Puppies chew to help ease teething discomfort. If you're not vigilant, though, your pup will find something inappropriate to chomp on.

Normal chewing cleans your dog's teeth, massages its gums, and exercises its jaws. Support "good" chewing habits by feeding your dog dry dog food and giving it chew toys appropriate for its size and chewing style.

Dogs overwhelmed by anxiety when separated from their owners may chew door or window frames trying to escape.

Dogs sometimes nibble on themselves to get rid of irritating burs and parasites. But some dogs--prodded by boredom or anxiety--take this behavior to compulsive extremes, which can lead to ulcerated sores.

Well-exercised dogs are too tuckered out to engage in destructive chewing.

No matter how carefully you "chew proof" your home, your dog may still manage to find unsafe or inappropriate chewables. If you can't eliminate such chew objects from your household, you can at least try to make them aversive.

The handiest approach is to use one of several commercial sprays or ointments that impart a bad taste to household objects. But hot chili sauce, alum (a bitter-tasting, saltlike substance that you can dissolve and "paint" on surfaces), and Vicks VapoRub are "homemade" potions you can also use to deter chewers that seem "immune" to commercial products.

Taste aversion has two advantages: it works even when you're absent, and your dog associates the unpleasantness with the target object--not with you. But don't use this technique if your dog chews to relieve anxiety. With anxiety-based chewing, even such a mild punishment may raise anxiety levels and worsen bad behavior. Buy a Kong and stuff it with anything and everything from your cupboards and refrigerator. That will keep your dog busy for hours forgetting what they were anxious about. Don't forget to layer the Kong with cheese and peanut butter--you can put it on the top shelf of your dishwasher to clean.