Pawscessories is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.
Learn more.
Did you come home to a chewed up dog bed? Maybe this wasn’t the first time and you’re fed up and want a solution.
Well, we’re going to look at how to stop a dog from chewing his bed. There can be many reasons as to why they’re being a destructive chewer.
It’s important for you and your dog that this behavior stops. Not only is it costly for you and your wallet… Many times if a dog has destructive chewing habits it doesn’t stop at their bed.
Also, If they ingest any piece of the bed during their demolition it can cause harm to their digestive tract. Once digested it could unfortunately lead to an expensive trip to the vet.
Table of Contents
Why Do Dogs Chew Their Bed & How To Stop It
Dogs will chew their bed for a variety of reasons. All of which are different depending on the dog. The most common reasons a dog will chew their bed is from anxiety, hunger, boredom, and curiosity.
Here is more details on each of these reasons and how to stop a dog from chewing his bed:
Separation Anxiety
It’s definitely not uncommon for a dog to experience separation anxiety.
Dogs can become so attached to their owner that the time they spend apart from their owner is simply unbearable. And because of this dependency it can make them act out.
Separation anxiety is the most challenging to solve because it takes a great deal of attention & training.
The reason is because their behavior may stem from an experience they had when they were just a pup.
As with humans, it is challenging to change a habit/behavior that you’ve been doing for many years.
How To Stop A Dog From Chewing His Bed With Separation Anxiety
There are a few things that you can do to prevent your dog from chewing their bed if they’re experiencing separation anxiety.
One, you can give them a t-shirt or pair of pants to cuddle with while you’re away. Make sure you pick something that you wouldn’t mind if it got chewed up.
The scent that your clothes give off can give your pup some comfort while you’re away.
This will help ease their pain while you’re gone because they’ll at least be able to cuddle with something that gives off your scent.
Two, you can desensitize your coming and leaving home ques. Unknowingly, you’re likely going through the exact same routine every time you’re about to leave the house.
This makes it very obvious to your dog that you’re about to leave them and will spark their anxiety.
For example, put your shoes on then go do laundry or do the dishes. Or, put your jacket on then sit on the couch and watch T.V for a little while.
These will help make it less obvious when you’re actually going to leave and gradually make it less of a shock when you do end up leaving them.
Same goes for when you come home. If you shower him with love when you get home this makes them want to be around you that much more.
Do your best to make it less of a grand entry and ignore them when you come home until you’ve settled in and then you can give them all the hugs and kisses you normally would.
If you make less of a big deal when you come and go it will help your dog cope with being alone.
If these don’t work our next 3 suggestions would be to simply buy them a more durable dog bed, have them stay in a crate while you’re not home, or take them to your vet to see what they would suggest.
Hunger
If your dog is super hungry when you leave your home it’s not uncommon to come home and find they chewed up something they shouldn’t have.
While we don’t recommend feeding them more on a daily basis (that’ll only lead to a pudgy pup) there are a couple things you can do.
How To Stop A Dog From Chewing His Bed That’s Hungry
First, you can portion their food into smaller batches across the day. Instead of giving them a big bowl of food first thing in the morning you can separate it.
Some in the morning, more when you’re about to leave, another batch when you get home and then their last batch at dinner time.
Second, you can give them a toy that has treats/food in them.
These types of mind stimulating dog toys not only hold their attention but also give them something to keep from feeling excessively hungry during the day.
Boredom
They’re simply bored! Much like kids, dogs can easily do something they know they’re not supposed to do.
And the reason is for no other reason than they’re bored and have nothing better to do. Again, there are a couple things you can do.
How To Stop A Dog From Chewing His Bed That’s Bored
First, make sure they get enough exercise before you leave your home.
If you take them for a long walk or for a run around in the park, they’ll have much less energy to search for something they can mess around with.
If they’re tuckered out they’ll be more than happy to spend their time resting or taking a nap.
The next best thing you can do is provide them with an entertaining dog toy throughout the day. A busy mind is a less destructive mind!
There are many toys with ranging difficulties that can help keep your dog occupied for hours.
The more they focus on a toy and solving how to get the treat the less time they spend searching around your house for something to chew on.
Instinct/Curiosity
To no surprise, dogs explore their world through their mouth and nose. They follow scents and nothing’s better than finding what they smelt and playing with it.
Unfortunately, they’ve decided the bed you bought them was going to be the thing they explored today. And they played with it with a little more aggression than you would have liked.
How To Stop A Dog From Chewing His Bed That’s Curious
It’s impossible to stop your dog from exploring their world through their mouth.
What’s best is to give them a better alternative to occupy their time as opposed to snooping around looking for something to put in their mouth/play with.
Final Thoughts
There you have it! Some simple steps on how to stop a dog from chewing his bed.
Depending on why your dog is chewing their bed will help you determine the best path to stopping this behavior.
That’s why the first step is to figure out why they’re acting up. Once you have that solved you can take the necessary steps to prevent it from continuing to happen.
While some reasons have very simple solutions and others are much more challenging, understand that with enough time dedicated to helping your dog, you can stop destructive chewing.
We hope this post has been helpful! We know how frustrating it is to come home to a chewed up bed or other valuables.
The solutions outlined above are the best ways to prevent it from continuing to happen which is beneficial to both you, and your doggo.
Other posts you might find interesting:
Top 9 Best Online Dog Training Courses [2022 Update]
