Puppy chewing !!!!!!!!!@&&#==/::=__$$!_ !

[AtYourCervix]

Why?

Why, when he has numerous, expensive, made for puppy, chewable things, does he insist on chewing......

The window sill

Hats

Shoes

Cat bowls

And at this very moment, a fish food pot, having eaten all the fish food.

Git.

And how do I persuade him to chew his own stuff rather than mine?

pick him up, say no firmly and put him down somewhere else, give him his toys, if he takes them then give a treat and lots of praise, play with him with his toys.

You can buy stuff which smells horrible and spray it onto wherever he is chewing but my collie just used to sit there and lick it off.

I have no magic solutions other than watching him closely and using a crate when you can't watch him. I know in real life this isn't always possible though... my "puppy" is now 18 months and has chewed up so many things, my best going out shoes after I came in tipsy and left them on the floor being a recent traumatic example!

The only thing that helped a bit was giving her semi illegal stuff (providing she didn't actually eat it) like cardboard tubes and empty milk bottles. She now regularly raids the recycling however so it did have a downside!

Oh and we taught "leave it" very early - a godsend when she was caught just about to destroy something!

He's a bit big to pick up

Doing the firm 'leave it' and 'no!' And replacing with allowed chewey things.

You could clicker train a 'leave it' command which would enable you to control/distract his attention away from objects when you are around. There's good videos on YouTube of how to do it and puppies learn super fast.

They do just chew though :(

Mine is one year and 3 weeks old, so far today he's stolen a bag out of the recycling rubbish, a sock and a pair of tights...it's a slow day because he's wearing a cone to stop him chewing his leg.

You can also clicker train them to reward playing with the right things. My friend clicker trained their puppy very early and she hasn't chewed anything that she wasn't supposed to.

Your post made me smile because it brought back memories of our lab who is now 7 and the damage he caused as a puppy. He chewed skirting boards, doors, pulled the stuffing out of the sofa, pulled the curtains down, conservatory blinds, TV remotes and too many toys to mention. At the time it was not funny and he nearly ended up at the dogs home when he over stepped the line and chewed OH's Sky viewing card.

The only way I could have prevented this, is by either removing everything from the room I put him in when I went out or crating him. He too had lots of chew toys but preferred the mischief. The anti chew spray did not stop him. All of the damage was done when he was left alone so I presume it was out of boredom. He did eventually outgrow the chewing I think he was about 2 though, my Sister's terrier puppy has never chewed anything.

I rub lavender oil or similar into things I don't want the puppy to touch. He hates the smell so won't touch things after and the house smells nice !

Our loves to chew shoes and the log basket.

I'd have to dip my whole house in lavender or anti chew spray, lol

Leave it helps, but, it's only reactive...I haven't yet found anything that will stop him wanting to eat my entire house to start with.

Leave it will only work if you are able to watch him 100% of the time. Ideally you need to teach him that it's more rewarding to chew his toys than everything/anything else.

To do that you need to not actually use a 'leave it' cue, but instead click and reward him for choosing his item over other things, so that he makes the right decisions when you are absent and doesn't only modify his behaviour when you are watching him. You need to do this again and again and again, over and over until he gets it into his head that choosing his 'legal chewies' is far more rewarding that chewing everything else.

Have you seen any of Kikopup's videos either on Dogmantics or YouTube?

I think the useful videos in this situation are probably - , and not because they'll tell you the precise process how to teach him to leave your stuff alone, but because they'll help you understand why you need to teach him it without a cue and how to do that.

everlong, AYC's boy is a bit too big for a crate. Check out her profile pictures. The puppy's the white one.

I doubt he's too big for a crate - are they not only about 5 inches taller than Rotties?

I've got a 48 inch one and there's plenty of room, my 13 yr old fits in it with him...well she went in for a laugh and he followed most delightedly.

If a whole teenager can sit in it next to a rottie - I can't see a slightly bigger dog not fitting.

I think I remember AYC saying a crate was no good, because he was too big to fit in a crate they could accommodate.

We have a 48" crate as well and all three of my dcs can get in there together, but it dominates my tiny living room and I can see how some houses may be able to fit a large dog bed, but not necessarily a crate.

Agree a crate would be the best option for the teething stage though, unless there's somewhere that can easily be puppy-chew proofed that she can leave him instead. Futility rooms are usually a good option.

One New Years Eve, my juvenile Boxer x GSD boy broke into the kitchen, climbed on the worktop, grabbed, pierced and gunned four of a six pack of beers (although admittedly most of it must have sprayed all over the walls - judging by the mess) then followed them up with a whole tray of Bluebird toffee (the kind you have to smash with a hammer).

We came back from the pub not long afterwards (he'd only been on his own for half an hour, as the pub was next door and we only went over there for Midnight) and his hangover kicked in within the hour. He decided the best thing to do at this point was to try to go upstairs to bed, swaying all the way. He got five steps up and promptly honked it all back up on my cream stair carpet.

We rang the out of hours vet who said, as he'd already been sick a couple of times and was now sleeping, it was probably best to let him sleep it off and bring him in in the morning. Daft dog was absolutely fine by the morning - same can't be said for my carpet, which was never the same again.

... the toffee was one of my Christmas presents as well.

oh not having the room is different, I was just wondering quite how big the dog is when I know you can get them for great danes, lol

Yeah, I've got a pretty big living room...I mean it still takes up too much room and I was hoping to get rid of it at some point, but he still chews the same amount as when he was tiny, so I'm a bit stuck with it.

Add a tub of 12 peanut butter cookies to his crimes.

I need a crate. A big big crate. Going shopping tomorrow.

AYC, we got ours from [[http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/ Doggie Solutions and they were very fast with delivery. We got ours in the sale for less than £50.00, but I think they're about £55.00 for the biggest size of their stronger crates at the moment.

Honestly, first I posted the link on the wrong thread, then I fluffed it up on the right one. Doh!

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