When you see your dog chewing on plastic you might not be sure how to react. Should you let them? Is it just a harmless, cheap toy or something you should take away? Why do dogs chew plastic? What deters a dog that chews plastic? Is chewing on plastic bad for dogs?

Today, we’ll answer all of these questions for you including the one you might be most interested in: how to stop your dog chewing on plastic once and for all. It won’t be long until you never have to worry about this ever again! Continue reading below for our article “Dog Chewing Plastic? Here’s How to Stop It!”

How to Stop Dog Chewing Plastic

To stop dog chewing plastic:

1. Keep plastic bottles and other objects hidden away or as out of your dog’s reach as possible.
2. Ensure your dog can always find a safe outlet for their chewing like a toy they have fun with.
3. Spray a deterrent, such as a 1:1 mixture of distilled white vinegar and water onto a cloth and wipe any plastic objects of yours with it.
4. The scent of vinegar will be gone after around 60 minutes, but your dog will continue to be deterred.
5. Give a calm but firm “stop” or “no” the second when you catch your dog is again chewing on plastic.
6. Don’t get mad or scream, because if they’re misbehaving like this due to anxiety (which is incredibly likely), this will only make their worries worse.
7. Place them into a brief time-out in a closed-off room or their crate for approximately 10 minutes.
8. If you notice them starting to go towards a plastic bottle or other objects, redirect them to a favorite toy.
9. Reward them with a small treat, pets, and praise when they select a toy rather than chewing on plastic.
10. Be sure that everyone else who lives in your house is also using these instructions.
11. Be patient and consistent.

Still, to make real, long-lasting progress you need to ultimately address the problem at its root. Right now, your dog is basically doing whatever they want, losing control of their emotions, and most importantly: not listening to you or your commands to stop an unwanted behavior (chewing plastic bottles and other objects).

To properly cover that, we must first talk about what makes dogs tick deep down. You’ve probably heard before that dogs are pack animals, and that in every pack there is a pack leader.

But every time your dog chews plastic, they are without a doubt proving to you that they don’t trust you as the head of the family pack.

If they did, they wouldn’t chew on plastic and ignore you when you tell them to stop. They wouldn’t engage in any other types of anxiety-related misbehavior or disrespect. And they would obey your commands as soon as they’re given, and they would do so happily.

Prove to your dog that you are not just their pack leader, but a capable one who must be respected, and you’ll make all of these terrific transformations a reality.

Obviously, you’ll be better off. But your dog will be too because you’ll have freed them from all of the worry and confusion that their anxiety problems are currently burdening their little shoulders with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sounds like a great thing, don’t you agree?

“Yeah, definitely, but how do I do this?”

You should watch an incredibly useful free video series by a renowned trainer named Dan which is on this very subject: how to be your dog’s pack leader. In Dan’s series, he explains absolutely everything in ways that are very easy to understand and teach to your own dog, and he gets immediately to the point so that you can start seeing these critical changes in your dog in no time.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And no, you’re not going to have to yell or be mean to your dog. Dan never uses those types of methods. Not just because loving teaching techniques are the right thing to do, but also because they’re the fastest way to achieve permanent changes in your dog’s behavior.

Why Do Dogs Chew Plastic?

Your dog chews plastic because they’re going through anxiety, and chewing on things that are nice and crunchy and chewy like this releases endorphins which make them feel better. If the plastic is something you’ve handled, it also helps that it smells like you, which your dog also finds comforting.

If you have a puppy chewing plastic, then they could be doing so due to teething. This would typically occur when your puppy is still under six months old. Ensure that they always have an acceptable toy to chew on instead. You should still work to stop your puppy chewing on plastic, as it can be unsafe and creates lasting bad habits.

If you find that your dog is chewing on plastic and not listening when you tell them to stop, then you also have leadership and trust issues to deal with. Your dog is not respecting your role in the home, which is why they feel free to continue doing what they want, and also likely why they’re feeling anxious to begin with.

It’s important to work on this root issue immediately, or your dog’s suffering will continue and their chewing plastic problem will continue and spread. You’ll find that your dog chews window sills, chews baseboards, chews metal, or even chews mulch.

You, of course, don’t want your things to keep getting chewed up. Even more important, though, is doing everything you can to stop your dog’s worries and suffering. To learn how to stop your dog chewing plastic (and other things) while also addressing the cause of the problem at its root, go back to the first section now.

What Deters a Dog That Chews Plastic?

A 50/50 mix of water and distilled white vinegar deters a dog that chews plastic. Make the mixture in a spray bottle, then mist it on any plastic things your dog has been chewing on. The smell will be gone in just about an hour, but your dog will continue to be repelled.

This is, of course, only a temporary solution. While it will stop your puppy or dog chewing on plastic, it will only prevent them from going after things that you’ve sprayed. That means they’ll just look for something else to chew up.

You can’t be spraying down every single thing in your home, so you need to be simultaneously working on what’s causing the problem (anxiety). To learn how to do that, go back to the first section now where we’ve laid out step-by-step exactly what you should be doing.

Is Chewing On Plastic Bad for Dogs?

Chewing on plastic is bad for dogs because they can easily break it into pieces or slivers, which would then be swallowed. These small bits of plastic can become lodged in your dog’s digestive tract, which would require a painful (and expensive) trip to the vet’s emergency room.

Save your dog the suffering and yourself the expense by not allowing your dog to chew on plastic. Go back to the first section now where we’ll teach you how to stop your dog chewing on plastic items, while also learning how to fix the problem which is causing them to want to do this in the first place.

I’m sure you’re ready to not worry about what your dog might be chewing on, so I’ll let you get started now. Best of luck, and we hope you found our article “Dog Chewing Plastic? Here’s How to Stop It” helpful!