How to Stop Your Dog From Chewing Everything

TL;DR: Dogs chew because it's normal canine behavior, but it turns destructive when they're teething, bored, under-exercised, or anxious about being left alone. The fastest way to protect your stuff while you work on the habit is Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray: spray it on furniture, cords, shoes, and other off-limits items so they taste ultra-bitter and sour. Pair it with chew toys your dog actually loves, daily exercise, and some smart chew-proofing.

Why do dogs chew everything?

Dogs chew because it feels good, passes the time, and helps them play. The ASPCA calls chewing a perfectly normal behavior for dogs of every age. The goal isn't to stop chewing; it's to point it at the right things, and Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray helps by making the wrong things taste terrible.

According to the ASPCA, dogs chew for a handful of reasons: to keep their jaws strong and teeth clean, to relieve teething pain, to burn off boredom, and to ease mild anxiety or frustration. The ASPCA's position on dog chews adds that adult dogs seem to find chewing a pleasant way to pass the time when they're bored or restless.

Why your dog is chewing	What it looks like	Who it's most common in
Teething	Chewing everything, drooling, tiny spots of blood on toys	Puppies 3 to 6 months
Exploring	Mouthing new objects, fingers, sleeves	Puppies and young dogs
Boredom or excess energy	Chewing when you're home but busy	High-energy breeds, under-exercised dogs
Separation-related stress	Chewing doors, windowsills, and your stuff only when you're gone	Dogs of any age
Scent attraction	Going straight for socks, shoes, and laundry	Dogs of any age
Hunger or a restricted diet	Chewing food-scented items, garbage	Dogs on calorie-restricted diets

Shoes and socks top the list for a reason: they smell like you. To your dog, your favorite sneaker is basically a scented candle with a rubber sole.

When do puppies stop chewing everything?

Most puppies ease up on chewing once their adult teeth are in, around 6 months old. Until then, protect your things with Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray and keep plenty of puppy-safe chew toys within reach.

Here's the teething timeline, based on the American Kennel Club:

Puppy age	What's happening	Chewing level
2 to 8 weeks	Baby teeth come in (about 28 total)	Low
3 to 4 months	Baby teeth start falling out	Climbing
4 to 6 months	Adult teeth erupting; most uncomfortable stage	Peak
6 months and up	All 42 adult teeth in place (AKC)	Settling down

Veterinary behaviorist Wayne Hunthausen, DVM, has noted that destructive chewing usually shows up between 4 and 18 months, when dogs are at their most curious. So if your 10-month-old is still treating the coffee table like a snack, you're right on schedule. The AKC also reminds owners that adult dogs still like to chew after teething ends, so the habit never fully disappears. It just gets more manageable.

Teething tips that help:

Freeze a rubber teething toy for extra relief on sore gums
Rotate toys every few days so they stay interesting
Supervise all chewing sessions, especially with new toys
Spray off-limits items like chair legs and cords with Super Sour! so the "wrong" choices taste awful

Why is my adult dog suddenly chewing everything?

When an adult dog starts chewing out of nowhere, it usually points to boredom, too little exercise, or stress about being left alone. Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray protects your furniture in the meantime, but the real fix is finding and addressing what's driving the chewing.

Separation-related stress is more common than you'd think. In one of the largest canine behavior studies to date, researchers at the University of Helsinki surveyed owners of 13,700 pet dogs. The paper (Salonen et al., 2020, Scientific Reports) cites earlier research putting separation anxiety at 14 to 20% of dogs, and found that dogs with separation-related behavior were 4.1 times more likely to be hyperactive or impulsive.

Signs it's separation-related, not just boredom:

Damage happens only when you're gone
Chewing focuses on doors, door frames, or windowsills (exit points)
Your dog paces, whines, or drools as you get ready to leave
Accidents in the house from a dog who is otherwise house-trained

Signs it's boredom or excess energy:

Chewing happens when you're home but distracted
Your dog is young or a high-energy breed
Walks have gotten shorter or skipped lately

If your dog's chewing looks like separation anxiety, talk to your vet or a certified behavior consultant. A deterrent spray helps protect your stuff, but anxiety needs its own plan.

Also worth a vet visit: sudden chewing in a dog who never did it before can sometimes point to dental pain or a diet that leaves them hungry, both of which the ASPCA recommends ruling out.

What can I spray on things to stop my dog from chewing?

A pet-safe bitter spray is the easiest way to make furniture, cords, and shoes unappealing. Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray uses an ultra-bitter, sour-apple formula that discourages chewing and licking, and it's safe for pets, people, and plants.

What's inside:

Water, bitter principles, sodium bicarbonate, and malic acid (the compound that makes sour apples sour)
Alcohol-free
Safe for dogs and cats
Available in 8 oz and 16 oz bottles
Every bottle feeds an animal in need through Skout's Paw Pledge

Where to use it:

Furniture legs, couch corners, and baseboards
Power cords and cables
Shoes, bedding, and clothing
Houseplants (including ones that are toxic to pets)
Crates and doormats
Paws, to discourage licking (avoid the eyes)

How to use it:

Shake well.
Test on a small, hidden area of fabric or porous surfaces first.
Spray directly on the item or area you want your dog to leave alone.
Reapply daily at first. The Nevada SPCA recommends renewing bitter sprays every day until your dog learns the item always tastes bad.
Put a favorite chew toy nearby so your dog has a "yes" option right next to the "no."

Pro tip: let your dog get a tiny taste first. Spray a cotton ball, let them sniff and lick it, and watch the face they make. Now they know what that smell means. (The face is also extremely funny. We're not saying film it. We're not not saying it.)

