Is your dog chewing your stuffed animals? There is a very simple way to stop that from happeing by making a small DIY toy. It is easy and effective.
There are all but two reasons why your dog is chewing your stuffed animals. One is very simple. Your pooch sees the stuffies as fun toys and simply has fun in the dog way.
The other reason is a bit more complicated and it has a lot to do with you. If you play too much with your stuffies there is a slight possibility that your dog is jealous. And if the dog chews your stuffed animals when you are out, then it is simply feeling lonely and possibly scared. The conventional way of thinking is that the dog is making a revenge.
Actually it is doing something it is not supposed to be doing on purpose. The sole goal is simply to make you come back, as it knows you always come back when he or she does something bad. So the dog is ready to take a punishment just to have you back. So don’t act all that angry when you come home, see a stuffed animal or two chewed up and your dog sitting amongs the pieces looking sad.
But how to prevent that?
How to stop your dog from cheweing your stuffed animals
Lifehacker has a great tutorial on how to make a small DIY toy that will keep your dog’s attention and it will feed its desire to rip something appart. Then you can simply put the toy back together and it is ready for more play.
You need to get your hands on a Holl-ee Roller ball. Then get some strips of fleece and/or other durable fabric. Pick a size of the ball and strips that is according to the size of your dog. Nothing too small that it can be swallowed.
Put all of the strips inside the ball and done! Throw the ball on the floor and let your dog have a go at it.
Your pooch is not paying much attention to it? Then put a few treats in the ball between the fabric strips. Before you know it the toy will be a favorite.
A few extra notes: Be around the dog for the first few times it is playing with the toy. Observe if it is trying to eat pieces it shouldn’t be and correct him or her. This will also give you a good idea if you picked the right size or if you need to adjust. If you aren’t sure that the dog won’t try to eat the fabric, then use the toy only when you are around it and forbid the play with stuffed animals. Slowly the dog will get used to chew only the toy.
Here is the toy in action:
