How do I get this puppy to stop......

onebdzee

onebdzee

off the shelf
chewing up EVERYTHING in the house other than pulling her teeth?

All day long, if I'm here, she won't chew up anything....I leave for more than 3 seconds and when I get home, EVERYTHING has teeth marks in it

Last night I left for half an hour and my daughters homework ended up in peices along with half the wicker basket that is sitting by the front door(for the shoes)

I give her "chew toys" and and such and they also end up in peices
 
kwillia

kwillia

n/a
A puppy's urge to chew usually starts around teething time. Simply put, it feels good to chew. Like many other behaviors, most owners do not mind if their dog chews appropriate chew toys such as bones, rawhide, hard rubber and alike. It is inappropriate chewing, the rug, the furniture, your shoes, that is usually not appreciated. Dogs may chew when the are isolated and bored. They may also chew when they are anxious and under stress. If this chewing relieves the bordome or the stress, it will most likely be repeated again and again because it is self-reinforcing. Now you have a bad habit that is sometimes hard to break.

The best way to prevent inappropriate chewing is to exercise the dog, supervise him when he is out and about and confine him to a kennel or crate when you are not watching him. Puppy-proofing your house is also advised. Your dog needs a variety of chew toys. I recommend to my students having 16 to 20 toys. Half are out one week and the other half are put away. Rotate the group each week. In this way, your dog will not become bored and find new toys that are yours. I provide a toy box for my dogs. They take toys out when they want to chew. I don't expect them to put them back though.

If you catch your puppy chewing an inappropriate object say, "No!... Chew Toy." and redirect the dog to an appropriate toy. This "instructive reprimand" will help to shape your puppy's behavior to your liking. Remember, a puppy is a puppy for the first 12 to 18 months of life. When not supervised, puppy is in the crate with a few toys. In this way, your belongings will stay intact and puppy will not be allowed to develop bad habits. With maturity and proper reinforcement training from you, soon your dog will have freedom around your home if you so desire.
 
SamSpade

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
onebdzee said:
chewing up EVERYTHING in the house other than pulling her teeth?

All day long, if I'm here, she won't chew up anything....I leave for more than 3 seconds and when I get home, EVERYTHING has teeth marks in it

Last night I left for half an hour and my daughters homework ended up in peices along with half the wicker basket that is sitting by the front door(for the shoes)

I give her "chew toys" and and such and they also end up in peices
Click to expand...

I don't think there is one - except to continue to keep chewable valuables out of their reach. As they get older, they chew a little less, and become more attached to chewing items like bones, toys and the like.

But to the best of my knowledge, some things you just have to learn to keep away from them, like shoes and socks and underwear. They smell like you, and dogs like that.

We have about a dozen items that were hard to replace that we inadvertently left within our pups' reach - like TV remotes, shoes. They even destroyed the basket we put their toys in, but left their toys ALONE. They have pulled books off of bookshelves, chewed on receipts left on the coffee table, gone to the wastebasket, and brought INTO the house just about anything accessible in the yard, including barbecue utensils, pool items, rotten vegetables from the garden. Once, the male had eaten so many twig pieces, he was severely constipated, and needed "assistance" in elimination. The only thing I know of is to adjust, because I don't see them stopping any time soon.

One thing we did succeed in putting a stop to, was chewing on furniture. We have a restored antique rocking chair, and they began chewing on the feet rails. I took a big pile of black pepper, made a paste, and spread it all over the chewed areas. They actually NEVER touched it after that - no whining, sneezing or the like - they just didn't like the smell any more.

However, they have now taken to chewing on the woodwork. Last night we found new teethmarks on the baseboard and amazingly, a chewed rawhide RIGHT NEXT TO IT. So it may be time to break out the old pepper mash.
 
onebdzee

onebdzee

off the shelf
SamSpade said:
I don't think there is one - except to continue to keep chewable valuables out of their reach. As they get older, they chew a little less, and become more attached to chewing items like bones, toys and the like.

But to the best of my knowledge, some things you just have to learn to keep away from them, like shoes and socks and underwear. They smell like you, and dogs like that.

We have about a dozen items that were hard to replace that we inadvertently left within our pups' reach - like TV remotes, shoes. They even destroyed the basket we put their toys in, but left their toys ALONE. They have pulled books off of bookshelves, chewed on receipts left on the coffee table, gone to the wastebasket, and brought INTO the house just about anything accessible in the yard, including barbecue utensils, pool items, rotten vegetables from the garden. Once, the male had eaten so many twig pieces, he was severely constipated, and needed "assistance" in elimination. The only thing I know of is to adjust, because I don't see them stopping any time soon.

One thing we did succeed in putting a stop to, was chewing on furniture. We have a restored antique rocking chair, and they began chewing on the feet rails. I took a big pile of black pepper, made a paste, and spread it all over the chewed areas. They actually NEVER touched it after that - no whining, sneezing or the like - they just didn't like the smell any more.

However, they have now taken to chewing on the woodwork. Last night we found new teethmarks on the baseboard and amazingly, a chewed rawhide RIGHT NEXT TO IT. So it may be time to break out the old pepper mash.
Click to expand...

Most of the things that she chews are "wood products" such as paper, wicker baskets(and a hat), books, all non-furniture items....I left the other day to go to the shop(3 miles away), was gone for 15 minutes and came home to toilet paper from 3 bathrooms all over the house

Maybe if I get some stuff that smells like wood and spray it on her toys, she'd stop
 
cattitude

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
onebdzee said:
Maybe if I get some stuff that smells like wood and spray it on her toys, she'd stop
Click to expand...

Dogs do not understand...you have to SHOW them what it and is not appropriate behavior. You cannot give them an old shoe to chew on and then get pissed when they chew a new shoe...that type of thing. The best thing is to keep them confined during puppyhood and develop good habits.
 
