Question: We have adopted a stray dachsund, he's been with us for about 8 months and still is chewing on anything he can get hold of. He chewed the wires in two on my husbands John Deere tractor. I think we will have to find a new home for him. He is sweet and wonderful except for the chewing....Any advice?

Answer: Yes, lots of advice! My first question would be how old is the dog? Many puppies and young dogs will outgrow this behavior, but others go on to be aggressive chewers as adults. If the dog is an adult, it just means that he chews alot and we have to make sure that he has appropriate things to chew on and that he doesn't chew on inappropriate, particularly dangerous items. You absolutely do not need to rehome your dog for chewing on thing, this is a normal dog behavior and can easily be modified and managed.

The first thing we need to do is make sure that the dog is getting exercise and mental stimulation. Is he walked everyday? If not, he probably needs that. A large yard does not provide exercise for dogs. He needs to be taken out for regular walks, every day. A tired dog is a good dog! Also, he needs to be mentally stimulated. Feed him his meals in a KONG. A KONG is a hollow, rubber interactive dog toy (about $10 for Dachshund size) that you can fill with his dog food and then top it off with a little peanut butter so it holds it all in. He will work for his food which costs mental energy with can help relieve boredom. Using KONGS and other interactive toys can do wonders for intelligent dogs that need more of a job to do. If you aren't already you might get him into a positive reinforcement dog training class. Not a class with choke collars or prong collars where they jerk the dogs neck, but a class where they use humane, science based training methods that the dogs enjoy. More mental stimulation!

The next you need to do is management. Management isn't really a training solution but it sets the dog up to get it right and can help to break habits. So, you need to set the dog up in a way that he cannot chew on things that are not appropriate. This is how we train brand new puppies, they are confined using baby gates and exercise pens so that they don't have access to things and areas where they might make mistakes (going potty in the wrong spot or chewing on something inappropriate). This is what you need to do for your boy. Do not allow him to have access to things like the tractor. Supervise him when he is outside, if he spends some time in the yard alone put exercise pens around the tractor so he can't get to them, or put up an area just for him with his safe, appropriate toys with him. Also, don't leave things you know he will chew lying around the house like shoes. Make sure tempting items are put away.

Provide him with lots of appropriate stuff to chew on. This is where a lot of people go wrong. Plush and stuffed toys can be great fun for dogs, but they are not chew toys. Dogs (especially aggressive chewers) NEED things to chew on. This is a need not a luxury. Appropriate things to chew on would be Nylabones, Bully Sticks, Sterilized Bones (from the pet store), large, safe rawhides are all good choices. If you see him go to something you don't want him to chew on like a shoe say "uh oh" in a pleasant voice and then redirect him to something that is ok for him to chew on.