My dog chew our shoes!

Hi all

I am new on the forum and would like to discuss how to fix my dogs chewing habit.

He is normally well behaved dog when we are home but when we are out of sight or not home he chews on our shoes....

Some facts about my dog:
- he is 10 months old pitbull
- only chews shoes
- as a punishment we have given him time out and told him off and show no affection

this is a continuous problem for us, does anyone else have the same problem? Can someone please suggest something?

Will really appreciate any guidance given....


Thank you!

If he chews only shoes, it makes sense to me to just put the shoes away. Admittedly we keep our shoes all over the house, but we wouldn't if the dog chewed them. Keep them in a closet or slide them under something he can't get under to reach them.

Move the shoes and give him something more suitable to chew on.

It also might be a particular kind of shoes. Any footwear in our house that is leather or suede resembles rawhide. Those shoes and boots are kept behind closed doors. Sneakers they don't bother with except to sleep on them. MMMM smells like Mami...dogs are weird.

Thanks all for your response. We have kept the "unchewed" shoes in the cupboard already.... but anxious if we put all shoes away that he will start chewing other stuff around the house.


He already has chew toys, kongs etc too???? any other ideas?

One warning about spray deterrents like Bitter Apple...we had a Border Collie who adored Bitter Apple, keep that in mind. If you're really concerned put away ALL the shoes. Some dogs just enjoy chewing more than others. Something Sophie used to be obsessed with were my bras. Not the cheap ones either. So from then on I made sure they were secure in a closed hamper or drawer. The only answer if a dog continues to chew things is to confine them while you're gone.

thank you, will try that. I haven't tried any deterrents either.... I will give putting away all shoes first.

You could always teach the Its Mine training aid.

A classic case of 'seperation anxiety'

People don't realise just how 'social' dogs are, they are basically pack animals and the pack means everything to them even if it does comprise one dog and ten humans.

If you can leave something that smells (or tastes) of you when you're out (that you don't mind being chewed) that would be a start.

As many above have said put the 'good' shoes in a cupboard (That's basic good housekeeping anyway)

Try to take him with you when ever possible, not to work obviously (Unless you are very lucky) but certainly he can go on the weekend shop etc.

I have some screwdrivers which the maker claimed had 'indestructible' handles, but our dog chewed them she died 30 years ago but I still use them and I still wipe a tear from my eye when I do so.

We had a rescue spaniel for a short time, he needed more help than we could offer at the time and was too dangerous to have in a house with a young child.
Anyway my point, he would chew whatever I had touched recently. Be it a hairbrush, a book, the windowsill, a towel, a blanket, a toy, anything. I actually started sleeping with his chew toys in my bed so they would smell enough of me, then when I left he would destroy them.
I ended up crate training him and he was improving with the seperation anxiety before we had to take him back.