We start the article today with a moment of silence to all our shoes that have been chewed by our beloved pups.
For the lucky ones, dog's teething and constant chewing of everything around is just a relatively short phase (that always ends up lasting too long). Unfortunately, for some - it's a never ending hide-and-seek game where if you loose - you have to say goodbye to anything you left on the floor, couch or even table.
There are some ways to deal with it, such as chew toys, homemade anti chew sprays and other, but not all of them are effective.
More on this in a bit...
One of the most useful things that helps both, experienced and novice dog owners to train their chewing pooches is anti chew spray. If you haven't heard of it yet - do not worry. We present the best options in this article.
Best No Chew Spray For Dogs - (Our 4 Favorite Options Of 2023)
Top Pick: Grannick's Bitter Apple
Pick #2: Particular Paws Tea Tree Oil Spray
Pick #3: Emmy's Best PRO Spray For Dogs & Puppies
Pick #4: Bodhi Dog Non-Toxic Bitter Lemon Spray
Image | Product | Feature | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Grannick's Bitter Apple | Non-toxic and safe | |
 | Particular Paws Tea Tree Oil Spray | All natural formula | |
 | Emmy's Best PRO Spray For Dogs & Puppies | No alcohol | |
 | Bodhi Dog Non-Toxic Bitter Lemon Spray | Made in the USA |
*Note: The links in the table above, as well as several links in the remainder of the article below, will take you to over to Chewy.com where you can find out more information about the products, such as current prices and customer reviews.
Best Anti Chew Dog Sprays - A Detailed Look Into Our Top 4 Options
Pick #1: Grannick’s Bitter Apple
Pros: The great benefit of the Grannick's spray is that it’s non-toxic.
The non-toxicity of the formula means that it can benefit a canine that’s suffering from mange, hot spots or has a wound that they should not be touching.
You can use the spray safely on their fur and skin to allow the healing process to take place naturally.
Cons: The pump action top of the bottle could have been designed better, as it sometimes permits the solution to drip.
Also, if your dog has proven to be undeterred by the most intense of chew sprays before, then you may find the same result with Grannick's Bitter Apple. The Apple bitter taste just isn’t potent enough to keep the most determined of canines away from their owner’s shoes!
Pick #2: Particular Paws Tea Tree Oil Spray
Pros: Breeders and trainers alike often have something positive to say overall about this Anti-Chew Tea Tree Oil spray.
Not only does it work on keeping material items safe, it's also as effective when it comes to preventing dogs from chewing doors and training a canine into learning or strengthening positive habits (such as not biting their owners while playing).
We'll get back to this later...
The best part? This spray is safe to use for puppies, even those that are super high energy.
For dog owners who love organic products, this is a great one to consider as its’ 100% natural. No chemicals involved.
Because of the naturalness of the Anti-Chew spray, it’s okay to use throughout your entire home on a wide variety of surfaces, even on carpets and electrical cords.
Cons: Tea tree oil has a strong scent. It’s often described as having a scent even stronger than fresh mint.
Some dog owners love the way it smells throughout their homes and others are not so fond of it.
Even if you’re one of those that are not fond of the scent, it’s a small price to pay in comparison with the value it brings along.
Pros: One unique thing this spray brings to the table and to consider if thinking about purchasing this product is that it comes with a two-week training program (Note: This is true as of the time of this writing. Before you purchase it, make sure that this offer is still being run by the manufacturer if this is a deal breaker for you).
The program will teach you how to eliminate your canine’s chewing in 14 days or less and you can access it online at the convenience of your schedule. Pretty cool, right?
Pro Anti-Chew was also designed specifically for puppies and adult dogs, the formula is a blend that’s effective for both.
Also, the pump action top of the bottle was made so that no solution would drip, resulting in a no mess spray bottle. Less mess equals less stress in the life of a dog owner.
Cons: It has been reported that on the rare occasion, this spray is delivered without the spray cap. A little bit weird, but it has happened enough to mention it.
Also, a very small percentage of dog owners who claim to have virtually tried all other products on the market, also say that the spray did not work with their canine as they expected it to – not to say that it did not help at all.
Pros: Who doesn’t love the scent of lemons? This bitter lemon spray only uses natural botanical ingredients in the formula and smells like lemons.
What sets this spray apart from most on the market is that it’s effective if you spray it in the interior or exterior your home. Cool, right?
That means that those of you with green thumbs will enjoy the fact that you can spray your garden and plants and keep them safe from the gnawing of your pups.
A final plus is that this spray is made in the USA and holds by their ethical promise of production free from any sort of animal cruelty – which is important, considering that most dog owners are animal lovers and fight for the cause against animal cruelty.
Cons: This product may be better at deterring chewing in canines that are adults than those that are puppies.
Some purchasers of the spray, who own puppies, went so far as to state that their puppies may have even enjoyed the taste.
