Puppy Nibbing

Question
My jack russell terrier likes to chew on everything! shoes, socks, underwear, hats, purses and even on our chairs! our dog is 1 year old and this problem started when we brought him home (3 months) some friends recommended we spraying vinegar into his mouth we he bites it but usually we don't catch him biting on it until later and also when we do spray it he stops biting on that but goes for something else and if we spray it after he goes for it, it still gets ruined. right? What can i do to make him stop chewing on everything!? without stopping him after he does it.

Answer
Hi, first stop spraying vinegar in his mouth.  That isn't teaching him anything.  He can't associate that to the chewing.  He just associates it to you grabbing him and spraying something disgusting into his mouth.  You do need to booby trap the items he is chewing, but you can't let him see you do it, or he is on to the game.  Dogs learn by association, so he has to associate the disgusting taste to what he is doing, not to you going after him.  You should pick up something like Bitter Apple or any of the other products that are made to stop chewing from a local pet store.  Have someone take him for a walk while you spray the chewing deterent on the items he is chewing on.  Then when he comes back and goes to chew, the item he is trying to destroy will get him back, not you.  That is how he learns.  Also, as far as shoes, socks etc, anything that is made of the same material as his toys he can not tell the difference from, so you basically have to keep those items away from him.  You can also put water in several spray bottles around the house and everytime you catch him going after something, squirt him in the face from a distance and tell him "no".  What he learns from this is that he can be corrected from a distance (you aren't getting up and going to him), so this helps with future training and associating with him that he can be corrected from far away.  Again though you need to have several bottles around so that you can catch him fairly quickly in the act.  Hope this helps,

Dawn