SamSpade

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
onebdzee said:
Most of the things that she chews are "wood products" such as paper, wicker baskets(and a hat), books, all non-furniture items....I left the other day to go to the shop(3 miles away), was gone for 15 minutes and came home to toilet paper from 3 bathrooms all over the house

Maybe if I get some stuff that smells like wood and spray it on her toys, she'd stop
Click to expand...

I have no idea. With my own guys, all I know is they prefer to chew slightly 'soft' things - if they leave their rawhides outside so they get damp, they love to chew on them once they're soft. They've lost interest in the soup bones now that they're completely bereft of all marrow and bits of whatever is on those things.

We do have about two or three dozen toys for them, and most of them squeak. The male LOVES the sound and can usually be heard squeaking them incessantly - but he will also tear the toy apart so he can rip apart the squeaking mechanism. They're beginning to take to rope toys, which is great, because they're having a hard time destroying them. We also have a few which seem to be fairly durable rubber dog toys. We were getting them new ones for a while, and we only noticed a few patterns - some larger toys they couldn't rip up - we have softballs and soccer balls that they can't destroy but enjoy playing with. They now play with their original puppy bowl, which is made of a pretty hard plastic or nylon. For reasons I can't figure out, they also have some plush toys they haven't destroyed, and I can't guess why. I think the fabric is too thin for their teeth to grab but too tough to puncture.
 
HillBillyChick

HillBillyChick

New Member
onebdzee said:
chewing up EVERYTHING in the house other than pulling her teeth?

All day long, if I'm here, she won't chew up anything....I leave for more than 3 seconds and when I get home, EVERYTHING has teeth marks in it

Last night I left for half an hour and my daughters homework ended up in peices along with half the wicker basket that is sitting by the front door(for the shoes)

I give her "chew toys" and and such and they also end up in peices
Click to expand...


Although it sounds as if she is teething (the wood thing), it also sounds as if she is having separation anxiety (only when you leave). Crate training would be best. But if you don't want to do that, check out some of the Dog Whisperer books or see if he has a website. He did a show about this, and to solve the problem he would 'pretend' to leave the house, and come right back and scold the dog (if you catch her chewing). But the times he was actually gone from the home gradually increased.....
 
HillBillyChick

HillBillyChick

New Member
onebdzee said:
chewing up EVERYTHING in the house other than pulling her teeth?

All day long, if I'm here, she won't chew up anything....I leave for more than 3 seconds and when I get home, EVERYTHING has teeth marks in it

Last night I left for half an hour and my daughters homework ended up in peices along with half the wicker basket that is sitting by the front door(for the shoes)

I give her "chew toys" and and such and they also end up in peices
Click to expand...


Although it sounds as if she is teething (the wood thing), it also sounds as if she is having separation anxiety (only when you leave). Crate training would be best. But if you don't want to do that, check out some of the Dog Whisperer books or see if he has a website. He did a show about this, and to solve the problem he would 'pretend' to leave the house, and come right back and scold the dog (if you catch her chewing). But the times he was actually gone from the home gradually increased..... {and I know it isn't funny, but the dog actually did eat the homework...LOL}
 
Pete

Pete

Repete
HillBillyChick said:
Although it sounds as if she is teething (the wood thing), it also sounds as if she is having separation anxiety (only when you leave). Crate training would be best. But if you don't want to do that, check out some of the Dog Whisperer books or see if he has a website. He did a show about this, and to solve the problem he would 'pretend' to leave the house, and come right back and scold the dog (if you catch her chewing). But the times he was actually gone from the home gradually increased..... {and I know it isn't funny, but the dog actually did eat the homework...LOL}
Click to expand...
You can say that again.
 
Pete

Pete

Repete
HillBillyChick said:
Although it sounds as if she is teething (the wood thing), it also sounds as if she is having separation anxiety (only when you leave). Crate training would be best. But if you don't want to do that, check out some of the Dog Whisperer books or see if he has a website. He did a show about this, and to solve the problem he would 'pretend' to leave the house, and come right back and scold the dog (if you catch her chewing). But the times he was actually gone from the home gradually increased.....
Click to expand...
Oh look you did
 
Ponytail

Ponytail

New Member
onebdzee said:
chewing up EVERYTHING in the house other than pulling her teeth?

All day long, if I'm here, she won't chew up anything....I leave for more than 3 seconds and when I get home, EVERYTHING has teeth marks in it

Last night I left for half an hour and my daughters homework ended up in peices along with half the wicker basket that is sitting by the front door(for the shoes)

I give her "chew toys" and and such and they also end up in peices
Click to expand...


Two things...crate training, and don't overload your pup with toys. She needs to be introduced to a "new" toy, everyday. Not meaning that you buy her a new toy everyday, but that you limit the number of toys that she has available to her to 2 or 3 MAX. put the other ones in the closet and FAR out of reach and sight of the dog. Everyday, pick up one of her toys and exchange it with one that you've put away. This keeps her toys "new" and interesting.

Crate training, crate training, crate training! It is better for the dog to be kept in a crate all day that to be scolded every time you come home. Even if you leave teh house for only a few minutes...in the crate it goes! No exceptions. You will go through THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in replacement stuff, even if you THINK you've gotten everything picked up and that she "wouldn't possibly eat that". Trust me. I've been there.

I figured Daisy cost me $10,000 in vet bills and replacement stuff over a period of 4 years due to her eating and destroying stuff in the house.. I'm not kidding, and that is a conservative estimate...as I did not keep all of my reciepts.

For toys, get her a bleached beef bone. Don't get the ones with gravy and flavorings on them. Those and the HARD nylabones, last much longer and are better for the dog than ones that they can destroy and swallow the pieces of.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top