Our Dogs World 101

Why Does My Dog Bite His Bed And Whine?

As a dog owner we all want the best for our dogs.

You want your dog to be happy and healthy and you definitely don’t want to be spending hundreds of dollars a year continually replacing their beds.

If you are like me and have spent a couple of hundred dollars on a good quality orthopedic dog bed to give my two a comfortable place to sleep and relax you don’t want them using it as a chew toy.

So, why does my dog bite his bed and whine?

Adult dogs usually chew their beds either through boredom or because of anxiety issues.

In this blog today I am going to address two reasons your dog maybe chewing their beds and whining

So lets jump right in and check out the first reason, which will be to address boredom chewing.

1. Why Does My Dog Chew His Bed – Boredom?

OK, I am sure a lot of you have been through this, you go out and get your best furball of a friend a nice memory foam dog bed only to come home one day to find it chewed to pieces.

You struggle not to get mad at him or her, however it is very important firstly to understand why your dog has chewed their bed.

Naughty dog chewed his bedIn this first section I am going to discuss boredom chewing and what I recommend you can do to stop it.

So with that said lets read on and learn how to stop your dog from chewing their bed.

Why Do Dogs Chew Their Beds – Boredom Chewing

Boredom is one of the main reasons dogs chew their beds and anything else that is around them and looks chewable!

Just having you at home with them is normally enough to relieve any boredom they may be feeling, however once you head out all that changes.

So, you may have a busy home life or you are at work 8-10 hours every day and dogs require stimulation for both their mind and their body, just like us humans.

Imagine if you were stuck at home every day with no exercise and nothing to keep your mind occupied, how would you feel?

If it were me I would be going stir crazy! Well it’s no different for our dogs.

Your dog needs to be walked regularly and have toys and chews otherwise they will become very destructive simply out of boredom.

Every dog that gets bored will more than likely get in trouble with their owners by finding ways to entertain themselves with their beds, your favorite shoes, possibly your lovely couch or even the antique dining room table legs!

We need to remember dogs are very intelligent animals, some breed’s more than others.

Labradors, German Shepards and Cattle Dogs are some of the most intelligent breed’s known.

These dogs come from a long line of breeding as a working dog, however over time have become more and more a companion dog rather than a working dog and that has really messed up their Mojo!

Is Doggy Daycare a Solution to Boredom Chewing

One of the greatest things about Doggy Daycare is the socializing and mental stimulation your dog will get from being with all their mates is the best thing for them since table scraps.

Not only will it help with removing his boredom but it will save you hundreds of dollars in replacing their dog beds and anything else they love to chew on.

Benebones Could be the Solution to your Dog Chewing

Benebones have saved me hundreds f not thousands of dollars on replacing everything from dog beds to furniture and is a product that I highly recommend to a lot of my clients and customers

I have tried everything from brightly colored squeaky toys to the all conquering KONG and none of these even come close to the Benebone Wishbone.

Made with real ingredients (Bacon, Chicken and Peanut flavour) these chews not only taste better than either squeaky plastic or hard rubber chews, but they keep their flavour right down to the last chew and are long-lasting.

You can read our full review on Benebones here.

Why Does My Dog Bite His Bed And Whine – Anxiety

Anxiety or nervous behavior can also be another reason that your dog is biting his bed or whining.

So what can you do to stop his behavior?

The first thing we need to do is work out what’s setting your dog off, unfortunately some of the things that trigger your dogs anxiety and as such leads them to chewing their dog bed and whining are often out of our control.

The good thing is once you get an understanding of what makes your dog anxious then you are well on your way to addressing their problem and ultimately finding the solution.

Dogs will show anxiety for many different reasons, however probably the most common are noises, so if you are living in a neighborhood with a lot of traffic for instance, this maybe setting off your dogs anxiousness and as such they will chew their beds.

There could be a storm while you are out and a lot of dogs hate thunder.

Possibly it’s a celebration time and fireworks are happening.

There are a few things you can do to help your dog, for example you might move their bed to a quieter area of the house.

You may ask visitors and other family members to remain calm whenever there is a loud noise outside because if you add to the commotion going on outside you will only make your dogs anxiety worse.

People have also had a lot of success with Thunder Shirts which is like a baby swaddle for dogs.

Compulsive Chewing Disorder – Anxiety

It is extremely important to know if your dog suffers from compulsive chewing disorders.

Many vets have said this condition stems from weaning too early as puppies, usually before they reach that age of 8 weeks.

Whatever the reason is if you find your dog continually biting on his dog bed and no matter what you do they won’t stop it could be that they have become compulsive chewers and in this case you may need to seek professional help from a dog psychologist to treat your dogs behavior.

Using a Thunder Shirt to Treat Your Dogs Anxiety

Dogs can be anxious, nervous and afraid for many different reasons and having worked with dogs who have this condition it really is very upsetting.

We love our dogs and we want to see them happy and enjoying everything this earth has for them.

I recently wrote a review on how the thunder shirt took my 2 year old English Mastiff from a total nervous wreck, to the confident and strong dog she is know called Thunder Shirts For Dogs – Taking the Pet Out Of Petrified, which I encourage you to read if your dog is suffering from anxiety issues.

Boredom or Anxiety – The Bottom Line

Dogs will get bored! As I mentioned earlier you try sitting around the house all day with no visitors and nothing to do and my bet is you will feel the same thing – BOREDOM!

