There are some things that all dog owners need to be prepared for. Chewing is certainly one of the most common. Jack Russells are also the leading chewing culprits and will chew nearly everything unless you train them not to.
Why Do Jacks Chew?
There are many factors the lead Jacks to chew on various things, but none of them indicate maliciousness on the part of your dog. Here are some of the leading factors that contribute to chewing which may help illuminate the issue:
Easily Bored
Simply put, when Jacks become bored they start chewing on things to occupy themselves. If this sounds suspect, remember that humans also engage in unbecoming behavior when bored and dogs tend to do the same.
Nervousness
Your dog could suffer from general anxiety because of loud noises or something within the environment or have separation anxiety which causes him to get nervous each time you leave him alone. With the latter, you could well find that walls, doors and skirting boards are chewed; this is their way of trying to break through the barriers to get to you.
The Teething Process
Teething is uncomfortable for any animal, and as such your puppy will need something to chew on just as your baby will
They Are Curious
Typically dogs are just curious about certain items and they can collect more information with their mouths than their paws, so doesn’t it make sense for them to chew a little?
As you can see, these are all perfectly understandable reasons. But, remember that just because it’s understandable it doesn’t make it desirable, and luckily there are plenty of things you can do about it.
Stopping Your Jack Russell From Chewing
Another way of thinking about this is preventing your dog from chewing certain things. Clearly, chewing can never be completely erased as it’s an important part of what makes a dog a dog. As long as it can be controlled, chewing shouldn’t be discouraged, your dog just needs to be trained in order to know what to chew and what not to.
So what is to be done? Well, the first thing you might want to try is keeping them occupied. A lot of Jack Russell chewing is the result of boredom, so doesn’t it make sense to keep them entertained? Keep them busy with exercise and simulation and they should be less liable to chew.
Also, avoid punishing them if you find them gnawing on an item. Take away whatever household item they may be gnawing on and substitute it with a toy they can chew instead; if they agree to chew the toy, be sure to give them lots of praise. By reacting positively when your dog chews on a toy instead of a household item, your dog will be more likely to chew on the toy again in order to get praise.
However, there’s still the problem of what to do when you’re not there, and that’s where an abundance of chew toys come in. Obviously if they have enough toys to occupy them they’ll be less likely to seek out your chews and possessions, but you should also try to have such things out of reach anyway, why tempt them?
Anxiety, however, is a little harder to tuck away. When you’re home with your dog you can calm him if he becomes anxious, but obviously that’s harder to do with separation anxiety. Fortunately many puppies eventually grow out of this once they understand that you are not leaving them forever; until that point, try to protect against any chewing or scratching that may occur while you’re gone.
Despite their chewing compulsion, which exists for a variety of reasons, there are plenty of things you can do to help tame this problem. Make sure your Jack is entertained with lots of toys and cannot reach your expensive items and you can leave the house with confidence.
