect the wound further or prevent it from healing.
Some taste deterrents can be applied to a dog’s skin to prevent it from biting itself. These deterrents are uniquely made for such purposes, so they do not contain any toxic material which can harm the skin and wounds.
However, hot sauce cannot be used for such purposes because it will irritate and damage your dog’s wounds, further causing him pain.
6. Will find other things to chew/bite on.
If you apply hot sauce on all your pet’s biting objects, he will go for alternatives. He will find new objects to bite on and damage.
Therefore, just applying hot sauce or a deterrent will not stop your dog’s inappropriate biting/chewing habits.
7. The disadvantage of using other deterrents.
Some deterrents available in the market can have toxic ingredients and some ingredients which are allergic to your dog.
Always keep in mind what ingredients are allergic to your dog when purchasing a deterrent from the pet shop.
Sometimes, deterrents which are non-toxic to adult dogs can be toxic to your puppy. Therefore, if you are purchasing a deterrent other than hot sauce better to consult your vet.
What other things can you apply to stop dog biting/chewing?
Deterrents are used to discourage and stop your dog from biting/chewing inappropriate things.
There are mainly 2 kinds of deterrents that can be used for dogs.
Taste deterrent: These are the most commonly used deterrent. Hot sauce is one such deterrent. Mainly taste deterrents are sour, bitter, or spicy flavor sprays. Dogs do not like these tastes, therefore they will stop chewing on your furniture. Some common and freely available taste deterrents available in pharmacies and pet shops are Bitter apple spray, bitter lemon spray, tabasco sauce.
Noice deterrent: Dogs do not like sudden loud noises. They quickly divert from these sounds thinking it might be a danger, therefore, noise deterrents use this mechanism. They have usually compressed air cans. Once the dog bites the can, it will release the compressed air suddenly with a loud noise. This will discourage the dogs from further biting. Other than the deterrents available in the market, you can use some of the homemade deterrents.
Use jalapenos as a spicy taste deterrent: You can use jalapenos as a spicy taste deterrent. Cut the jalapeno in half and apply that on wooden surfaces. But always remember that a lot of spice can damage your dogs’ and puppies’ mouths.
Citronella: A spray with citronella smell- dogs do not like this smell either. Vinegar spray also can give some success.
However, all these deterrents will not help the dog with his chewing/biting needs. Dogs need to bite and chew for different reasons.
Therefore, while using hot sauce or any other deterrent, you should provide him with his toys which he can chew as much as he wants.
Things to be aware of.
Here are some things to be aware of about your dog’s chewing/biting behavior and how to prevent it.
Why do dogs chew/bite?
Chewing is a natural behavior of dogs. Dogs must chew. Therefore, as a responsible pet parent, you must allow your dog to chew/bite, but not every object he comes across at your home.
These are some reasons why dogs chew/bite.
- It’s a way of communication, especially within the litter. Some dog breeds are high likely to prone to bite/chew on things. These breeds include hunting and herding dog breeds.
- Puppies chew/bite on hard objects to relieve the pain of toothing.
- Older dogs chew to clean their dogs and as a benefit chewing on hard objects makes their jaws strong and healthy.
- Because your pet is bored.
- As an anxiety response.
How to choose a deterrent?
You have to choose a deterrent according to the personality of your dog. Not all dogs hate hot sauce or bitter apple. Some might enjoy these tastes.
Therefore, checking whether he hates the taste before applying the deterrent is essential.
Puppies and older dogs are allergic to different ingredients. Therefore, choose an appropriate deterrent by consulting your vet.
Do not use a deterrent if your pet has a gastrointestinal problem or gum problems without consulting your veterinarian.
How to stop the inappropriate chewing/biting behavior of your dog?
Yes, you can use an appropriate deterrent to prevent this behavior.
But there are other things you can do to fulfill your pets’ chewing needs and save your furniture.
You can train your dog on what to bite and what not to bite.
If you have a puppy, you can start this as soon as he starts biting, but you can also train an adult dog.
- If he starts to bite furniture, your clothes, rugs, and other inappropriate things, show your dislike. Tell your dog in a stern voice that it is wrong! Be consistent about these warnings, so he will understand that you will not tolerate that.Give him plenty of chew toys to bite. This will allow him to satisfy his cravings.
- When he bites a chew toy rather than furniture, appreciate him.
- Exercise him before you go to work- if your pet is alone at home during the day, he might chew on things because he is bored and he has no one to play with. Therefore, before you leave home try to take him on a walk and do some playing with him. This will burn some of his energy, therefore he will sleep during day time.
- If your pet is chewing because he is anxious you might have to take a different approach. If he is anxious because you are leaving him every morning and returning home late, you can try separation therapy on your pooch. Exercising before leaving home can also help him.
Conclusion.
This article gives you 4 reasons why you should use hot sauce and how to train your dog not to chew/bite.
