Puppy damaging wall and carpet

[Ted29]

Please help. I've a 30 week old poochie dog (toy poodle/chihuahua)
Recently he has started biting all corners of the wall inside the house, biting off wallpaper and damaging the carpet. I've had a behaviourist out who has given me ideas of what to do but it is all treat based. He is getting worse, I do cage him at this time but he tries to bite. He is also not eating his food, Due to knowing he gets treats he is doing it more. This is causing arguements in the home between me and hubby.

I really don't know what to do. Any help

In the short term, and a tip I got off here, you could try spreading Vick on area you don't want chewed. My dog was eating a wicker basket, and a liberal coating of Vick
stopped it. However, it sounds as it you are treating him for chewing!
How much exercise is your pup getting? Is it left alone much? What are you feeding? What have you done in the way of crate training? Answers to these questions will help.

You get spray off stuff that keeps them off.

Does this happen at a specific time of the day? My pup had moments in th evening where he was bitey and played up because he was over stimulated and tired and like a toddler needed enforced sleep. On waking he was a different dog. There is no way treating him during this time would have made his behaviour better and only recognising he needed sleep and putting him in his crate before he kicked off stopped it. My dog was also fussy on food but sometimes you have to ride it out and take the food up after a set time so they learn that it's that food or nothing until the next feeding time if they are holding out for treats.

Whist I understand all the positive behaviour training sometimes removing the excitement or access to the object they are destroying made more of an impact than trying to distract with a treat which he would eat then go back to the same bad behaviour.

Is he doing this whilst you're in the house or when he's left alone?

If it's the former he might be bored and finding his own entertainment. As well as adequate exercise he needs mental stimulation as well. I would highly recommend the FB groups Canine Enrichment and Beyond the Bowl for endless fabulous ideas. You can also do things like trick training, body awareness/conditioning exercises, scent games, all sorts.

If it's the latter then he could be distressed at being left and you really need to go back to basics teaching him from scratch to be comfortable with being alone. This guide can help with that.

It's also worth joining the FB group Dog Training Advice and Support, having a read through their files and posting if you need further advice. It's run by highly respected professionals who advocate the use of up to date, force free training methods.

All trying should be reward based, its the way training works. But training has to be consistent and rewards well timed, you are trying to reward good behaviour not reinforce bad so if you ignore your pup and then it starts to chew and suddenly you are paying it attention then you are rewarding that bad behaviour with attention (it is irrelevant if your attention is positive or negative by that stage). Start to reward pup with your attention when it is being good.

That silence is the collective members of the doghouse sharp intake of breath over a dog called a poochie .

I mean really, poochie? Whatever next?!

Poochie? Do you actually say that in the real world?

Our dog chewed anything and everything until he was 78 weeks old and then just stopped. I think it was teething until then and he did it for relief, but he’s a Labrador so much bigger than your small cross so hopefully yours will finish teething and stop chewing sooner. Until then cage when you are out so they are safe from eating something they shouldn’t and supervise when you are home.

The biting is a completely different issue and at 7 months you need a qualified trainer to work with.

Hi thanks. Love the posting of Facebook sites thank you.
Yeah I play and give treats on good behaviour, I crate him when busy around house and out and often when he’s played and tired.
He is a very fussy puppy on food and I am currently feeding nutiment
Sometimes he eats lots some days hardly anything.
Thanks

I feel your pain. My whippet boy scratches at the carpet like a cat and then chews up the underlay

My pup caused quite a bit of damage chewing Chair and table legs when he was very small and teething, but also caused damage to wallpaper at about 6 months of age when he was left home alone. We found that a Thundercoat took the edge off his excitement/anxiety so that when we were out he just went into his cage and slept. He’s grown out of it now (18 months).

My mum had a whippet x years ago that kept tearing up the kitchen floor , didn't matter what you put down she'd dig it up . She also liked taking the grouting out of the patio. The other dog she had at the same time was a mastiff / ridgeback mix and he used to chew the oven housing , he ate about 5/6 eventually she used to keep a spare in the garage to swop in when it got too bad . I think it was habit as they were never left home alone , never caged and would quite happily do it in front of you . We tried all the different sprays even some grunge that we had to use on one of the horses that smelt foul , nothing stopped them .