So if your dog is biting his bed or whining for no apparent reason try the two things I have mentioned above to keep your dog happy, stress free and stimulated.

Do this and you will thank me and see your bank balance rise!

As we always say at Our Dogs World 101, “May Your Home Be Filled With Love And Dog Hair”

Any/all links on this site may be affiliate links, and if you make a purchase through one of them, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read the full affiliate disclosure here.

“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Mark

Founder and CEO of Our Dogs World 101

16 thoughts on “Why Does My Dog Bite His Bed And Whine?”

  1. I can relate to this article. Boy o boy, my sisters dog was staying at my house a while back and chewed up everything!  I knew he had an anxiety problem, but had no idea it was as bad as it is.  I will have to show my sister that thunder shirt you recommend. I am intrigued, especially for the next fourth of July fireworks. This is always a stressful time for the pups. 

     So far, the only thing that has worked for her dog has been CBD oil.  I was skeptical at first, but it really calmed him down.  He was also happier to be left alone if the TV was left on and some soothing music was playing.  I think it made him feel less alone.  (even though he does have a sister dog, he just wanted his hOOman parents!)

    Thanks for the great info, as always!

    Reply
  2. Hi Mark and Saffron, I never knew that there was a thing to help dogs through thunderstorms. We used to have an Old English Sheepdog called Tim, my best friend, and he was petrified of storms. he didn’t chew the bed covers but would often hide under the bed. The thunder shirts sound like a great idea. Do they come in different sizes? I’m moving out of the city soon and getting another English Sheepdog, so would be interested to know.

    Thanks

    Stephen

    Reply
  3. Hi Mark. Thank you for another great post. My dog is biting his bed from time to time (which is quite expensive as I always want proper bed for him) but to be fair I was always thinking that its completely normal. Your article is eye opener and now Im thinking if its not because of being bored. I’m quite busy during working days and not always spent with by dog as much time as I would like to. Maybe day care is an answer to this problem and for sure I will test it in practice.

    Reply
  4. I have looked after a friend’s dog who suffers from boredom, as she is at work all day long and leaves the dog in her apartment. He has totally destroyed her front door and chewed her table, so every few weeks he stays with me and has the company of my dogs, which helps tremendously. I will have to tell her about the Benebone wishbone, as she has tried several things. 

    That thunder jacket is a brilliant idea. My big dog tries to crawl under the coffee table, and doesn’t fit, every time we have a thunderstorm or there are fireworks in the area. Thanks for some great advise as always. 

    Reply
  5. Thank you for this great article. My new best friend also loves to chew everything around him, so I get him a bone and ball toy. However, it seems he chew them more frequently. Do you have any suggestions on how to differentiate chewing habits caused by either boredom or anxiety? Sorry for the noob question, but thanks in advance for your help.

    Reply
    • Hi Alblue,

      You can usually tell by simply leaving the dog alone for roughly 5 minutes. If he hasn’t chewed his bed in this time I can almost guarantee hat it is boredom chewing. If they have then more than likely it is an anxiety thing.

      I hope this helps?

      Mark

      Reply
  6. We are fortunate that this hasn’t been an issue for our dog, but we have a friend who has two dogs that have both started chewing and tearing up their dog beds. The dog beds only last for a couple of weeks before they become destroyed and create a huge mess for the owner to clean up. I think this article will help them to understand what is going on with the dogs and hopefully find a solution to this messy and expensive issue. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. What a great article!! I often wondered this myself as of course sometimes not being able to understand our dogs’ needs our quite frustrating at times when they are in need of medical or emotional attention. I found this article very informative and it has taught me a lot, thanks to you so much.  

    Reply
  8. It was great to get your perspective on the bed chewing Mark. I have a dog who gets concerned when we leave the house and sometimes he even shakes when we are with him going outside. Your suggestions are great and I have tried putting his night coat on him when we go out as it makes him feel hugged and really lowers his stress levels (he just goes to sleep).

    I think I will get some of those tasty wishbones for him as a distraction when we go out. They could really help. Are they the right size for smaller dogs to chew? Will he break a tooth chewing one?

    Reply
    • Hi Lily,

      The benebones eally are one of the best chews on the market and my two love them.

      No mess or smell like normal bones and they come in different sizes for all types of dogs which is great.

      I foster puppies and get them the XS size and its perfect for them.

      As far as breaking teeth I have never seen or heard of this before.

      Hope this helps Lily.

      Mark

      Reply
  9. Oh my, this post answered my questions! My uncle adopted a Choco Labrador; she’s really cute but basically she chews anything she can get her jaws on. Boredom answers our questions; my uncle isn’t always at home so my grand parents take care of her. The thunder shirt sounds amazing, I’ll ask my uncle to have a look at it if it’s available for the dog’s size. It was always a problem for us calming her down, maybe this is the answer. This article was great! Kudos to you and your work.

    Reply
  10. This article is right on time since we recently got a Labrador pup in our home. Well he started chewing, not only his bed but everything in sight when he just came, and on the suggestion of a friend we bought some toys. that worked. I am surprised about the explanation about anxiety and need to act on this because last Thursday we had a lightning storm followed by some heavy thunder and he was a wreck for a few minutes. I will have to check out that thunder jacket. Thanks for the information.

    Reply

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