Summary: Pet beds aren’t designed to function as secondary chew toys. These tips will help you keep your dog from ruining every bed you buy for him.

All dogs love a soft, plush place to lie down. However, after a while, your dog can become anxious or bored and start trying to create a DIY project of his own by digging and fluffing the bed or even your foam mattress if you’re not careful. Regardless of the reasons, here are some tips that’ll help deter your dog away from that kind of behavior.

Keeping Your Dog Occupied

If you know your dog will destroy his bed, remove it when you’re not available to supervise. It’s nice for him to lie on it whenever he wants, but until he learns that it’s not okay to rip it apart, only offer it when you can prevent him from tearing it apart.

Keeping him occupied is one of the things that’ll help him stay away from ripping it apart. Provide a variety of quality chew toys for him to play with. Homeowners tend to think that dogs only play with chew toys as a puppy, but most dogs actually enjoy chewing them throughout their lives. Giving them access to heavy rubber or nylon toys will minimize his desire to find something else in the house to chew on.

Also, be sure that you purchase a quality pet bed as well. You can even create your own if you feel the need to. For instance, if you order custom foam from The Foam Factory, all you need to do is size it up and create the upholstery for it – which can take anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple hours.

Calmly Say “No”

Supervise your dog when he uses the bed. If he starts biting or chewing it, correct him by firmly saying “no”. If he continues, use a ratter or some coins in a can to get his attention. When you say “no”, toss the can so it gets his attention. Be careful not to throw it at him, as the whole point of this exercise is to train him, but just close enough so he understands not to continue doing it. With continued use of the can, he’ll know that biting will only lead to light punishment and will start to back off slowly from it.

Also, if your dog is being good in his bed, don’t be afraid to praise him. Walk over and give him a pat or a small treat and remind him that he’s being a good dog. Remember, punishment isn’t the only thing that makes your dog obey you.