Foundation Camp
A 21-day board-and-train that builds solid obedience and manners, the right fit for milder issues.
Dog Behavior Solutions
Come Home Without Bracing for Damage
Chewed furniture and doorframes are expensive, but the bigger concern is what the behavior says about your dog's needs and safety. Partners Dogs helps you identify the cause and build a home routine that brings relief.
Behavior severity
MildWhat you may be seeing
Common signs
- Chewing furniture, shoes, rugs, walls, or household objects
- Seeking objects when bored, unsupervised, or overexcited
- Repeatedly choosing human belongings over available dog chews
- Damage that occurs mainly during predictable parts of the day
- Difficulty settling without close supervision
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- Swallowing fabric, wood, plastic, batteries, medication, or toxic material
- Broken teeth, bleeding, choking, vomiting, or signs of an obstruction
- Frantic damage near exits or chewing that causes self-injury
- Sudden onset, especially with appetite or pain changes, which warrants a veterinary check
Mild is a starting point for planning, not a diagnosis. Possible poisoning, obstruction, dental injury, or panic-related self-injury needs prompt veterinary or in-person help.
Understanding the behavior
What is destructive chewing?
Chewing is normal. Destructive chewing becomes a problem when a dog targets unsafe or costly items, cannot settle, or chews as part of panic when alone. Boredom, teething, insufficient outlets, anxiety, pain, and access to rewarding objects can all contribute.
A useful plan combines prevention with an appropriate outlet. Safe confinement, dog-proofing, activity, and suitable chew items protect the dog while training builds better choices. Damage near exits, vocal distress, or frantic behavior during absences may point to separation anxiety rather than a simple manners problem.
The goal is a dog who can settle and choose safe items, not a house that must remain empty forever. Many dogs improve with consistent management and training. Progress varies with age, cause, environment, and follow-through.
Partners Dogs has trained Arizona dogs through every kind of destructive chewing case since 1997, at our Scottsdale and Cave Creek facilities. Lifetime trainer support is included with every board-and-train program.
The transformation
Before and after training
Drag the slider to see the change our programs make for a dog with destructive chewing. Same dog, same home, real outcome.
Watch
How we work on destructive chewing
Short walkthroughs from our trainers on the exact techniques we use to resolve destructive chewing. See how the work actually looks, then choose the path that fits your dog.
70,000+Dogs Trained
28+Years Experience
4.8★Average Rating
2Arizona Campuses
Recommended path · Mild severity
The right program for destructive chewing
Based on how destructive chewing typically presents, here is where we would start. Not sure which fits? Take the PD360 assessment for a personalized recommendation.
Group Classes
Weekly Pet Parenting classes with our trainers, practice in a structured social environment.
The process
How it works
Assessment and check-in
- We verify vaccination records and complete pre-check-in forms.
- Your dog receives a full behavioral assessment.
- We set goals and build a personalized training plan.
- You meet the primary trainer and tour the facility.
Training and progress reports
- Multiple active training sessions every day.
- Controlled exposure and desensitization to triggers.
- Immersive socialization in a managed environment.
- Regular progress reports with photos and video.
Transition and follow-up
- Private lessons that transfer the training to you.
- Pet Parenting group classes for ongoing support.
- Access to our full Pet Parent Guide.
- Weeks of follow-up so the change lasts at home.
Not sure which program
Get a recommendation in minutes
Take our quick PD360 assessment for a personalized recommendation, or talk to a trainer who has seen destructive chewing many times before.
What our clients say
“"Theo destroyed a couch, two pairs of shoes, half a door frame, and a vintage rug in the first year we had him. We did Foundation Camp and I could not believe the difference. He came home and just... stopped. He knows what to chew now. He's calm. I wish I hadn't waited so long."”
“"My rescue was chewing through everything when I left for work. I'd come home and it was like a tornado had gone through. The Partners team figured out quickly that it was anxiety-driven, not just bad behavior. Behavior Camp changed everything for her and for me."”
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my dog's chewing is boredom or separation anxiety?
Boredom chewing tends to happen during predictable stretches of unsupervised time and targets whatever is available. Chewing that clusters near exits, comes with vocal distress, or leads to self-injury points toward separation anxiety rather than a simple manners problem, and that calls for a behavior plan built around being alone, not just better chew toys.
What program helps with destructive chewing and what does it cost?
Destructive chewing typically responds to Foundation Camp, our 14-day board-and-train that builds obedience and manners ($3,509, discounted with membership), or weekly Group Classes for ongoing support. If chewing is tied to separation anxiety, we will recommend the right path for that instead. A $199 PD360 Assessment, credited toward enrollment, sorts out which applies.
How long does it take to stop destructive chewing?
Destructive chewing is a mild-severity issue, so most dogs settle into new habits within the 14-day Foundation Camp or a few weeks of consistent management and appropriate chew outlets at home. Puppies teething or dogs chewing from boredom typically improve faster than cases tied to separation anxiety, which need that anxiety addressed directly.
How do I get my dog to stop chewing on furniture?
The fix is layered. No single intervention works on its own:
- Manage the environment. Confinement, baby gates, or a crate when you cannot supervise. You cannot allow rehearsal.
- Provide approved outlets. Rotation of high-value chews, bully sticks, Kongs stuffed and frozen, beef cheek rolls, antlers for appropriate chewers. Quality matters; pet-store rawhides are not enough.
- Match the energy budget. A tired dog chews less. Structured walks, training games, DaySchool, fetch, whatever your dog responds to.
- Address the underlying anxiety if the chewing is happening when you are gone or in clusters around stressful events.
If the chewing is destroying significant property and home management is not enough, Foundation Camp gives your dog three weeks of structured impulse control and we leave you with a household management plan that fits your life.
Why does my dog chew up everything when I'm gone?
Destructive chewing is rarely the dog being “bad.” The drivers we see most:
- Boredom and under-exercise. A high-energy dog with nothing to do will find their own entertainment, and your couch is right there.
- Unmet puppy chewing needs. Puppies and adolescents have a biological need to chew during teething and beyond. Without appropriate outlets, they make their own.
- Separation anxiety. Destruction focused near exits, door frames, windows, baseboards, usually signals anxiety, not boredom (see our separation anxiety FAQs).
- Stress chewing. Some dogs self-soothe through chewing in the way some humans bite nails.
The fix depends on the cause. Boredom and unmet chewing needs respond quickly to enrichment, exercise, and high-value chew rotation. Anxiety-driven chewing requires behavior modification, not more toys.
How do I know if my dog has separation anxiety or is just bored?
The destruction can look identical, but the patterns are different. Separation anxiety usually shows these markers:
- Distress starts before you leave. Panting, pacing, drooling, or shadow-following as you put on shoes and grab keys.
- Destruction is focused near exits. Door frames, windows, baseboards near the front door, not random shoes and pillows across the house.
- Vocalization. Howling, persistent barking, whining that neighbors hear.
- Distress within minutes of your departure. Video shows the dog unable to settle in the first 15-30 minutes.
- House soiling in a housetrained dog.
- Desperate greeting when you return.
Boredom destruction tends to happen across the day, scattered around the house, in a dog who was fine in the first hour. If you are not sure, set up a camera. The first 30 minutes after you leave will tell you.
Related behaviors
Dogs with destructive chewing often show these patterns too. Explore the behaviors below. We treat them all.
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Talk to a trainer now
Every dog and household is different. Get a real conversation with a Partners Dogs trainer who has treated destructive chewing for more than 28 years. No pressure, just guidance on your dog's best path forward.