The chewing HAS to stop! Any suggestions please - getting desperate!

[sb6699]

Have posted about this before but really thought we had turned a corner.

My lab has always been a chewer and would run away with things so we couldnt get them back. We have now taught him to drop and reward and about a month ago it seemed to have calmed down (although not stopped completely). We took him to my mums for 10 days over the New Year and he didnt even touch a thing.

Now we're home, he has started again with a vengence. Toy Story Woody (DD2's Christmas present) is missing an arm and a boot) and have just come home to find he has chewed though DD1's new ready bed which was in its bag in the corner of the room.

DH wants to muzzle him when we go out and I really dont want to do this but can see his point - it is costing us a fortune to replace everything the dog eats and as he doesn't seem to mind what he's chewing I just know he's going to end up hurting himself.

Any suggestions on how we can stop this would be gratefully received.

DAP collar

If it were me (and fwiw!) I would get a behaviourist in to explore the separation anxiety/behavioural issue angle.

Toys are pretty worthless if it's the same toys left out every day. A new ready bed is much more exciting in those circumstances. Build up a stock of 14-21 toys and bring out 2-3 different ones every day, putting yesterday's away as you do so.

Look at his feed - if it's high protein that could be making it harder for him to settle.

Good luck

..and don't worry about his op. Anaesthetics are superb these days, pain relief is amazing, and orthopaedic specialists tend to be excellent

Thats interesting about the feed Bella. His is high protein but I chose it because it was recommended by the pet shop.

Wondering about the anxiety issue, I would have thought he would have been worse at my mums because its a different house with lots of different folk coming and going and yet he didnt touch a thing. Our pet-sitter (who is very experienced) said that when we first left him with her he was very stressed and anxious for the first few days, so if he doesnt cope well with new situations, I assumed the chewing would get worse not better!

I did think it might be a pain thing. In this cold his arthritis might be annoying him (although he doesnt seem to be in any obvious discomfort). The vet told us the problem with giving him painkillers on a regular basis is that they make him feel as if he has new legs and so he bounds around even more than normal which results in the pain being worse the following days and having to give him more - viscious circle really.

I really appreciate everyones help - was half expecting "you should have known when you got a dog he would chew". I have always had dogs as has dh, but none have ever been this distructive. I thought it would sort itself out over time and we really have tried lots of things - giving him toys, making sure he has lots of attention, training in the garden so he doesnt get bored.

Other than this he really is a lovely, good natured dog and is fab with the dc's, but it was getting to the stage where I was dreading coming home if I'd been out which isnt ideal although some of your ideas have been great and I do feel less stressed and more convinced that I can resolve it.

Do you think maybe he knows he can get away with it at your house sb, so he takes his chances? Our would never dream of being naughty in anyone else's house, but can be a little terror at home. After days of being good, at some point last night she chewed up one of DH's new shoes and woke him up this morning by dropping the mangled mess on his chest The problem is, we just can't help but laugh at her, she's so pleased with herself when she's been naughty, she can't wait to come and show you what she's done! And because we feel so sorry for her always being in pain with her ED, and not being able to do 'normal' dog stuff like run around mad, she knows we're a soft touch.

That is a STRONG possibility MrsL

I don't think your dog's being naughty, sb - dogs don't chew to ve naughty. They chew because they're teething or bored or anxious. Chewing releases endorphins (natural painkillers) into the blood.
Although staying at your relations was different for him,it doesn't sound like it was boring. I'd discuss the pain with your vet, ask about Zylkene ( a non drug mild sedative) and ask about a more suitable food.

