

Chewing also combats boredom and can relieve mild anxiety or frustration. For older dogs, it’s nature’s way of keeping jaws strong and teeth clean. For young dogs, it’s a way to relieve pain that might be caused by incoming teeth. Chewing accomplishes a number of things for a dog. Instead, it would help to try to give your dog a “time out” when it does it, to limit its access to your stuff and to ensure it is able to get a sufficient amount of daily exercise.It’s normal for puppies and dogs to chew on objects as they explore the world. If your dog only seems to tear up your things, the cause would be likely to be that your dog has learned that the behavior results in you giving your dog extra attention and other rewards. As a result, it would be helpful to try to limit your dog’s access to cardboard as much as possible. Most cardboard is not toxic so it should not be harmful to your dog unless it eats a large amount of cardboard which can result in a blockage often requiring surgery. Things to redirect its focus towards could include durable toys, a bone or performing a trick that you taught it. Redirect your dog’s focusĪnother thing to do would be to redirect its focus towards something else whenever it seems likely to tear things apart. This should help to get it to be calmer around the house. It would also help to make sure to give it the recommended amount of exercise for its age and breed. Ensure your dog is getting enough exercise Things you could give your dog would include toys and bones.

Give your dog distractionsĪnother option would be to give your dog things that it can be distracted by so that your dog is less likely to want to rip up boxes. Instead, it would help to try to reward your dog when it is being well behaved and to give it a “time out” when it starts tearing up boxes. Avoid encouraging itĪs mentioned above, your dog might have learned that the behavior is rewarded. What to do about my dog tearing up cardboard?īelow are some things you can do about the behavior. For example, if your dog only seems to be doing it when you are not around, the cause could be that your dog has some separation anxiety. If your dog tends to do it more at a certain time, the timing might have something to do with it. It would also help to consider the timing of when your dog tears up boxes. The timing of when your dog tears up boxes If your dog started doing it suddenly, it could be due to things such as learning that the behavior is rewarded, a change in its environment or suddenly getting less exercise. If your dog did not always tear up boxes, it would help to consider what else happened when your dog first started doing it. Things to considerīelow are some things to consider to help figure out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.

In this case, it would help to give your dog distractions, a “time out” and to try to restrict its access to things that it might destroy where possible. This would be more likely if your dog seems to be excited when it is doing it and if it does it when it is playing. It might also be the case that your dog simply does it because your dog thinks it is fun. This would be more likely if it has started doing suddenly since showing signs of injury or if it does it more in specific situations such as when it is locked in a certain room. It might be because it has an injury or because it is being made to stay somewhere it does not want to be. The cause might also be that something has been causing your dog to be frustrated. But, it could still be the case if it is not a breed known for a high prey drive. This would be more likely if your dog is one that is known for having a high prey drive such as a husky or German Shepherd. The reason why your dog tears up boxes could be that it has a natural instinct to do it. In the wild, dogs would have to perform a similar act in order to eat meals that they caught. It would help to ensure that your dog is able to get the daily amount of recommended exercise for its age and breed. This would be more likely if it tends to act that way before getting exercise but it is calm afterwards. The cause could also be that it is bored and looking for something to stimulate itself. If you tend to give your dog things such as treats, toys or extra attention, when it tears up cardboard, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards. It might be the case that your dog has learned that the behavior is rewarded. 4 Why does my dog only tear up my stuff? Why does my dog rip up cardboard?īelow are likely reasons why your dog has been doing it and what would make each of them more likely.
