Is your dog wrecking the house? Why bored dogs chew, bark and dig, and what helps

A chewed sofa leg. A shoe with no heel left. Barking every time a car passes. Most of us blame the dog, but trainers often point to a simpler cause: a dog that gets plenty of walks but very little to think about. Dogs were bred to sniff, hunt and solve problems. When that energy has nowhere to go, it tends to land on your furniture.

It's not just the shoes

A bored dog costs more than a few chewed things. There's the couch cushion, the door frame, the charger cable. There's the barking that starts the moment you sit down, the note from a neighbor, the evenings when you can't relax because your dog won't. And there's the guilt, because you love this dog and you're already walking them every day.

The good news is that this kind of behavior usually isn't a sign of a “bad” dog or a bad owner. In many cases it's a dog with more brainpower than daily life is using.

Why walks alone often aren't enough

A walk burns physical energy, but many dogs come home just as restless. Problem-solving tires a dog in a different way: sniffing out a hidden treat, working a puzzle feeder or learning a new cue makes the dog concentrate. Many trainers find that a few minutes of focused brain work leaves a dog calmer than a longer walk on the same route every day.

There's a second benefit. Training games teach your dog what you do want, so there's less need to correct what you don't.

5 things you can try this week

1. Make them work for dinner. Swap the bowl for a snuffle mat, a food puzzle, or kibble scattered in the grass.
2. Add a sniff walk. Let your dog lead and sniff for 10 minutes. Sniffing is tiring in a way that brisk walking isn't.
3. Play “find it.” Hide treats around one room while your dog waits, then say “find it.” Make the hiding spots harder over time.
4. Teach one new trick a week. Five-minute sessions of “touch,” “spin” or “go to your mat” use real brainpower. How to teach touch
5. Give chewing a legal outlet. Rotate a few safe chew toys so there is always something more interesting than the table leg. Choosing safe chews

Use rewards, not punishment. Scolding after the fact usually makes a dog anxious rather than teaching it what to do instead.

A simple 7-day starter plan

About 10 to 15 minutes a day. Keep a quick note of when the chewing or barking happens; after a week you'll know which games your dog enjoys and which times of day need the most attention.

1. Day 1One meal from a snuffle mat
2. Day 210-minute sniff walk
3. Day 3“Find it” in one room
4. Day 4Teach “touch”
5. Day 5Muffin-tin treat game
6. Day 6Tug with a “drop it” cue
7. Day 7Repeat a favorite, a little harder

Where most owners get stuck

The first week usually goes well. Then three things tend to happen:

• You run out of ideas. Your dog solves the snuffle mat in 30 seconds and the cup game gets boring.
• The games stop getting harder. Brain work only tires a dog while it's still a challenge, so the difficulty has to keep rising in small steps.
• Life gets busy. Without a plan for what to do next, sessions slip from daily to “when I remember.”

That's the gap a structured program fills: a set order of games, each one a little harder than the last, so you never have to work out what comes next.

If you want a step-by-step program

One option is Brain Training for Dogs, an online course by Adrienne Farricelli, a CPDT-KA certified professional dog trainer. It is built around brain games that start simple and get harder, using force-free, positive-reinforcement methods. See the official course page (paid link).

What's inside

The course page lists seven modules, named like school grades. You start with the basics and only move up when your dog is ready:

1. Preschool
2. Elementary School
3. High School
4. College
5. University
6. Graduation
7. Einstein

According to the official page, the course also includes:

• Video demonstrations of the brain games
• Trick-training videos (shake hands, roll over, take a bow and more)
• Obedience 101 and a "polishing up your training" section
• An archive of articles on common behavior problems and puppy training
• A members' forum and a help desk for questions
• A bonus course, Behavior Training for Dogs, in the current offer

Common doubts

“I've tried training before and it didn't stick.” Many training plans are long drills. These are short games, which most dogs, and most owners, find easier to keep up.

“I don't have time.” The sessions are designed to be short. Ten minutes while dinner cooks is enough to start.

“Isn't this just party tricks?” The games are the vehicle. What they build is focus, impulse control and a dog that looks to you for what to do next.

“What if it doesn't work for my dog?” Every dog is different, and no course can promise results. It's sold through ClickBank with a 60-day refund policy, so you can try it and ask for your money back if it isn't a fit.

Questions

General information, not veterinary advice. Good Boy Habits is independent and is not affiliated with the course creator beyond the affiliate commission described above. Questions? Email [email protected].