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  1. #1
    House Broken
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    Question about swapping toys for nipping

    I know it works, but why does it work?

    Seems to me giving them a toy would be in their minds like, ok so your chewing on me or something I don't want you to chew on so here is a treat!

    Like we are praising them for chewing. Lol sorry if this sounds dumb, but it is a question that stays in my head when I do this

    Why do you all think this works? I have no idea to be honest but thought I would throw that out to see what your opinions were on this.

  2. #2
    House Broken
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    I kinda worded that wrong, I mean chewing not nipping

  3. #3
    House Broken tims229's Avatar
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    I believe it's called redirection. They are chewing on something they aren't supposed to. You say"no" and redirect that activity toward an appropriate object, the toy. Eventually they figure out what they can chew on and not. Our Leo is a bit different though because I always know when he's got something that he's not supposed to have, even if he's never grabbed that object before. He'll grab it and run away. This tips me off that he's got something not appropriate. I tell him to leave it and usually he does, unless it's a living object like birds or rabbits. That he has to lose interest in it before I can get them back... Little stinker!

  4. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I think you are correct and if you don't watch the timing it can seem to them that you are rewarding. Try to Direct, not REdirect. IT probably only takes a few puppy nips and you are able to see one coming, get the toy in there BEFORE the nip.
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  5. #5
    Senior Dog
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    I don’t think it’s rewarding as much as teaching them which objects are allowed chews and which are not.

    Remember, assuming that you have appropriate chews/toys available to them at all times, your are only intervening when they have something inappropriate. So they don’t get “rewarded” every time they chew, other than the intrinsic satisfaction from it. And since I hand them a toy/chew they already have had, they don’t see it as much of a reward since it’s something they could have accessed on their own, anyway.

    What’s funny and tells me that they really do understand the concept of “these are allowed, these are not” is that all of mine are well behaved and non-destructive around the house, but we have always let them chew sticks they find in the yard (and occasionally bring in through the dog door). As a result, the one household object that is not safe if it falls on the floor are wood pencils. I figure there’s no way for them to really tell the difference, so I don’t get upset - I just try not to let the pencils roll off the table, LOL.
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