The ASPCA is clear that deterrents work best as part of a bigger plan, not on their own. Think of Super Sour! as the "not that" in "not that, chew this."

How do I chew-proof my house?

Chew-proofing means removing temptation while your dog learns the rules. Put valuables out of reach, then spray what you can't move with Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray so it tastes too sour to bother with.

Room-by-room checklist:

Area	Move it	Spray it
Entryway	Shoes into a closed closet or bin	Doormat edges, door frames
Living room	Remotes, kids' toys, throw pillows	Couch corners, table legs, cords
Bedroom	Laundry into a lidded hamper	Bed frame, baseboards
Kitchen	Trash into a locking can	Cabinet edges, chair legs
Anywhere with plants	Toxic plants up high	Pots and lower leaves

For determined chewers, a crate or a puppy-proofed room while you're away keeps everyone safe. Plenty of experienced owners have learned the hard way that "I'll just be gone an hour" is exactly how a couch cushion meets its end.

Keeping hazards out of reach matters for health too, not just your furniture. Some common houseplants are toxic to dogs. If you think your dog swallowed something poisonous, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center runs a 24/7 hotline at (888) 426-4435.

How do I teach my dog what's OK to chew?

Give your dog chew toys they genuinely like, praise them every time they use them, and swap in a toy whenever they grab something off-limits. Spraying the off-limits stuff with Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray makes the right choice the obvious one.

There's research behind the toy part. In a laboratory study by Hubrecht (1993), puppies given chew toys for two months showed fewer instances of destructive chewing, as summarized in a 2025 study in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. Owners surveyed in that same body of research said chewing calmed their dogs and kept them away from household items.

Step-by-step redirect:

Catch your dog chewing something off-limits.
Calmly interrupt (no yelling).
Offer a favorite chew toy instead.
Praise and treat the second they switch.
Put the off-limits item away, or spray it with Super Sour!

Finding the toy your dog actually wants:

Try different textures: rubber, rope, nylon, edible chews
Stuff hollow toys with a little food to make them more interesting
Rotate a few toys at a time so old favorites feel new again
Size toys to your dog's mouth and chewing strength, and supervise new ones

One rule from the ASPCA worth repeating: don't give your dog old shoes or socks as toys. They can't tell your retired sneakers from your brand-new ones. To them, a shoe is a shoe.

Does exercise help stop destructive chewing?

Yes. A tired dog is a much less destructive dog, because exercise burns the restless energy that often fuels chewing. Combine daily activity with Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray on your most-targeted items for the best results.

The ASPCA notes that bored dogs look for ways to entertain themselves, and chewing is one of the easiest. The Helsinki study authors also suggested that keeping dogs active and well-trained may help with some anxiety-related behaviors, though they noted more research is needed.

Ways to tire out body and brain:

A longer walk or jog before you leave the house
Fetch, tug, or flirt-pole play
Puzzle feeders and treat-dispensing toys at mealtime
Short training sessions (5 to 10 minutes of sit, stay, and "drop it")
Sniff walks in new places, which work the brain as much as the legs

Some breeds need more than others. In a Vetstreet survey of 284 veterinary professionals, high-energy breeds like Golden Retrievers and Jack Russell Terriers ranked among the most likely to chew something they shouldn't and end up at the vet.

Should I punish my dog for chewing?

No. Punishment tends to make dogs anxious, and anxiety can make chewing worse. Instead, manage the environment, reward good choices, and let Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray be the "bad guy" so you don't have to be.

Scolding after the fact doesn't work either. If you come home to a shredded pillow, your dog won't connect your frustration to something they did hours ago. That "guilty look" is usually just your dog reacting to your tone. Take a breath, clean it up, and adjust the setup for next time.

When should I worry my dog swallowed something?

Call your vet right away if your dog swallowed something non-food, or shows vomiting, drooling, belly pain, lack of appetite, or straining to poop. Preventing access with chew-proofing and Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray is far cheaper and easier than an emergency visit.

The numbers behind the vet bill:

Trupanion received more than 20,000 foreign body ingestion claims in 2025 through the end of September (Trupanion)
Average foreign body claim cost: $1,355 (June 2025), compared with $1,186 for an average emergency claim
Foreign body ingestion is one of the most common emergencies in young pets
Removing ingested objects has ranked as the second most common dog insurance claim at Trupanion (Veterinary Practice News)

Red flags:

Repeated vomiting or dry heaving
Lethargy or hiding
Refusing food
A tender or swollen belly
Missing pieces of a toy, sock, or cord you can't find

FAQ

Is Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray safe for dogs? Yes. Skout's Honor Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray is pet-safe, alcohol-free, and safe for people and plants too.

Can I use Super Sour! on cats? Yes. It's safe for cats and works on cords, plants, and furniture they like to chew or lick.

Will Super Sour! stain my furniture? Spot-test on a small, hidden area of fabric or porous surfaces before spraying the whole item.

How often should I reapply anti-chew spray? Reapply daily at first until your dog consistently leaves the item alone, then as needed.

Can I spray Super Sour! on my dog's paws? Yes. It can be sprayed on paws to discourage licking and chewing. Avoid contact with the eyes.

At what age do puppies stop chewing so much? Most puppies settle down once all 42 adult teeth are in, around 6 months, though chewing stays a normal part of life.

Bottom line: Chewing is normal. Chewing your new boots is optional. Protect what matters with Super Sour! Anti-Chew Spray, give your dog something better to sink their teeth into, and keep them busy. Your shoes will thank you.