I've had enough of this bloody dog chewing!!!

[ShittySnowyDays]

He is a Staffie X and 1 year old.

He chews everything Today it has been dd's toothbrush...her faviourate toy that she has had since newborn. My boots, various toys and the bloody cable wire, so now shitty tv on

Have been told for weeks to get him a muzzle and today I have finally relented

[30andMerkin]

Um, shoot me if I'm wrong, but I've never heard of a dog being muzzled in the house before?

Have you considered crate training for when you have to leave him unsupervised for short periods?

[laurieleigh]

our staffie also likes to eat things... mainly the furniture!
We removed all the dining furniture from her room (the kitchen diner) months back, but i figured maybe she's grown out of it by now so we left it there when we popped out for an hour this morning... big mistake - she's absolutely shredded one of the chairs.
i don't really want to muzzle her when we're out but don't see what else we can do if she never grows out of it.
does your dog chew stuff when you're there or when alone?

[ShittySnowyDays]

30, he is already crate trained....I'm always up and about doing things in the house so he cannot be in it 24/7.

Laurie, he does it when Im in or out. I cannot tell the dc never to have toys out either.

[ShittySnowyDays]

Oh, and he has chewed his crate!

[PortlyBlackSantaUpTheChimney]

He will grow out of it - honest. Mine have eventually (i've taken to telling folk that the coffee table is meant to have round edges )and DSis has a springer who even chewed the plaster off the walls but was fine by 18 months.

Mine only tended to do it when i left them so i took to taking them with me but when i had to leave them i left them in the kitchen (never crated mine) with long lasting chews / pigs ears / more chews and some pigs ears.

i wish i had found an easier way - i'm sure you'll have some good advice on here.

[laurieleigh]

our pup is 13 months now and is brilliant when we're around - we followed all the advice with a sharp 'no!' and shoving one of her toys in her mouth everytime she picked up something that wasn't hers, it's only if she's left that she eats stuff...

she ate the skirting board and the wall and the door frame and the wine rack and the oven door handle and the bin and the cupboard handles...

but the destruction seemed to have subsided in recent months that was why i thought we'd trust her with the furniture again!

she had a treat ball, but she ate that so we bought her a kong wobbler - brilliant for all of 2 weeks 'til she managed to get it unscrewed and eat that too!

the problem is not being able to catch her 'in the act' to tell her off!

try a chew deterrent spray - we got some from pets at home, think it's got citronella in it - it worked when she was 'pruning' in the garden, but doesn't seem to work on the furniture unfortunately!

[DooinMeCleanin]

You cannot muzzle a dog in the house it is cruel. Get a trainer in. Buy him more things to chew.

[ShittySnowyDays]

Buy him more things to chew???

Right....

he has

4 kongs
6 tug things
3 pigs ears
2 different chews
numerous other things to chew.

[minimu1]

umm yes you can ask your kids not to leave things lying around. No way should your dog be muzzled to stop chewing.

Get the dog properly exercised and trained, get it toys it can chew and a crate that it can not destroy.

What type of muzzle are you using? Please tell me it is not a mikki or fabric muzzle?

[ShittySnowyDays]

So they cannot play? urm ookkkieeeee! They are 3 and 2 and are quite good at tidying their toys up but they should be able to have toys out.

He is properly exercised, He has 4 x 45mins walk a day, plus a big garden to run about with.

[ShittySnowyDays]

And, I have not put the muzzle on him yet.

[laurieleigh]

the people we got our pup from suggested that she was only given one or two toys and i've since read that somewhere else - i think they get bored with what they've got. maybe try alternating them so he has a 'new' chew/toy every now and then?

[ShittySnowyDays]

I've bought him a few new ones today and given him one of them.

Thank you for the replies.

Had a shitty day and him chewing the cable made it worse so stupidly bought the muzzle. Fortunately, I'd feel too guilty to ever put it on him.

[minimu1]

Don't be daft I am not saying they cannot play!! Just not unreasonable to put away toys they are not playing with (yes I do have dc's). Use a dog gate to stop the dog getting into the room when the children are playing. You can see the dog and what he is up to and children can play without dog getting in the way.

Exercise is not the only way to tire out dogs - 10 min training will work as well as an hours walk and keeping the brain busy will help to stop chewing.

To make his toys more attractive to him click and treat when he chews them. no more chewing of inappropriate articles

Sorry you have had a shitty day but glad you are too guilty to put on the muzzle. Hope tomorrow is a better day

[wildfig]

my younger dog would chew every sock and tea towel in the house if he could. He's 18 months, and it's dropped off a bit lately, but at a year old, he was a chew machine. I think it's just their age. After lots of wasted money experimentation, I found that he absolutely loves Nylabones, bacon or chicken flavour, and he'll sit and chew them for ages, instead of remote controls/shoes, etc. I reward and praise him when he chews those, and firmly remove everything else.

[JRsandCoffee]

Hmmm sounds like he's a big chewer........ I've used nylobones with great success - particularly the ones with nobbly bits on, excuse any innuendo there. Basically any time mine looked at anything precious as if he might chew it he had something "legal" shoved in his mouth, the second he moved towards the "illegal" he got told "no" and the "legal" shoved back in. If he got even vaguely challenging/ naughty about it he went in the crate for 5/10 mins. If all else failed I used to give him rawhide chews.... However I can appreciate that all those toys must be most tempting....... Are his own toys left lying around, or are they doled out by you or does he have a basket/ crate with them in? Mine has all of his in a crate and I just keep chucking them back in and burying the favourites so he has lots of fun digging them back out again. Mine is a JR and they are famous chewers, the one we had when I was a child ate the car, really, the entire back section of a peugot,destroyed!!! Anyway, sympathy!

[MeMudmagnet]

I'd go with the baby gate idea too.
My dog is a year old too and I have 2 childern, although they are a littel older than yours.
When she arrived as puppy we dog proofed the downstairs of the house as much as possible. The dc's knew that anything left laying about could potentially be eaten and could also be dangerous to her.
Could you keep the dog out of the room/rooms that children like to play in during the day?

I think I'm right in saying that dogs teeth settle into their gums between 12 - 18mnths ish. So hopefully the end maybe in sight!

I also found it took a while to find what toys my pup liked to chew. Soft toys were out, destroyed in seconds. Kong and hard rubber balls, she likes to play with, but not chew. Raggy rope things, again, eaten and I decided they were a bit dangerous.
What she really likes, apart from larege raw bones on the garden, are those rubbery ring things. She literally rolls her eyes in bliss while chewing
She had to be taught to chew these though. If I caught her chewing a chair leg or skirting board, I'd tell her 'no', then give her the toy to chew and praise her if she started to chew it.
I'm glad you didn't muzzle your dog, he still a baby really and still learning.