How Do I Stop My Dog from Destroying His Dog Bed?

Robin and I were in Jasper last Tuesday at a new Home Dog Training client and his Whippet named Reggie. Reggie was just a little energetic and liked to nip people’s hands and pant legs.  It was pretty easy to take care of these issues.  We also worked on some polite leach manners and to make sure that Reggie does not run out the door whenever anyone rang the doorbell. As we were finishing up and I was writing up my notes for our client, I looked over at Reggie’s crate and noticed that the bed in his crate was pretty torn up.  I asked our client what had happened and he said that Reggie always ripped apart the bed in his crate.  He had lost count how many beds he had to replace, but was sure that the number was over twenty.  At that moment I put my pen down because we weren’t ready to leave just yet…

My client needed to stop buying more and more dog beds.  I told him that during my early years as a dog trainer, I grappled with the issue of dogs destroying their dog beds.  I worked through many active correction and redirection processes with some success. The problem always returned to the fact that active correction was not always possible if the client is not present and passive redirection often sent mixed signals.  I finally came to the conclusion that sometimes the best training tips aren’t training tips at all!

I told my client that he was doing the exact thing that most dog owners do that are in his situation. When their dog eats their dog bed, they normally run out and buy a new bed and hope he doesn’t eat the next bed as well. Well, as my client could expertly attest, that hope rarely materializes and you are normally faced with another shredded bed in the crate.

First of all, let’s look at your dog’s habits for a second. He likes to lie in the grass and/or dirt in the back yard. He sleeps on the tile floor next to the window in the kitchen. He lies next to you on the carpet when you are watching TV. None of these are soft places and yet, he has no problem sleeping on them.

So, why do you give your dog a fluffy, cushy bed in his crate when you want him to sleep at night? It is because you sleep in a fluffy bed and, for some reason, you extend that same logic to your dog needing a fluffy bed for his crate at night.  This reasoning is completely false. The answer is that your dog does not need a dog bed in his crate to get a good night’s sleep.

So how do you get your dog to stop chewing up his bed in his crate? Take the dog bed away. Don’t worry, your dog will be fine and you won’t keep finding all that white stuffing all over your floor.

Please call Robin or myself at (770) 718-7704 with all your dog training questions.  You can find a large amount of great dog training advice at Best Dog Trainers Jasper Georgia.  Find all our phone numbers, text addresses and email contacts at Dog Training Help Center Jasper Georgia.