We Chew for FUN!!

RUSTY & SMOKY: Since our folks signed up for different doggie e-newsletters, they are really beginning to understand us puppies better. For instance, sometimes we think they feel we chew up things, just to behave badly. But now they have learned that chewing is an essential and necessary part of our lives.

Our human mom recently read an article in the Iams e-news entitled Take the Bite Out of Chewing. She learned that we crave to crunch. As it stated "dogs are curious animals with heightened senses of smell, hearing and taste. They use their mouths to investigate objects that are making all those irresistible smells (and there are so many desirable smells out there for a puppy to explore), whether it's the leather on your shoes or the three-day-old food in the garbage bin." (When we were little bitty puppies, still with our doggie birth mom and other siblings, we use to go throughout the neighborhood and drag trash back home to enjoy at our pleasure. FUN, FUN, FUN!!! Unfortunately, our doggie birth mom's human parents did not approve of this activity, and we would be sternly warned. It's a good thing we have outgrown this hobby, since our new home has a fence all around, and garbage is not as accessible.)

In addition, our human mom learned, from the article, that "dogs, especially under 3 years of age, also chew as an outlet for their high amount of energy." Yeah! they finally get it! Heck, we will chew on one another, if we get bored enough. We are young, single, puppy guys who LOVE to mingle and get into stuff. So, as our folks have come to appreciate, destructive chewing can be lessened by a "healthy dose of daily exercise and mental stimulation." We like to walk and we like to play! And we need plenty of chew toys!! Because "no matter how much exercise dogs indulge in, it doesn't alleviate their inherent need to occasionally chew on something. Chewing feels good for dogs, and it is actually necessary for the health of their teeth and gums."

Now, the choice is yours - either you can provide an assortment of interesting chew toys, or we can find our own. If we do the picking, it might not meet your approval, but a puppy has got do what a puppy has gotta do, it's in our genes. And remember, like we have tried to tell our folks - if you tell us "Nooo!," and take away something you don't want us chewing on, please replace it with something we can chew on. Don't just leave a puppy hanging dry, or we will be forced to find something else of our choosing. You might not like that choice either, it will probably be another illegal object. Oh, well!!