Anyone who chooses to adopt a young puppy probably knows that it’s normal to expect some chewing. Okay, probably a lot of chewing. But what you may not know is that many puppies experience a second round of this particular behavior at around seven to nine month old.

If you know this phase is coming, it can be much easier to deal with. In this post, Certified Professional Dog Trainer Barbara Shumannfang, PhD, gives some tips and tricks to help you and your puppy get through this second round of chewing.

Chewy Phase: Part Two

Most people who live with a very young puppy come to expect a lot of chewing. On everything. Not just on toys, but on the corners of rugs, on electrical cords, plants and pant legs; these are all fair game to a puppy whose mouth is driving him bananas as his teeth come in. A lot of human effort and prevention goes into teaching the right habits. And then it happens–the pup’s chewing phase subsides and all seems right with the world. The puppy doesn’t require as much supervision, dog chew toys seem to do the trick, and the crate has been put away in favor of leaving the dog confined to a couple of rooms in the house. But look out. The humans have been lulled into a false sense of achievement and security, because no one told them about Chewy Phase: Part Two.

Just when you are resting on your laurels, when your pup is no longer a baby, but rather a young adolescent between roughly seven and nine months old, the chewing may start again. This is totally normal, tends to wrap up much quicker than the initial puppy chewy phase, and is particularly no big deal if you are expecting it. You’ll know it’s happening when you come home to gnawed-on furniture legs or cabinet baseboards, for example. Before you assume your dog is acting out or developing separation anxiety, address the fact that his mouth is probably bothering him one last time (most dogs have a mature set of choppers at around 10 months), and/or that he needs to work that extra energy out of his system.

The fix is simple: provide adequate aerobic exercise and appropriate chew projects to complete while you’re gone. He may need 2-3 sessions daily of truly aerobic exercise (a brisk, 20-minute walk may do the trick as long as he maintains a strong trot and keeps moving). Provide him with chewies and food puzzles in your absence. Hide a couple so that he has to work to find them, which will keep him extra entertained. And pull out the crate again for a couple of weeks or more, just to help keep him out of trouble if he is really sinking his teeth into your possessions. Just make sure he has an appropriate outlet for his need to chew while he is confined, whether he’s crated or baby gated in a dog-proofed room.

Content is posted from Very Fetching with permission of the author, Barbara Shumannfang, PhD and Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Follow her on Twitter @BarbaraShu_Fang. Contact her at Barbara@VeryFetching.com.