To smack the little git

[Lucyellensmum99]

by little git i mean my dog! He has is a rescue and we have had him a few months, he has just started chewing things, and has just this morning chewed a £160 pair of glasses, i am now half blind

We have been quite softly softly with him as he was a rescue and we don't smack our other dog so why should we smack him. But just now i caught him with his teeth around the lap top cable, obviously live!! So i have smacked his bottom - poor little guy looked at me as if i have betrayed him and i do feel awful but he needs to learn. The glasses, frustrating, but my own fault for leaving them where he could get them, i just showed them too him and said "who done that aggghhhh" in a stern voice but got the look of "it was me, me i tell yah, what you gonna do about it" waggy tail, is this a game mum?

We buy loads of chew toys, he has long walks, yet STILL he is a miniture weopon of mass destruction.

I feel bad, he is laying at my feet and just looked so hurt, it wasn't a hard smack at all, just a tap on his bottom and a yelled no, it was a live wire FFS!

It is becoming an issue though - and am hoping that maybe the odd tap might curtail? but of course, i dont want to cause him anxiety and then he will only chew more :( what to do what to do???

You feel bad?? Good, you should.... You are!

Thanks olympia, so do you have any helpful suggestions then?

I think you need to rub the chewy toys with something interesting! Or get him a Kong that you can stuff treats into.

Don't worry about the little smack on the bum. He sounds quite young?

Yes I do

Try re posting that in the doghouse section?

Get him a muzzle.

We did this with our Lab.

DH was not happy about it as he thought it was cruel so I had to be the one to put it on and take it off.
It worked however and we used it for approx 6 months

Something interesting???? the mind boggles they are rawhide chews, they dont come more minging than that :) But yes, kong toy, good idea. I have one that i had for my rotties, so it is actually bigger than DDog2 but im sure he would appreciate the search, definately a strategy of distract distract distract, but fuck, my glasses :( I can't afford a new pair and will have to be blind until the end of the month

He is, about 8 months ish - oh, i do feel so bad though, it really was a tap, and a push away from the lead but i don't want him to be scared of me. Pants

I would have tapped his bum too, out of fear he would have electrocuted himself. We don't always think rationally when someone/thing we love is in harms way.

I would try size appropriate kong, gives him something to work on. How old is he?

Don't really want to muzzle him as it would prevent him from taking part in terrier wars and i want the dogs to be company for each other when we are out. They love play fighiting. Will consider as a very last resort.

Am hoping this will be a phase, ive never had a chewer - maybe the odd thing from three other dogs over 20 years, but he seems hell bent on destruction

In my view, a firm but controlled tap across the nose with one or two fingers is acceptable very occasionally for really bad behaviour but you should really be able to tell off a pup with the tone of your voice. It's tricky with a rescue. We had one when I was a teenager and if I ever lifted my arm above my shoulder, she would cower, poor thing.

We had that with our rottie rescue euro, if ever i lifted a stick over my head (to throw for him obviously, not hit him!) he would cower and hit the deck. I was quite firm with him, had to be, but this dog seems really sensitive and i am not sure smacking him will be a good idea so need alternative approach i think. As i say, i am not anti-smacking of dogs actually, but this one clearly upset by it :(

My little dog was the same re chewing - slippers, telephone filters and, finally both the laptop cable AND the transformer box thingy while it was plugged in!

Nothing worked until we got her a stag bar. You can get them from amazon. They are parts of deer antlers so completely sustainable. They last for about 3 months and because they are made from the same stuff as fingernails they don't chip or splinter like bones.

thanks bill, will look into one, well two as we have two dogs and one has to be fair :) This bloody dog is costing us a fortune :)

One other good thing about the stag bars - they do not ruin carpets like chewed rawhide bones when they go mushy!

What about crate training him? I have done with all mine, they feel secure and I know I am not opening the front door to a bombsite. Current foster pup found his pup cage I had hidden in the spare room and tried to squeeze into it resulting in some very undignified bottom pulling to get him out!

