You wake up one Saturday morning and don’t see your Pug in their bed. As you stroll to the living room, you notice your Pug lying comfortably while chewing on your favorite furniture piece. Before you get upset, it’s important to know that dogs love to chew and there are things you can do to stop this behavior.
Do Pugs Chew Furniture?
Every dog is different and some dogs tend to chew furniture when they are bored, hungry and dealing with separation anxiety.
Dogs will chew objects for different reasons, so it’s not surprising that some will decide to chomp on furniture. Pugs can develop a habit of chewing furniture and so can other dogs. However, this is bad behavior that you want to stop as soon as possible.
It can cause multiple problems for you and your pug.
- Your pug could damage his or her teeth.
- The chewing could ruin your furniture and cost you money.
- Your pug might eat part of the furniture and face stomach problems.
Because of this, you should stop your pug from chewing on furniture, but you may wonder why they do it in the first place.
Why Do They Do It?
Remember that every pug is different, so each one will chew on furniture for different reasons. One of the biggest reasons is your Pug puppy is teething.
You should pay attention to your pug and see when he or she does the destructive behavior so that you can find the source. These points stick out as common reasons why pugs chew on furniture.
These reasons can also be why your dog is digging, biting, barking, and displaying other types of behaviors you don’t like.
Boredom
Pugs can easily become bored in a home. If they sit around and do nothing all day, then they may look for ways to entertain themselves. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to them chewing on furniture.
Because of this, owners need to do their best to provide fun activities for their pugs to avoid these boring moments. It’s not hard to keep a Pug entertained, especially, since they don’t require a ton of exercise.
You can spend 30 minutes playing with them in the backyard with their favorite toy or watch a movie on Netflix with them sitting on your lap.
If your pug tends to look for trouble in your home, then he or she may need something to help with boredom.
Separation Anxiety
Some pugs will suffer from separation anxiety. This means that your pug absolutely loves you, but he or she may not know how to handle things when you are gone. Pugs become anxious, fearful, and worried when they have separation anxiety, so they will look for outlets.
If you notice that your pug chews furniture while you’re gone, then you should look into separation anxiety.
You should consult with your veterinarian if you believe your dog has separation anxieties. They will be able to examine your pet and diagnose what’s causing the unwanted behavior.
Hunger
Believe it or not, some pugs may simply feel hungry and want to eat. Due to this, pugs may resort to biting on furniture as a way to deal with their hunger and distract themselves. This doesn’t mean that your pug doesn’t get enough food, but it might mean that you need to spread out the meals.
It could also be a sign that your Pug’s food doesn’t contain the proper amount of vitamins and nutrients to sustain your dog’s hunger. Make sure you’re feeding your pooch high quality dog food that is free from fillers.
This could be the problem for your pug if you notice the behavior happening close to meal times
How To Stop A Pug Chewing Furniture?
After you figure out why your pug attacks your furniture, you may wonder how you can stop the behavior. There’s multiple approaches that you can take based on what you think will work for your pug. Look over each of these ideas to figure out how you can prevent your pug’s destructive behavior.
Training
You can always try to train your pug to stop chewing on furniture. Make it clear to your pug that he or she shouldn’t chew the furniture. As he or she follows your commands to stop chewing and stay away from the furniture, reward your pug.
This will teach your pug that it’s good to avoid chewing the furniture. As you continue to reward your pug and train him or her, you can discourage destructive habits.
Exercise and Distractions
If your pug gets bored, then you may need to find ways to keep him or her entertained. Make sure to give your pug daily exercise to release energy. On top of this, you should provide chew toys as distractions so your pug has something to do when bored.
These simple tactics can do a lot for your pug if he or she tends to stay inside most of the day. Provide these ways for your pug to play so that he or she can avoid boredom.
Bitter Spray
Some pugs chew on furniture because they feel hungry. If this is the case, then your pug may look for something that they decide tastes good, and, for some reason, your pug chooses the furniture. If this is the case, try some bitter spray to get your pug away from the furniture.
You can find many types of spray that you can put on furniture. This spray won’t damage your furniture, is non-toxic and it will make it taste bad.
Discipline and Obedience Training
Dogs are like children and need to be told what is acceptable and what isn’t. If your pooch is constantly chewing furniture and other things, there’s a good chance that they haven’t been trained properly.
You’ll want to consider taking your pooch to obedience classes or how to teach them manners. The sooner you start training your pooch, the less likely you are to have these types of issues.
Talk With Your Vet
If none of these approaches work, then your dog may have an anxiety disorder. You should speak with a vet to see how he or she can help your pug if you think this is the case. Vets can prescribe your dog with medication to help him or her yo calm down.
This works as an option if you can’t get the destructive behavior to stop, so a vet could help you.
Final Word On Destructive Furniture Chewing
Most Pugs won’t chew furniture, although you shouldn’t be surprised to catch them chewing a shoe, carpet, clothing and etc. Puppies have a tendency to chew things, but most of them will outgrow this phase.
If you catch your pup chewing on furniture or anything other than a toy, you need to let them know you don’t appreciate it. The earlier you start training them, the faster they will understand what’s allowed and what isn’t.
References And Further Reading
Dog Time – How to Stop Dogs From Destructive Chewing