Puppy's Life

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Chewing an expensive shoe is a puppy's way of saying I love you

Twenty years ago, I learned a puppy lesson the hard way. Just married, my husband and I were eager to start our canine family and had adopted a 3-month-old Labrador retriever puppy. Louie, as he came to be named, was the most docile puppy in the litter. While the other black bundles of love jumped and nipped and vied for our attention, Louie lay asleep on his back. His pretty pink stomach puffing in and out as he slept, his even pinker tongue hanging from the side of his mouth.

Even though Labs by nature are social creatures that need lots of exercise and attention, Louie seemed laid-back. Based on his initial nonchalance, we pegged him as the "mellow" pooch of the litter. This was the mid-'80s B.C. (before crates) in the world of training puppies. We cleared an area in the utility room, providing a nice bed, an old clock wrapped in a pillow to mimic the beat of his doggy mother's heart, and a bowl of water. But what we forgot cost me dearly.

Louie, LOUIE!

One Monday afternoon I opened the front door to find Louie wagging his tail and rolling his head around in excitement. The aforementioned pretty pink tongue in his mouth was camouflaged by a bright red shoe. I screamed at the top of my lungs, a move that scared my dog enough to drop the shoe and head for the back door.

Fast-forward a couple of months. My husband and I had just returned from a trip where I picked up 10 pairs of my favorite shoes in different colors. As we settled back into our daily routine, Louie was ecstatic to see us, and we spent the better part of the day making sure that we were all re-bonded. The next morning I snuck my new shoes in through the back door and unpacked my bags while Louie napped. I lined the shoes along my closet wall, a true Imelda Marcos moment.

An hour later I realized I hadn't heard Louie for a while. I walked toward the bedroom. Yes, you guessed it. There he was in a world all his own-his shoe heaven-helping himself to a pink one and then a black one. The damage? He munched one shoe from each color.

Have Shoes, Will Chew

Thanks to the advice of my vet and a dog trainer, I learned how to successfully train a puppy to stop chewing household objects. The key to understanding a puppy is recognizing that chewing, or teething, is natural-kids and dogs use their mouths not only to relieve the little aches that come with growing, but also to keep them busy.

I found that Louie was receptive to getting "approved" chew toys from me-especially after I'd rubbed them in my palms to transfer my scent to the object. If he walked in the room and sniffed at my shoe, I would pull out one of his toys, which I kept in a basket. Whenever I traveled, I came home bearing stuffed animals. Soon he had such a big collection that we named the critters and made up a "Bring Me Your Cardinal (or Owl, or Moose)" game. He loved the challenge of finding the right toy and bringing it to me, and I loved the fun time together.

So with a little education and a lot of patience, I learned that if you give puppies long-lasting chew toys and positive reinforcement, you can have a happy puppy and unguarded shoes in the same house.