How to prevent the behavior? We hate to state the obvious but stick removal (at least the tempting big ones) and/or preventing access to the sticks are the sure fixes for the problem. Maybe another boarding or house-sitter option will suit your little one better (we can recommend both). Since your pup is so young it still might outgrow the chewing phase but that doesn’t help much in the interim. Will the dogs still have issues if the toys offered are not edible ones? There are some great hunting training toys that chewers tend to love (the ducks seem to be a favorite). Could your parents split the time outside so your dog could have its own chewing toy? Maybe your parents could have supervised group playtime at some point during the day.

So, in short, the vast majority of our stick chewers have no issue passing the pieces they ingest but there is always a risk with ingestion of foreign material. We still have time that your little one might outgrow the stick chewing behavior so try some of the above options in the meantime. And as always contact us again with your questions!