Why dogs love to chew your favourite pair of shoes?

Dogs are man’s best friend and they have a special place in our hearts. But sometimes, unknowingly, dogs cause harm to our things and shoes are one of their favourites. In this article, you will learn about why dogs chew shoes and what you can do to stop it.

Why do dogs chew shoes?

Teething

As puppies grow, their baby teeth start to come out. And before we know it, their adult teeth starts pushing out them out and this takes around 6 to 8 months to complete. All this while, their gums are uneasy and very discomforting. Chewing alleviates the pain while providing comfort as long as they chew.

The perfect chew material

Shoes are made out of animal skin and this gives out a smell or an essence that we humans can’t make out. Dogs love this and as an added bonus, shoes are soft and have a nice texture. This is the holy grail of chewable materials for dogs. 

The smell

There’s an age long myth that dogs love shoes because it stinks and that’s not true. A dog’s nose is far more sensitive than ours and this makes the stink 3X stronger to them. Dogs do love shoes because of their smell, but not the stink. 

We wear our shoes to work, the mall, park and pretty much everywhere else we go. Shoes pick up smells from all these places and dogs love finding out where all you’ve been, and most importantly, if you have petted that other dog in your neighbourhood. 

You factor

Dogs may just be a part of our lives, but to them, we are their whole world. Your shoes remind them of you and when you are not around, they tend to pick your shoes up thinking about you. Before they know it, they end up chewing and damaging the whole shoe.

How to make them stop?

Chewing Deterrents

An immediate solution to not just chewing shoes but anything else is to spray them with anti chew sprays. These are safe for your dog and also don’t harm your shoes. A few sprays should generally last a day and after using it for a few days, your dog may forget about the shoe and you don’t have to constantly spray it.

Chew Toys

Surprising your dog with a range of chew toys or chew bones might just solve the problem. Chew toys are made to tempt your canine buddy. They are hard and usually last for hours depending on how intensely your dog chews. The key is to find out which chew toy your dog loves the most. Giving them that will help keep their mind away from your shoes.

Avoid leaving them alone

Dogs are the most faithful and loyal beings on earth. They literally think the world of you and cannot stand it when you are not around. They may get bored or in some cases, might face separation anxiety. With this, they start chewing anything they find and shoes are most accessible to because they are on the floor, the universe of a dog’s nose. 

Better safe than sorry

When you know that your shoes are going to be chewed on, why let it be in reach for your dog? You can keep the shoes away from your dog or put them in cupboards or containers. With time, your dog may even forget about it and one day when it sees your shoes, it may decide it just leave it alone.