At 7 weeks, Bruno instinctively has an urge to chew on absolutely everything he sees. When I take him in the car, he tries to chew on my leather seats, my cell phone charger, my trash bag, my trash bag holder, the carpet, the door, ME, etc.... He's not being a "bad" puppy, he's being a "normal" puppy. Puppies have the urge to chew, I cannot change that. My job with Bruno is to teach him what he is allowed to chew on and what he is not. I am constantly telling him "No Bruno! NO!" Sometimes I must tap his nose with my finger to get him to stop. He does not yet understand that there are things he is allowed to chew on and things he is not. When I tell him not to chew on something, when at all possible, I try to give him something he is allowed to chew on. As you can imagine, Bruno has an array of new toys. He is also a licker. I allow him to lick, so long as he keeps his teeth out of it.
Bruno outside on the porch with some of the toys he is allowed to chew. When we take him out we bring one with us so he always has something he is allowed to chew. We'll never curb his instinct to chew. Our goal is to direct him to what he is allowed to chew and teach him what is off-limits.
Bruno goes for a ride in the car to the store. He's being a bit hyper and is trying to chew everything in sight. "No, Bruno! No, Bruno! You cannot chew my shirt!"
"No Bruno, you cannot chew my hair wrap."
"Here Bruno, chew this bone instead!"
When we get to the store I wait outside with Bruno and sure enough, he finds something else to chew on. "No Bruno! You cannot chew the shopping cart!"