This obviously isn’t true for all, but is something worth noting since we've already mentioned options on this list that are very good for young and growing puppies.
Why Should I Get An Anti Chew Dog Spray?
Who exactly are the people that should get anti chew dog sprays and the ones that are able to make the most use of these products?
Furniture/Clothing/Equipment: If your dog has the tendency to chew on any furniture, clothing or equipment you've got laying around the house that either belongs to you or anyone from your family, then such a spray can do wonders for you when training fails.
The philosophy behind this is simple: You spray on whatever it is you don't want your dog chewing on and they'll be disgusted as soon as they come close to it again because of how "awful" (to them, at least) it smells/tastes.
It's almost always the products that focus on bitter ingredients that do best in this case.
Off Limit Food: Dogs are also notorious for getting themselves in trouble and eating stuff they're not supposed to be, stuff that's hidden somewhere but they still manage to get reach of, rip apart the bag and eat the whole thing in one sitting.
If this is the case with your naughty fella/gal, then making use of such a deterrent can also be a very good idea for not only preventing unwanted chewing, but for keeping them away from off limit food you don't want them consuming.
Of course, you won't go spraying on the actual food, but on the outside of the bag (or whatever the food is kept in).
Poisoning: Many are the places your dog can go to and get themselves into some sort of poisoning, such as getting in contact (and possibly eating from) a poisonous tree you're growing at home in your garden, or even the trash can where they could consume something that proves to be fatal.
In such cases, it's also not a bad idea to make use of such deterrent sprays to keep your dog out of these zones and ensure their safety.
Effective Anti Chew Dog Sprays You Can Prepare At Home
For those of you who are DIYers (Do It Yourself'ers) and prefer to prepare a product at home from start to finish yourself instead of buying one on the market, you can also prepare an effective anti chew dog spray at home.
We won't go in to all the details about how to exactly do that in this article, but we will cover some of the most important and common ingredients that should be present in a homemade anti chew dog spray for it to be effective, as well as a few issues you should keep in mind at all times.
Many of the popular anti chew dog sprays available out there on the market today primarily work because of these ingredients (and other seasonings that dogs are known to greatly dislike), so there's no real reason why you can't prepare such sprays yourself at home using the same ingredients.
Citrus: The logic behind making use of citrus as part of any homemade anti chew dog spray is that dogs are known to really dislike its smell.
This is why making use of some lemon juice or orange juice and spraying a little bit of it on anything you don't want your dog to chew is a really good technique.
Pepper: For this technique, not just any kind of pepper does the job just well - we're talking about one specific kind of pepper called cayenne pepper.
The reason cayenne pepper does really well when part of a deterring spray is because of how spicy it is, and dogs are known to dislike really spicy taste.
However, preparing cayenne pepper spray should be the last resort you try, because of the fact that there's a risk associated with causing all sorts of eyes and skin irritations in dogs if you go overboard with the amount used and sprayed.
Vinegar: Very similarly to how dogs REALLY hate the smell of anything citrus, they also hate the smell of most things vinegar, apple cider vinegar in particular.
So, take advantage of that and prepare a little bit of apple cider vinegar spray and give it a try, it might just work out for you!
Chew Toys
Besides trying out all of the tips we've mentioned above and any product on the market that you feel like giving a go and testing out for yourself, making use of chew toys for dogs is an absolute must if you're looking to solve the problem for good and are not just looking for a short term workaround before your dog finds something else to chew on and you have to repeat the process all over again.
Giving your dog 24/7 access to a wide variety of chew toys they can satisfy their urges with (which is what a chew toy is meant to do) will greatly divert their attention from trying to get the same satisfaction by chewing on your household's belongings.
On the other hand, if your dog doesn't have any chew toys to play around with and satisfy their urges with, then you're not really giving them much of a chance to stop this behavior, are you?
A dog wants to chew, it's in their nature, so be the good pet parent you are and get them all the chew toys their heart desires - you might end up not needing an anti chew dog spray after all!
A Quick (Yet Important) Note
A very important note must be made about dogs and any anti chew spray out there, and this is especially true for any of you that may come across and read customer reviews of different products.
While doing so, you may notice how some people report that one spray did wonders for them and absolutely stopped their dog from chewing (or even just coming close) to any of their belongings, while the same spray did absolutely nothing for someone else and their dog.
This is quite simply because no two dogs out there are exactly alike. While it is true that the elements found in these sprays act as good deterrents for most dogs out there, it's not always the same for all dogs and the level of success could vary from one dog to another.
Many factors come into play here, such as a dog's personal preference, ability to cope after a while & adaptability, etc...
So, it's up to you as the dog owner to know what flavor your dog reacts to best, and even possibly try out different formulas in case one doesn't end up working the way you wanted it to before you decide to give up and call it a day.
