When  people bring home their  new puppies, the furthest thing from their minds is   teething. Just as with babies, puppies will want to chew on everything they can get their mouth on. This can lead to  destruction of your belongings, but there are tried and tested ways to help prevent this from happening.

Many people leave teir puppy to romp around the house when they're not home. Inevitably, this leads to chewing on any number of  things. The best way to prevent  chewing is to crate train your dog. To do this, you will need a crate that is just big enough for your dog to turn around in. Make the crate a safe and happy place for your dog. Provide him with stimulating toys while he is in the crate. Crate training your dog will not only prevent destructive chewing, but will also aid in toilet training and create a positive and safe environment for your dog to be when you're not around. Some people think that keeping a dog in a crate when they're not around is cruel. This is not the case at all. Dogs by nature like small, darkened places and tend to feel very safe in crates. Almost all American dog trainers today believe that crate training is a necessary and positive part of your puppy's development. If your dog is crated while you are not home, they will not have the opportunity to chew on your belongings and other harmful things such as power cords.

The next most important thing to teach your dog when he is teething is which toys are his and what is off limits. Purchase good things to chew on such as tough rubber chews. Other chew toys that could be used are Nylabones which are made out of solid hard plastic and have bumps on them to soothe teething gums or other toys made of hard rubber or plastic. Reinforce which toy is for your dog by giving him his chew toy and saying something like, "Here is your toy, good boy!" If your dog chooses something that he is not to chew on, take it away and replace it with one of his chew toys repeating, "This is your toy, good boy!" He will learn what is his to chew on and what he is not to chew on.

Another important thing to train your dog during the teething period is bite inhibition.Teething puppies will put their mouths on you and you must teach them at an early age that this is not acceptable. Just as mentioned above, every time they exhibit mouthing behaviour, you must redirect them to an acceptable chew toy. 

By following the above advice as well as the advice of your veterinarian, you can rest assured that the teething period will be a positive learning period for you and your puppy.       Dog Article courtesy of I-Love-Dogs.com