Stop the destruction cycle in 7 days

Why your dog chews when alone

Destructive chewing when home alone has three main causes, and your dog may have one or all of them. Identifying the cause determines which parts of this reset matter most for your dog.

• Boredom. The most common cause. Dogs need mental stimulation, and most get very little when their owners are gone. An unstimulated dog will find ways to entertain themselves, and chewing feels satisfying.
• Anxiety. Some dogs chew because being alone is stressful. Anxiety-driven chewing tends to focus on exit points (doors, window frames) or items that smell like you (shoes, clothing). If your dog also barks, paces, or has accidents when alone, anxiety is likely a factor.
• Insufficient exercise. A dog with excess physical energy will burn it somehow. Chewing is low-effort, high-satisfaction energy release. This is especially common in working and sporting breeds under age 3.
• Teething (puppies). If your dog is under 6 months, some destructive chewing is developmental. They need to chew — the question is whether they have appropriate targets.

The reset below addresses all four causes. Even if you think you know which one applies, follow the full plan. Most chewing dogs have overlapping causes.

Day 1: Assessment and management

Day 1 is not about training. It’s about stopping the cycle of destruction so you can start fresh. Today, you’ll remove opportunities for chewing, set up monitoring, and establish baseline behavior.

• Dog-proof one room completely. Pick a room where your dog will spend alone time this week. Remove everything chewable: shoes, remotes, books, cushions, trash cans, cables. If it’s not bolted down and you’d be upset if it was destroyed, move it.
• Set up a camera. Point it at the dog-proofed area. You need to see what happens when you leave — does your dog start chewing immediately? After 20 minutes? Does pacing or whining come first? This information shapes the rest of the week.
• Do a baseline departure. Leave for 30 minutes. Watch the camera. Note: when does chewing start (if at all), what body language precedes it, and what does your dog target first.
• Inventory your dog’s current chews and toys. What do they have access to? Most dogs have a basket of toys they’ve ignored for months. These are not enrichment — they’re furniture. You’ll replace them starting tomorrow.
• Exercise your dog. A 30-minute walk or 15-minute fetch session before alone time. This isn’t the permanent solution, but it takes the edge off while you build the rest of the plan.

Days 2–3: Enrichment rotation

The biggest reason dogs chew furniture instead of toys is that their toys aren’t interesting. You need to make appropriate chewing more rewarding than inappropriate chewing. The secret is rotation and novelty.

• Frozen stuffed Kongs. Fill a Kong with peanut butter mixed with kibble and freeze overnight. This gives your dog 20–40 minutes of focused licking and chewing. Prepare 3–4 at a time and keep them in the freezer.
• Lick mats. Spread yogurt, pumpkin puree, or wet food on a silicone lick mat and freeze. Licking releases calming endorphins. Suction-cup mats to the floor or a wall for longer engagement.
• Snuffle mats. Hide kibble or treats in a fabric snuffle mat. This engages your dog’s nose and brain. 5 minutes of snuffling is mentally equivalent to a 20-minute walk.
• Rotate daily. Day 2: frozen Kong when you leave + snuffle mat 10 minutes before departure. Day 3: lick mat when you leave + treat-dispensing ball. Never give all enrichment at once — stagger it to fill more alone time.
• Safe chew options. Bully sticks, Himalayan yak chews, and rubber Nylabones are durable and satisfying. Avoid rawhide (choking risk), cooked bones (splintering), and antlers for aggressive chewers (tooth fractures).
• The "treasure hunt" departure. Before leaving on Day 3, hide 5–10 treats around the dog-proofed room. Your dog spends the first 15 minutes searching and eating instead of stressing about your departure.

Days 4–5: Short alone-time practice

Now you’re combining enrichment with structured departures. The goal is to create a pattern: you leave, something amazing appears (enrichment), and when you come back, it’s boring. Leaving becomes the best part.

• Departure 1 (Day 4): Give a frozen Kong, leave for 15 minutes. Watch camera. Your dog should be focused on the Kong, not the door. If they abandon the Kong and start pacing, the anxiety component is significant — see the footnote below.
• Departure 2 (Day 4): 30 minutes later, give a lick mat, leave for 20 minutes. Extend the duration slightly. Return calmly — no excited greeting. Pick up the enrichment item whether finished or not.
• Departure 3 (Day 5): Treasure hunt + Kong, leave for 30 minutes. This is the first time you’re stacking two enrichment types. Your dog should be busy for at least 20 of the 30 minutes.
• Departure 4 (Day 5): Kong + treat ball, leave for 45 minutes. Check camera at the 30-minute mark. If your dog is resting or calmly chewing, you’re on track.
• Calm returns, always. Walk in, put your keys down, wait 60 seconds, then calmly acknowledge your dog. Excited returns teach your dog that your arrival is the most important moment, which increases departure stress.

If your dog ignores all enrichment and paces, whines, or scratches at the door, the chewing is anxiety-driven, not boredom-driven. Add the separation anxiety techniques from our separation anxiety guide alongside this plan.

Days 6–7: Building duration and independence

The final push. Your dog has had enrichment every departure, and by now they should be associating your leaving with good things. Days 6–7 build toward real-world durations and introduce independence even when you’re home.

• Day 6, morning: Leave for 1 hour with enrichment. This is the first hour-long departure of the reset. Check camera at 15-minute intervals.
• Day 6, afternoon: Practice calm separation while home. Go to another room with the door closed for 10 minutes. Your dog should settle without you in sight — this builds the independence muscle.
• Day 7, morning: Leave for 1.5–2 hours with enrichment. Use the full rotation: treasure hunt at departure, frozen Kong in one area, treat ball in another. Stagger the discoveries so your dog stays busy longer.
• Day 7, afternoon: Leave for 30 minutes with no enrichment. This tests whether your dog can handle a departure without the safety net. Watch the camera. Some pacing is normal. Calm settling within 5–10 minutes is the target.
• End-of-week review: Compare Day 7 camera footage with your Day 1 baseline. Note improvements in settling time, chewing targets (appropriate vs. inappropriate), and overall body language.

After the reset: maintaining the new normal

The 7-day reset breaks the cycle. Maintaining it requires ongoing enrichment and smart management. Here’s your maintenance checklist.

• Always leave enrichment when departing. This becomes a permanent habit, not a temporary fix. A frozen Kong at departure should be as automatic as locking the door.
• Rotate enrichment weekly. Buy or make 5–7 different enrichment items and cycle them. Novelty prevents boredom better than quantity.
• Keep the environment managed. Don’t undo the dog-proofing too quickly. Gradually reintroduce items (one shoe by the door, one pillow on the couch) and monitor camera footage. If destruction returns, pull the item and continue management.
• Exercise before alone time. A 20–30-minute walk or play session before you leave reduces excess energy that would otherwise go into chewing. This is non-negotiable for high-energy breeds.
• Crate or pen if needed. If your dog does well in a crate, using one for alone time is not a punishment — it’s management. Pair it with enrichment and keep durations reasonable (4 hours max for adult dogs, 1 hour per month of age for puppies).