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chewing toenails
A couple of things
1. What do you do when he starts to chew them?
sometimes these behaviours are attention seeking behaviours-he did it a couple of times and got a great reaction from you or others at home and has learned that he gets attention in an otherwise busy household?
2. When does he do it? i.e. after meals, before meals, when there are kids around, when you are otherwise busy, or the phone rings.....
3. Can the chewing be interrupted? If it can you can try substituting kongs, clicker training, walks, etc. Make sure he is well exercised and that his diet contains the right balance of carbo to protein.
4. If its more difficult to interrupt, then it could have become a type of addiction..literally...he gets a high from doing it (as in the case of obsessive licking of skin) and you "might" need some pharmaceutical support from your vet to treat it.
5. It could be a displacement behaviour, i.e. where is he when he does it...is he "free" in the house, or in a crate, or has he been in a crate for any period of time?
Sorry loads of questions but not a simple behaviour to diagnose without them! Depending on your answers it could be boredom, habit, obsession, or just learned behaviour.
Tigs
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