How to stop a puppy from eating toys and plush stuffing
Puppies often chew apart toys and swallow non-food items like plastic bits and cotton stuffing because their natural urge to chew is hard to redirect. This destructive behavior prevents them from safely enjoying their favorite plush toys and leaves owners constantly worried about choking or dangerous blockages.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 32.4× more often in r/puppy101 than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Remove access to soft toys, plushies, and stuffed bedsDid this help you?
- 2Provide alternative chew items like yak chews or blankets that the dog does not chewDid this help you?
- 3Supervise the puppy constantly when they have access to itemsDid this help you?
- 4Use treat-filled kongs designed for heavy chewersDid this help you?
- 5Try tuffy plush toysDid this help you?
- 6Trade with the dog for something super high value like food instead of just taking the toy awayDid this help you?
- 7Take the toy away once it becomes unsafe to prevent swallowing stuffing or fabricDid this help you?
- 8Not leaving the dog with anything like that unattendedDid this help you?
- 9Using high-value and low-value treats to teach drop it and leave itDid this help you?
- 10Shoving a treat right on the puppy's nose the second they look away from ground junkDid this help you?
- 11Considering going back to puppy pads or using a grass patch on the balconyDid this help you?
- 12Teaching the 'leave it' commandDid this help you?
- 13Muzzle training for walksDid this help you?
- 14Trading for high-value treatsDid this help you?
- 15Being hyper-vigilant and constantly checking surroundingsDid this help you?
- 16chasing after the puppy to pull things out of its mouthDid this help you?
- 17treating for four paws on the floorDid this help you?
- 18keeping the puppy on a leash outsideDid this help you?
- 19considering a mesh muzzleDid this help you?
- 20waiting it out until the puppy gets olderDid this help you?
- 21feeding only kibble until 10 weeksDid this help you?
- 22giving rubber chew toys to help with teethingDid this help you?
- 23giving raw carrots or Whimzees puppy chewsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The one huge problem I have with him is that he wants to eat everything on the floor outside.”source ↗
“I spend half the time trying to get things out of his mouth, and I'm worried it's damaging our bond.”source ↗
“I can't continue to take him out so much only for him to never go (he pees when we come back inside).”source ↗
“Nowadays he won't stop eating toys. He chews them apart and swallows the bits of plastic and cotton from plushies, licky mats, anything he can find! I don't know what to do because he wants to chew so badly, but I really don't want him to get a sore tummy😭😭”source ↗
“Is this normal for puppies? I want him to play but I'm so worried he's going to eat something too big and choke. Is there anything I can do to teach him not to swallow?”source ↗
“I wish she would keep some soft toys which she loves playing with by herself and not destroy them all.”source ↗
“Do you think it is okay to take away her fav toy from her if she is destroying it?”source ↗
“she keeps eating trash when we go outside, we give her dog food 3 times a day and sometimes some treats, and even being constantly feed she always in a hunger for more.”source ↗
“when she takes it is impossible to remove from her mouth since she turns extremely aggressive and bites me”source ↗
“My puppy (also 7 months) will eat anything she’s not supposed to.”source ↗
“She eats grass frantically, soil, bark chips, berries, stones, shells - everything she can find.”source ↗
“I’m constantly chasing after her trying to get stones or bark out her mouth”source ↗
“I’m worried she’s going to cause herself harm (e.g. we have a rowan tree in near us and she keeps eating the berries).”source ↗
“Our puppy was obsessively picking up everything she could find constantly.”source ↗
“now I’m worried my dog might chew on the beads or swallow one if it comes loose.”source ↗