Puppy is naughty!

[Whyisitdarkalready]

Our 5 month old Cockapoo is so affectionate, no aggression, playful and just the most loveliest bundle of fluff and joy.

However! She is causing destruction wherever she goes. She pulls books off bookcases, stretches up to our desk and pulls papers off it and chews them. She's ripped my sons maths textbook cover, shredded paper that had just come out the printer and has even pulled posters off the wall. She comes back from the garden with an endless supply of stones and leaves. Any pencils, phones, tablets or glasses cases left lying around get stolen and she runs off with them. She also does the obvious stealing of socks and pants from the wash basket. She has discovered how to climb onto her cage in the kitchen and uses this vantage point to steal washing off the radiator.

Please tell me that they just grow out of it!! Our previous dog was an angel in comparison. Our puppy has lost about 3 teeth over the weekend so I know she's teething, it just seems relentless, despite having loads of chew toys and other fun things to play with. I've bought a licky mat to try to give her something else to think about.

Can anyone sympathise!?

Which doggy peanut butter was it out of curiosity?

Some of them aren't as good for dogs as they claim - they need to be 100% peanuts.

@thelobsterquadrille I got it from Jollyes pet store. It says it's 97.5% peanuts. The rest is palm oil.

I would never use a lot of peanut butter in a kong for weight reasons and poo reasons. It is very common for the fat content to cause poorly stomachs in a lot of dogs

I tend to soak kibble let it expand and fill the kong then put a small amount of either cheese or peanut butter to block the small end. This tends to get the dogs interested and then they just eat their normal calories or meal but from the kong.

Not all dogs (especially puppies) have the perseverance for frozen kongs - if it is too hard to get out they just leave it.

You dont have to use doggy peanut butter human is fine if it is just peanuts and no palm oil or sweetner. So most Meridian peanut butters are fine if you already have them in the house.

Thank you @Ivedonethisthreetimesalready xx

I thought as much 😞 I really wish it was illegal to put palm oil in "doggy" foods.

Palm oil really isn't good for dogs at all - that'll be what's made her sick. You need one that's 100% peanuts - no added oil or salt.

Morrisons sell one or Meridian is 100% peanuts too.

@thelobsterquadrille Really?? Gosh, they shouldn't be allowed to sell it then! It's going straight in the bin. It was called Peamutt Butter for dogs.

I think I'll steer clear of all peanut butter until she's a bit older maybe.

Anything that's 100% peanuts should be absolutely fine ☺️ mine loves sharing my peanut butter on toast in the mornings!

But yes, palm oil in large amounts really isn't good for them. I'm not sure why it's legal to have it in doggy products like that as it can make some dogs so poorly.

Aldi do a 100% peanut butter one that's nice and cheap.

Don't give them too much either!

I'm roasting the pumpkins today for dog food so if you have one it makes a great Kong filler

We are just going through this with our 9 month old. He was always really good but has now decided he wants to chew anything, sofa cushions, carpet, shoes. Hes around 40kg already with a fair amount of growing to do so it's pretty stressful. We had a raisin incident, he ate 3 raisins (we guessed it was only a few) and vet said he still needed to be made to vomit. Cost nearly £800 due to his size and the fact it was out of hours. He eats anything whether it is edible or not, he has eaten arms and legs off cuddly toys, a poo bag filled with poo and well basically anything he can fit in his mouth!

I am really hoping he grows out of it. He can reach everything so we have to work very hard to keep stuff away from him. He stays in one room (large open plan) and the kitchen section has a stair gate now also. I am dreading Christmas.

We cant use the lickimats anymore, he has eaten 4 of them even the harder ones, also snuffle mat he rips stuff off them. Kongs work really well but I struggle filling them, I think I need to be organised and put stuff a few of them and freeze them.

Oh my goodness @FlirtyMelons Your puppy sounds so stressful. I really hope he grows out if it for you really quickly.

Thank you, luckily its only for a very short time each day (mainly early evenings, same time as when toddlers are a nightmare lol). Rest of the time he is super calm and people can't believe he's only a puppy still, they don't see the other side of him!! I WFH and he just chills all day, saves it all for when DH comes home.

What I do with the dogs that steal that I look after is don't run or shout or anything to let them know they've got something I want back (often a sock!), I just walk casually up then hold onto their collar and if possible also hold onto the item and just sit next to them saying nothing. It's no fun for them as they can't do anything with the item, they're not getting any fun attention and they let go after a few seconds. They're normally just letting me know that I'm not following their routine to the letter!

After a couple of close calls regarding chocolate (a sealed box of chocolates in the bottom of a suitcase with clothes on top of it, on a blanket box, is apparently not safe enough), he's now got a whole new game with chocolate. Anything he finds he prances madly around the house with, dashes in and out a few times, then throws it at my feet. Obviously I tell him he's a very good boy, then go and shout at whatever child has inadvertently left one lying around. That apparently is great fun and worth repeating.

It's a tricky stage, but they do grow out of it. The trick is to get really good at never leaving phones, remotes, pencils, glasses lying around. In your handbag = lying around, by the way.

Supervise constantly. Like kids, if they are quiet, they are likely up to something.

Be aware, they will catch you out. They will go an entire year without chewing a shoe, then they'll chew a visitor's one.

Some things you are never too old to enjoy, apparently.

He's just chewed up a bamboo knitting needle.