What to Do When Your New Dog Is Wrecking the House

In this guide

Somewhere between bringing a new dog home and falling completely in love with them, there is often a phase where they seem determined to take the house apart. Chewed footwear, shredded cushions, and gnawed electrical wires are extremely common in the first months, whether the new arrival is a puppy or a newly adopted adult, and it rarely means the dog is badly behaved.

The most frequent cause in young puppies is teething, which typically runs from around two to six months and creates real discomfort that chewing helps relieve. In older or newly adopted dogs, destructive behaviour is more often driven by boredom, under-exercise, separation-related stress, or simply not yet knowing what is and isn't fair game to chew in an unfamiliar home.

Dog-proofing an Indian home

Many Indian homes have loose or low-hanging electrical wiring, footwear left at the front door, and open kitchens, all of which are magnets for a curious mouth. Puja room items, house plants, and anything within reach on a low shelf are worth relocating or gating off during the settling-in period. A puppy pen or a designated dog-safe room, with water, a comfortable bed, and appropriate chew toys, gives a young or newly adopted dog somewhere to be when they cannot be directly supervised.

Redirect, don't punish

Shouting after the fact does not connect in a dog's mind to the chewing that happened minutes or hours earlier, and can add fear without solving anything. A better approach is prevention plus redirection: keep valuable items out of reach, offer a rotating supply of chew toys, and in hot weather, a frozen stuffed toy can double as both a teething aid and a cooling treat. Tiring a dog out with a walk or a play session before leaving them alone also reduces the energy available for destruction.

For most dogs this phase eases considerably by six months to a year with consistent management. If the destruction only ever happens when the dog is alone, especially concentrated around doors and windows, it may point to separation anxiety rather than simple boredom or teething, which calls for a different, more gradual approach.

An old habit worth dropping

Rubbing a dog's nose in a chewed-up slipper or a mess on the floor, or scolding them well after the fact, is still common advice passed down in many households, but it does not work the way it is assumed to. Dogs do not connect a punishment delivered minutes or hours later with the act itself, so this only teaches the dog to be afraid of the owner's return, or to hide evidence, rather than to stop chewing. Catching the behaviour in the moment and redirecting to an acceptable chew toy, paired with prevention through gating and supervision, is both kinder and considerably more effective.

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