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Original poster

how long does chewing go on? any tips / sanity savers??

25 replies

oregonianabroad · 27/03/2009 20:17

Lab, nearly 2, eats anything in range -- is now starting to work on the table legs.

Is given plenty of toys and bones, etc... Frequently walked, pletny of attention.

Is driving me nuts with the chewing tho. Stelas toys right form the dc's hands to start chewing.

OP posts:
sarah76 · 27/03/2009 22:58

Oh dear. Labs act like puppies until they're 3 (or longer)....but they are such lovely dogs....

Do you praise him/her lots when s/he is chewing on the appropriate things? And have something appropriate ready to substitute each and every time she goes for something inappropriate/table legs?

Original poster
oregonianabroad · 28/03/2009 07:27

I've had 2 labs and a husky in the past, dealt with chewing, but this seems a bit... relelntless.

I do priase her for chewing her own stuff & try to replace naughty things with her own toys when I can. (Don't always get there in time).

OP posts:
sarah76 · 28/03/2009 13:41

Not sure what else to suggest. I seem to remember my dad 'curing' a lab/GSD cross of getting in the bins with liberal sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Maybe something like that or the bitter apple sprays would save the table legs at the very least?

Marne · 28/03/2009 13:49

My staff is a year old and chews, i give her plenty of bones and chewy things but she still finds other things to chew.

newpup · 28/03/2009 14:04

Hello. I have a 10 month old lab and my parents have had labs for years. Some have been chewers some not. One of their boys ate table legs, carpets and even the plaster off the wall!!! Touch wood , mine is not too bad. I rotate chew toys constantly and am always buying her new ones. She nibbled the skirting board once when she was about 4 months and I yelled at her, she never did it again. I used anti chew spray on the table legs when she was smaller and since she has never tried to chew them.

Labs are well known for being destructive chewers and some are worse than others.

Have you tried a nylabone?

Alambil · 28/03/2009 15:36

take him to the table, show him the evidence, shout "NO!" three or four times, let him go and IGNORE HIM

Repeat for 6 hours, on the hour

It'll impress on him that it's actually a really rubbish idea to chew table legs.

My mums's GR did it once - had this treatment and NEVER did it again. Ever. She's 7 now and still not done it again (she was 1ish at the time)

Original poster
oregonianabroad · 28/03/2009 17:02

Thanks for the help -- feel like I need to start a support group!

OP posts:
woodstock3 · 28/03/2009 21:21

poor you - our lab was a ferocious chewer but has more or less given up now he's nearly 2 (he still pinches particularly appealing things left on the floor, but doesnt actually eat the infrastructure - walls, furniture etc like he used to). the puppy teeth should be through now so this is poss more habit than need, in which case you're going to have to do a lot of telling off. like lewisfan says. the ignoring is key - labs hate to be in trouble and to be left out. we did use the bitter sprays etc on things we didnt want ours to chew and it worked for a bit but you have to keep reapplying - it is mostly to break the habit.
the one thing i would come down on like a ton of bricks is snatching from your dc especially if they are quite little. this could be a dominance thing - dogs will take toys from someone lower down the pecking order - he should feel your dc are higher up than him. so he should be yelled at in no uncertain terms and sent to his bed or whatever you do for punishment for snatching from them. your dog should also give up his toys to your dc when asked.
our lab is phenomenally greedy but we were told to make he was never allowed to snatch food from ds's hand for this reason.

Original poster
oregonianabroad · 29/03/2009 08:02

That's really interesting, woodstock. She contsantly pushes into my littlest one, I thought it was just 'accidental', but I reckon you're right, she is trying to assert her position!

OOOh, am off to re-establish pecking order in this house.

OP posts:
newpup · 29/03/2009 10:17

Definately sort the pecking order out. Labs can be lovely but bolshy with children. They should never snatch from or push out the way children. Agree with woodstock, this has to be sorted out. Dog is always bottom of the chain and they must know it!