Stop smacking him and instead of muzzling or crating him...start actually training him.

Google for your nearest training class.

Blow in his face, just a quick puff. It sounds nuts, but it works, my dogs normally stop what they're doing , look very put out and saunter off. A friend said her dog snapped at her when she did this so maybe don't get too close, but I do this with all the dogs and cats I've had over the years.

Blowing in the face works wonders, it even makes cats swallow tablets which is useful.

Also a very deep (you will sound ridiculous), low and stern voice can sometimes have an effect. Ultimately you need tot rain him not to do these things and get him better toys but this may help.

I'd get a crate & training classes.

It is fucking annoying when you get a 'chewer' but most of them grow out of it or get trained out of it - hang in there.

I got a resuce dog when he was around 8months ish. each and every day that I came homefrom work he had trashed my flat, ripping books up, chewing stuff, attacked my radio (?). i didnt say anything to him, i just went and cleared up. one day he got hold of my phone when i was in the kitchen, as i came in and saw him munching on it i flew over to him while shouting 'NOOOOOOOOO' in a really loud voice. He has never never wrecked or chewed anything again, unless it is given to him.
i find my boys respond well to short sharp comands, such as 'Aa Aa' if they are doing something they shouldnt. also something lobed in their direction that makes a noise to get their attention quickly if they are ignoring you!

It took our rescue about 6m to stop chewing things that weren't meant to be chewed. In the first 2 weeks he had chewed beyond repair s sofa and a leather dining chair. The legs of an oak table. A wooden 3-d puzzle of a croc that my cousin had sent DS1 from South Africa. Endless plastic dinosaurs and animals.

We bought some anti-chew spray - it helped.

Now he doesn't chew anything apart from his toys. Even when we leave him on his own at home.

I have a very strong willed Beauceron cross rescue. After 3 weeks of dominant, nervous and just bloody stupid behaviour we got a trainer from bark busters to work with us and she was like a different dog when he left after the first visit. He pointed is in the direction of changing her diet to a more natural one, gave us training exercises and methods of discipline that are not physical. He was wonderful and 4 years later we haven't looked back since.

Discipline wise he used a small beanbag with some chain links onside tthat we would throw at the ground near her feet and make a barking type noise to tell her no/stop as she would just not listen. You could replicate with just sewing some tough fabric around some coins- they likened it to snapping at the dog, which is how another dog would correct them.

Also watch some cesar millan- even if you don't want to use some of his techniques, his general insight and energy is very good to try to learn - really gets you in the zone!

Fwiw, mine would have got a sharp smack about his muzzle for that too. My collie was a destuctive beast as a pup, despite excessive work/stimulation/exercise. Crate training saved my kitchen, and rigorous supervision and telling off if he went to chew something that wasn't his means that now he's a pleasure to have around, hasn't touched a cable/wire/expensive handbag/glasses etc in a couple of months (he's now about 10 months). Can even have him unsupervised overnight in a room full of tempting chewable items

Consistency, distractions and plenty of training and it will get better, honest!

at the beucheron, they are lovely dogs - but yes, i have heard they are strong willed (to say the least!) I actually don't really hold with ceaser milans techniques - i did like him, but then i saw the horrible spike collars he used and never watched it again.

I was very firm with both of my rotties, one was a rescue with aggression issues, so im not without experience. My little chewer is just such a sensitive and slightly nervous wee soul so i am really wanting to be positive with any "training" that we do with him. I took him to the vets the other day as i needed to weigh him for flea treatment. I left his "big brother" at home (our older dog) as i was in a rush - it was the first time i had taken dog2 out without dog one, he was actually really nervous, scared of cars, backed away from someone when they went to stroke him - i was whats going on with you? then i realised it was because it was the first time i had taken him for a walk on his on. Bless!!

He isn't teething and he has PLENTY of chews to chew. I wouldn't muzzle him as i had to muzzle my rescue rottie and he hated it. We will just continue to ensure that we don't leave anything in his way (even though he manages to find everything! ) and get through this phase.