SB does he actually chew, or do you think he just like to destroy? Just wondering really, as I'd definitely put ours in the 'destroy' category! Don't get me wrong, she likes to chew her toys or her bones, but she definitely seems to get satisfaction out of wrecking stuff too! She normally does it when we're in the house, and doesn't try to hide it (in fact most of the time she'll come and do it right in front of you, or try to involve you in it). For example she'll sit and unravel the stair carpet or the bathmat, just pulling threads out, and then will come and drop all the loose bits in your lap like it's a gift, waggy tail and all! And the new favourite is coercing my older dog into grabbing the other end of a tea towel that she's stolen off the worktop, so they can do tug-of-war to tear it in two (and she'll then bring it in to show you!). Or she'll steal something like a glove, stand on it with one paw and rip it to bits. Even with some of her toys - she'll have them for weeks without trouble, then all of a sudden the mood will take her and she'll just sit and systematically pick the toy to pieces in two minutes flat (spitting all the bits out on the floor!) and then walks away quite pleased with herself! But the minute she's ruined it she loses interest, and she very rarely steals something to sit and properly chew - it's normally a very quick wave of destruction! Even with shoes, she tends to dance around them (play bowing to them etc), bites them and throws them around, and will stand and pull the laces out, but she doesn't lie down chew them for ages. She's got loads of tough chewy toys and bones (which she will lie and chew for hours if the mood takes her), her kong is always filled, she plays with our other dog most of the day and has free access to the garden, but sometimes I think she just likes to wreck something because it's fun! She certainly looks like she's having fun anyway, she wags from her tail to her nose when she's finished (we call it her naughty wag ). She even likes to chew up the 'munchy bones' you get from pets at home, but she never actually eats the pieces, she just leaves them all over the floor for our other dog to hoover up. Obviously we have a very strange dog!

What I'm getting at is she's definitely a boredom / play destroyer rather than a true 'chewer'. Unfortunately there's not much else we can do for her, as she gets walked as much as we can because of her ED, and her diet and pain are already managed. And we already own the entire stock of toys and bones that PAH offers, and she's never left alone for more than three hours (during which she has our other dog for company and access to the garden). Any longer than that, she goes to the in-laws for babysitting (where she's always an angel!). And apart from killing things, she's a lovely well-rounded dog

I'll be watching this thread with interest to see everyone's suggestions

A friend of mine who used to have a lot of dogs was telling another friend how to stop her dg chewing.

Apparently there is stuff called ?? that you spray on the furniture etc and they stop.

Now my friend is very anti a lot of things incase they do harm but after a dog of hers was left for 30 minutes and chewed a table all the way round the edge she tryed this and it workked.

apple somthing

found it here

I'm not sure MrsL. He always looks a bit sheepish if I've come home and he's destroyed something he knows he shouldnt and although he takes things in front of us, he will hide under the table with them so I'm sure he knows he shouldnt be doing it. Just cant figure out whether its through anxiety, boredom, pain or something else because its so constant. If there was fluctuations (just when I'm out/just in the mornings/just when he's limping), it might be easier to understand.

Thanks Ivykaty. I have used the apple spray in the past. He will stay away from stuff immediately after I've sprayed it but within an hour or so it doesnt seem to have any affect on him.

sb - when they look 'sheepish' it isn't guilt, or knowing they've done something they shouldn't. Dogs react only to what is happening at that moment - he is showing apprehension because - presumably - at some point he's been told off for chewing, or you've shown (perhaps unwittingly) how upset you are at finding X, Y or Z all chewed up. That can become a vicious cycle in itself: the dog knows you'll be unhappy when you get back (but doesn't have the ability to understand why you're unhappy) and that creates more tension hence more chewing.

Does that make sense?

That does make sense Bella. Hadnt thought of it that way before.

I dont tell him off if I've been out and he's chewed something because I know he wont understand why he's being told off but I have to admit I will be stomping around muttering "ffs, not again" and ignoring him because I'm cross. Probably not a homecoming he would look forward to

It is strange then sb, especially if he's got plenty of alternatives to chew. Dogs need to chew, but given the choice between a stuffed kong or woody's leg, I know which mine would choose! But if he's grabbing things in front of you and hiding, might he be doing it for the attention of you running after him and taking it off him (like a game)? Especially if you've been doing drop and reward - he's maybe associated the treat with the whole 'take, run, chase, drop' routine, and figures out it's a good way to get something! Even just scolding him is attention - I tend to ignore ours until she drops whatever she's got, and then I swipe it without a word when she's not looking. Ours like the taste of that bitter apple spray

I must just add, the devil in question is currently lying next to me on the sofa licking my arm, like butter wouldn't melt