She should always let you through a doorway first and this goes for the children too, Make her wait until last to enter a room.
Good luck!

Alambil · 29/03/2009 14:35

how old is your youngest?

Get the dog to lie on the floor in the "down" position (as in tell her to - don't just wait for her to do it!) and get ALL the family to stand over her (not all at once!)... that'll give her the message that you're all above her in the pecking order - you need to do it daily, all of you.

Also as newpup says - make her the Last out of the house and the Last in - the alpha would go into the den in the wild first, the least of the dogs would go in last.... it gives a massive message, again

Also feed her only once you've all eaten - again, alpha eats first, then invites the others to eat.

tell her off when she barges too... it's not good behaviour and the dog needs to know it

woodstock3 · 29/03/2009 23:24

agree with all the above plus dont ever let dog on sofas/beds etc - tis another sign of pecking order that people are allowed to sit on them and dogs not.

Original poster
oregonianabroad · 30/03/2009 07:38

Oh dear. She is allowed to sit on 1 sofa (it's ancient). Don't know if we can re-train. (Or if I can bear to be shoving a 30kilo lump of flesh off a sofa every 2 minutes as well as trying to make sure she isn't eating us out of house & home!)

Other advice good (I've read about Alpha dog stuff before, it helped sort out her barking at night).

Thanks, everyone, will keep working with her.

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Original poster
oregonianabroad · 30/03/2009 20:46

She ripped open a packet of pasta for tonight's tea while I was collecting ds1 from nursery today. To add insult to injury, i couldn't clean it up properly because she had eaten the dustpan & brush earlier this morning.

Muzzle???

(just joking, don't phone the RSPCA.)

OP posts:
bella29 · 31/03/2009 17:00

What kind of toys does she have? Mine love stuffed kongs (use peanut butter) and nylabones.

Also, (newpup will laugh at me here ) it's a good idea to rotate your toys regularly as otherwise the dog just gets bored of seeing the same ones every day.

Other than that I can only advise vigilance and putting everything out of reach - not only is it annoying when they chew household objects, but they can suffer very serious and sometimes fatal internal injuries as a result.

Original poster
oregonianabroad · 31/03/2009 20:26

Thanks, bella. She has a kong. I stuff it when I know I am going to be out for the day, she ignores it the rest of the time. Will investigste nylabones -- where do you get them?

OP posts:
newpup · 31/03/2009 20:49

Pets at Home sell Nylabones. They come in different sizes depending on the dog and a few flavours too. My pup is chewing one at my feet, as I type!

Do not get Bella started on toy rotation. She will have you putting up a chart next

bella29 · 31/03/2009 22:23

Most good pet shops and vets sell them. They do different flavours too

Original poster
oregonianabroad · 01/04/2009 11:38

for the kids, or the dogs, or the kids' toys the dog is allowed to chew, or the dog's toys the kids are allowed to take...???

OP posts:
bella29 · 01/04/2009 12:41

lol - I see your point!

I am only sad enough to have a toy rotation chart for my pup's toys (more useful than you might think, you know - how else could you be sure little Fido was having a full week to build up his excitement at getting his manky toy pheasant back?) but if you want to do one for all your other categories, please feel free

At least it will take the heat off me for a while - completely fed up with being treated as some kind of obsessive toy-organiser by newpup!

Original poster
oregonianabroad · 01/04/2009 13:04

bella, ummmm.... you might just be a little bit of an obsessive toy-organiser??? Maybe a little bit???

OP posts:
bella29 · 01/04/2009 13:12

I only do it to compensate for the total and utter chaos which I call my life

Original poster
oregonianabroad · 01/04/2009 13:27

Don't sulk. I feel your pain re: chaos. At least your dog doesn't chew your table legs, right??

OP posts:
bella29 · 01/04/2009 13:30

No, certainly not!

Pine kitchen dressers, yes

stleger · 01/04/2009 16:18

My dog is currently enjoying eating a wooden dolls house...

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