4x4x4 Method

So, you've got the good chew toys, but you're dog has stopped chewing and playing with them.  Unfortunately, for some dogs, this means that they are now on the hunt for something else to chew-which may be the leg of your kitchen table or your favorite heels (although I think the dog in the picture is definitely old enough to know better-but only if the owners taught the correct behavior!).

Dogs get bored, just like humans do.  While growing up, there was a period of time where my mom made corn-tortilla enchiladas EVERY Sunday.  We loved her enchiladas, but after several months of this, we were trying hard to convince her to make something else.  Needless to say, once she got off that trend, none of us asked her to make enchiladas again for a really long time!  (If you're a psychology nerd-feel free to look up the principle of satiation, which in fact, may come up in a later post someday.)  As children, we were sick of those rolled yellow shells, stuffed with refried beans, smothered in sauce and cheese...mmmm.  Well, with distance, I learned to love enchiladas again.

How does this seemingly personal tangent relate to your dog and his or her chewing habits?  If your dog always has access to her nylabone, it's going to get real boring real quick.  This is obviously not desirable, so here is an approach I like to recommend to owners and it's something I use constantly with my pups.

4x4x4 Method
First, let me explain that this is the method I usually recommend with toys since the idea of becoming bored with toys and chews is exactly the same.  So, let me explain it this way first, and then I'll carry it over to chew toys.

You have four different groups of toys and within each of those groups you have four different toys.  For example, in your first groups you may have a soft squeaky pheasant, a frisbee, a rubber ball, and a loofa dog toy.  In the second group, you may have a knot ball, a soft dragon, a rope toy (not for chewing!), and a soft squeaky jack.  And the pattern continues.  You then play with one group of these toys for four days while the other three groups are out of your dog's sight.  After the four days are up, you then put the first group of toys away and bring out the second group.  Again, the process continues.  After you've rotated through all four groups, you bring all the toys together and recreate the groups so that you have a different combination of toys in each.  Sounds complicated, but once you get the idea, it's not difficult.  

It shouldn't be too hard to imagine doing this with chew toys as well.  For the math people in the world, if you have four groups, with four in each group, how many toys do you have?  ....16!  Whew-16 chew toys is A LOT, but you can do the same method with different numbers.  So you could still have four groups, but each group could have two chews in it, then you'd only need half the chews.  In fact, the number four isn't really set in stone, but it gives you an idea of where to start.  Some dogs need to rotate through their toys quicker, some less often.  Because each dog is different, the best way to go about this is to learn what works best for your dog.