Chewing EVERYTHING

[newmummyjan19]

Hello my lovelies, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on my dog still chewing everything she sees at 1 year and 2 months old 😭

She's a lab x collie x staffie and I genuinely feel at my wits end, she has more toys that she'll ever need and would rather chew the walls than her toys... she's always been encouraged to use her toys but destroys them and then starts on the destroying my house 🙁 she's also VERY hyper and I feel like I just find myself always trying to calm her down when people are coming into my home, I've gave her buying her new beds because she just chews them to pieces and also pillows for her bed... she gets a small blanket but that's it because it's cheaper and easier to clean up after she's chewed it to pieces... I think I would be reported for animal cruelty if officials new she wasn't in a luxury bed every night 🙁

Any help is appreciated

How much exercise is she getting?

She likely needs 2 hours a day? Can you get a dog walker/daycare where she is stimulated more?

What about intelligent toys where she has to solve puzzles? My dog loved those or a Kong filled with frozen tasty stuff that takes an hour to get it all out of ?

That mix of breeds will need a lot of exercise and training to challenge them. Could be under stimulation?

Exactly what the others said.
She sounds bored. A collie mix is highly likely to be high energy but also high intelligence. They were working dogs and they need their brain as well as their body stimulated.

@LaurieFairyCake @werideatdawn @werideatdawn @TheHodgeoftheHedge

I think if I was to walk her more than I do I would never be home... she has at least over a 2 hour walk every morning and the same at night and get a good run at the park in the afternoon for over 1 hour... 🙁

5 hours a day ! Well done you.

Get Nylabones. They can destroy them but they last months with my staffy. Also, wear her out, mentally as well as physically. If she's part collie she'll need to be worked, try to find a local agility class.

Not much help, all i can recommend is a chuck it ball, the glow in the dark one. My staffy loves his and doesnt destroy it (the only thjng to survive him). Pets at home do them too

fetch.co.uk/chuckit-max-glow-ball-large-7-3cm-207777011?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=CjwKCAjw9sreBRBAEiwARroYm3tSERNIAcEsvri-cOctxlFeHZM3RPd7xhZpTBwzveAog0YEPKzKVRoCdpYQAvD_BwE

And are those good quality walks? Is she actually running off lead?
Then the answer is mental stimulation. Collie crosses tend to love classes like agility and fly ball which ticks both boxes. But also making her work for her food or using puzzle toys/games. All of these things can be massive helps. Just a quick google on “mental stimulation for dogs” will give you tons of training tips and games to play with her.
Is she destroying the house while you’re there or is it while you’re out?

Other good advice here:
www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/how-control-dogs-chewing

@LaurieFairyCake

I can't take all the credit for the walking as I do it on the weekends and my partner does it in the week days...

@TheHodgeoftheHedge

There is some nice woodland /field walks where we live so yes if there isn't any other dogs around she does get let loose... the hour and a half in the afternoon is off the lead at the park chasing a ball or a plastic bottle that's been choose on the way

Agree that she's a mix of 3 high energy breeds. How long is she being left alone every day for? What are you feeding her on? please don't say bakers or purina

Walking for 2 hours a day is useless if it's not the right type of walks.
For example path walking that type will do nothing. She will need ball play and retrieval games. Training through play, sit, wait...go! Etc

Could you look into flyball/agility? She probably won't be able to compete until she's 18 months but you could do basics in the garden.

At home also, try 5 mins every hour of quality play with a toy she only gets at that time. After 5 mins it's put away, she's rewarded and told to settle.

Beds- HiK9 do amazing beds that are indestructible and raised off the floor, proper vet bedding is also non destructible.

Antler chews are good for power chewers, remember back teeth are coming in until 18/24 months. She's still teething.

Our labrador chewed everything including skirting boards, carpets and the sofa regularly. He just suddenly stopped by himself when he was around 18 months old.

Could she be over stimulated? That's a lot of walking for a relatively young dog - when does she ever get the chance to just be?

And long walks aren't necessarily good for tiring a dog out - all walking miles a day does is create a very fit dog that needs hours of exercise!

I find the best way to tire mine out is brain games and training. So a walk is never just a walk. We make him sit when passing people/other dogs on a narrow pavement, for example, and before crossing a road. If he's on lead we'll do loose-lead training. Off lead we play games like treasure hunt/find it, and obviously make sure he practises his recall, as well as things like sitting or lying down at heel.

After walks he gets given a chew - a frozen kong or similar to help settle him, and he normally sleeps after that. He gets two walks of about an hour a day at the moment, longer at weekends or on holidays.

Meals are fed out of kongs, stuffed horns, snuffle mats, licky mats or through scatter feeding - he is never ever fed out of a bowl. Some kibble is held back for training during the day - normally we do 3-4 sessions a day. We go through the basics of sit/paw etc but also try and teach him new tricks to keep his brain active and busy.

He does try and chew but we just distract him. He's never left alone with full run of a room though - I think in young dogs that's just asking for trouble, especially with the mix of breeds you have - high energy, smart and notorious chewers!

Some dogs find it difficult to relax and the pent up energy comes out in chewing. Sometimes chewing can be a sign of stress or anxiety as well. I have a two year old GSD who still puts everything in his mouth, although he is getting better.

Zylkene tablets might help reduce stress and anxiety. Prozac helps some dogs that have no off switch, so it might be worth talking to your vet. Is there a separation anxiety element to the chewing?

Can you afford to overwhelm hermwith chew treats and bones? We have a big trunk full of them and we all give them to the GSD all the time (we reduce his food accordingly so he doesn’t get fat, but he is so energetic he burns through food anyway). Is she crate trained? The crate can be a safe place for her to chew appropriate treats and bones while keeping him away from your furniture, walls, etc.