Dogs chewing on shoes is sadly a reality that thousands of dog owners across the world face every day. It is natural for dogs to chew on things and that unfortunately include shoes. Dogs chew on shoes since those tend to smell like their owners. That is especially true if the shoes are worn for an extended amount of time. Shoes are also known to be pleasing to the tasting buds of dogs.
I can only imagine how upsetting it is for you when you just bought a brand new pair of shoes only for them to be ruined a few days or a few weeks later because your dog chewed them. It certainly is frustrating when the pair of shoes that you wear to work gets messed up by your dog. So, you certainly are wondering about how to stop a dog from chewing on shoes. Here are the methods for you to do so.
Methods For How To Stop A Dog From Chewing On Shoes
1. Keep Your Shoes In A Secure Spot
Many people tend to place their shoes on the floor by or near the front door of their homes whenever they aren’t wearing them. However, that is the easiest spot for your dog to reach your shoes.
So, you will need to find a place to put your shoes where your dog can’t get to them. Among the best places to put your shoes are in your closet or on a high shelf.
These spots may not be the most convenient ones to keep your shoes, especially if they aren’t near the front door. But, these spots will ensure that your dog can’t reach your shoes, thus, saving them from being chewed on by the dog.
If for some reason you don’t have enough room in your closet or on a high shelf for your shoes, you will want to put your shoes in a room and then gate it off with a closed door or a walk thru baby gate just like this one.
2. Use A Taste Deterrent
If your shoes are going to taste yummy to your dog, then why wouldn’t he/she want to chew on them? You are going to want to make your shoes taste bad to your dog’s tasting buds. What you will want is referred to as a taste deterrent. Grannicks Bitter Apple Taste Deterrent is a popular option.
So, I would suggest that you check it out. Once you have a taste deterrent in hand, all you need to do is to spray it all over your shoes. That should greatly reduce the chances of your dog chewing your shoes.
3. Give Your Dog Some Toys To Chew
You may find that your dog chews on your shoes because he/she doesn’t have anything else to chew on. In fact, your dog may even think that your shoes are chew toys.
So, to minimize the chances of your dog chewing on your shoes, you will want to give him/her a toy to chew on instead of your shoes. Kongs are among the best options for chew toys because they are designed to take a long time for your dog to finish chewing off.
That will help to keep your dog’s mind off of your shoes. Completing a Kong will also open up a treat for your dog to enjoy. You can stuff a Kong with a tasty treat like the Canine Carry Outs Dog Treats.
Ideally, you will be proactive and give your dog his/her stuffed Kong before he/she even thinks about chewing your shoes. But, if your dog is already chewing on your shoes, go ahead and give him/her the stuffed Kong to chew on instead.
As you are doing that, take your shoes away from your dog and put it away in a secure place within your home. You will want to do this in a calm manner as yelling at your dog for chewing your shoes will only make it worse.
4. Don’t Donate Your Shoes To Your Dog
You aren’t going to want to donate your shoes to your dog, even if you will no longer be wearing them. It is understandable that you want to be charitable towards your dog by donating your old shoes for him/her to enjoy.
But, the problem with that is that dogs don’t recognize the difference between an old pair of shoes and the new one.
So, allowing your dog to chew your old shoes is in effect giving him/her the permission to chew all the shoes that he/she sees – including the ones that you currently wear.
As a result, it is counter-productive for you to give your old shoes to your dog. So, just throw away the shoes that you don’t plan on wearing anymore.
5. Exercise Your Dog
You will want to give your dog a workout every day. Not only is exercising good for your dog’s health, but doing so will get him/her rested.
That is especially helpful if you aren’t going to be supervising your dog such as when you are in bed or away at work. One fun option for giving your dog a much needed exercise is to play a game of frisbee with him/her.
Frisbee is a disc that you toss to your dog and he/she needs to catch it with his/her mouth and then bring it back to you.
If you don’t have a frisbee to play with your dog, you may want to look at the Hyper Pet Flippy Flopper Dog Frisbee. They are largely either colored green or blue and come in two or five packs.
How To Stop A Dog From Chewing On Shoes – Conclusion
These are the five methods to help you with how to stop a dog from chewing on shoes. Of course, shoes aren’t the only things that dogs chew on. They are also notorious for chewing on furniture.
What are your thoughts? Have you ever been in a situation where you have had your shoes chewed on by your dog? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Yes, my dog is chewing on my shoes at the moment. But, according to your five strategies for stopping my dog from chewing on my shoes, I believe this will change as soon as we begin playing frisbee together. I’m also intending to get Kongs, as you mentioned that these chew toys will take a long time for my dog to chew off. I’m hoping that these approaches will save my sneakers.
Excellent article.
Thank you! I am sorry to hear about your dog chewing on your shoes and so I am glad that you have found this article so that you can find help with your dog’s shoe chewing problem.
Playing frisbee with your dog certainly sounds like a plan. Hopefully, you will make time to do that with your dog soon enough. Kongs would be great for your dog to have. Just make sure to get the treats too so that you can pack some inside the Kongs for your dog to enjoy once the chewing is completed.
I can understand how upsetting it can be for you if your sneakers end up getting damaged to the point that you have to buy a new pair of them. So, hopefully, your dog’s shoe chewing behavior will end before it is too late to save your sneakers.
The very good article is very informative, I do appreciate your method of training animals you’re not abusive and I like that.
I kind of lucked out unless you like a real playful dog I have an old person’s dog, she’s a Manchester terrier and this little dog won’t chew on anything she won’t even catch a frisbee she won’t play with sticks she just thought she’s a lap dog.
But all five of your messages make plenty of sense to me I’ve been a dog person all my life. In the majority then dude love to chew, in the stinkier the better.
The most foolproof one is putting your shoes in the closet especially if you have an entryway closet for coats and shoes, but if not the high Chef would be the better trick,
I’m sorry but the chew toy would be good but thinking like a canine there’s nothing more tasteful than your owner’s foot odors.
Thank you for a very informative article,
Bill Wright
You are welcome. I am glad that you have found this article to be very informative for stopping your dog from chewing on your shoes. Yes, the dogs love the taste of shoes. That is why it is important for dog owners to take measures to stop their dogs from chewing on their shoes. That is because if the dogs love the way the shoes taste, then why wouldn’t they want to chew on them?
For sure, having a closable closet for storing your shoes would be the surest way to stop your dog from chewing on your shoes.