From chair legs and your favourite shoes to discarded books and the kid's toys - when it comes to chewing household items, pretty much everything is seen to be fair game by your puppy.

Therefore, if you want to save yourself the stress and the cost of constantly having to rescue gnawed pieces of furniture and ripped up bits of clothing, it is a good idea to take the time to train your pooch not to chew household items.

For young dogs that are teething, chewing is a perfectly natural behaviour, but is not one that has to be destructive so long as it is managed properly.

It is important to make sure that your pooch has plenty of dog toys and chew treats they can have a gnaw on to help with their teething, but then make it clear that it is not acceptable get their teeth into household items.

So if you see your pup chewing on something they shouldn't, you should respond by saying 'no' firmly and removing the item out of reach of little teeth.

And then when your pooch is calmly entertaining themselves by gnawing on their own toys, be sure to reward them with lots of fuss and a dry dog food treat, so they learn that this is good behaviour.

Most dogs chew because they are bored or attention-seeking, so make sure your pup is getting plenty of physical exercise and receiving mental stimulation, either with games, toys or simple training.

Finally, it is important to remember that this is a learning curve for your puppy and it will take time for them to learn to distinguish between what is and what is not acceptable to chew.

So make sure you don't make things harder on yourself by leaving tempting items such as shoes and books lying around and keep anything that may be harmful to your dog out of reach.

Written by: Hannah