My Dog Bites Everything — What Can I Do?

We all know puppies bite everything — it's entirely normal and should never be considered a behavioural problem. Over time, as they grow, they gradually leave this behaviour behind.

But what happens when a dog grows up and still bites everything? Here we're dealing with a behavioural or health problem, and to fix it, it's essential to find the source. Let's look in detail at the possible causes and what solution we can offer.

My Dog Bites Everything

It's genuinely exhausting getting home and seeing your dog has done it again. While you were out, they've spent their time biting everything in their path, including slippers, furniture and sometimes even walls.

This kind of destructive behaviour isn't healthy for either the dog or their family, so correcting it becomes essential. Even so, it's impossible to give you steps to follow if we don't know the source of the problem.

That's why we've put together the main reasons dogs constantly bite things, so you can identify the one affecting your dog and correct it.

Reasons a Dog Bites Things

We're always talking about physical objects here, not people. If your dog bites your hands while playing, you should correct that behaviour right away. If they do it deliberately, with no play involved, that's a serious behavioural problem needing attention from a vet specialising in ethology.

These are the main reasons that can make a dog bite everything in their path.

Teething

Known as the teething period, when a dog starts switching from milk teeth to adult teeth, which happens between four and five months old, they'll generally bite everything.

This behaviour is down to the intense pain they suffer in their gums, since the new teeth are literally forcing their way through to come out, pushing out the old milk teeth.

Anxiety

Dogs are family animals who want to be in constant contact with their human family. Even so, there are plenty of occasions where, for work or study reasons, we're forced to leave them alone at home.

This is when separation anxiety happens, something that causes the dog a huge amount of anxiety, which they release by biting things. We can correct this behaviour by teaching our dog to stay home alone.

Poorly Managed Energy

Did you know most adult dogs need daily exercise? We're used to dogs being in our home, keeping us company and sometimes keeping watch over it.

But they're animals who need a large dose of daily exercise to release their excess energy. A long walk where they can run and play with other dogs is the best way to exercise them, while having fun at the same time.

When the dog can't burn off their energy outside, exercising with you or playing with other dogs, they release this energy at home, biting and breaking things until they tire themselves out.

Boredom

Can you imagine being stuck at home all day with nobody to play with you? That's what happens to plenty of dogs, who end up bored out of their minds. A bored dog can develop health problems, stress or even anxiety.

So it's no surprise plenty of dogs in this situation end up biting things to keep themselves entertained. It's the best way to fight boredom.

Pica Syndrome

Pica syndrome is a mental illness or behavioural problem, depending which expert you ask, that makes the dog constantly bite something. Whether it's a piece of stick, a ball or the wall.

Pica syndrome can stem from other complex conditions, such as malabsorption syndrome or even dementia. If this is the case with your dog, it's entirely necessary to consult a vet to rule out more serious conditions.

What Should We Avoid?

It's normal to correct our dog if we see them biting something apart, as long as we do it right at that moment. There's no point getting home and scolding them for something they did hours ago.

Here's some advice to bear in mind to stop a dog carrying on biting everything. It will help us correct their behaviour.

• Avoid overexciting them: An overexcited dog is a dog with plenty of energy they need to release, and if they can't run or play, they'll end up biting things.
• Don't leave things within their reach: It's not a good idea to leave things they could break within their reach, such as slippers or personal belongings. The only thing we should leave within their reach is a specific dog chew toy.
• Stop them getting bored: Boredom, along with separation anxiety, is the most likely cause of a dog biting everything. Preventing it is very simple, and fun besides.
• Scolding or punishing them: Don't punish your dog — that will only increase their stress levels. The idea is to correct their behaviour, and to do so we need to use positive reinforcement.

Now that you know how to find the source of the problem and act accordingly, what are you waiting for to teach your dog?