deputy865 Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 My name is Shane and mu BC's name is Maverick. He's about 1 1/4 years old.. Okay my problem is.... If he gets let out of his cage and no one is home or everyone is sleeping he will go and chew things up, mainly shoes (like today). He has ruined 2 pairs of $80 shoes as well as other peoples shoes. The reason we have a cage for him is because he chew's sutff up, and we lock him up everytime everyone is going to be gone, or we leave him outside...What can i do to prevent him from chewing stuff up if he gets left out of his cage in the house? Its becoming a makor problem with me. Is it because he gets bored?? Please help me out...I'm open for anything (but giving him away, for as much as he does i still love em'!) Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileyzookie Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 How much exercise does he get? BC's tend to need a lot of exercise. My guess is that he's bored. I wouldnt let him out of the crate until someone is there. For instance, while you sleep and are gone he should be crated - this does not mean you shouldnt exercise him. In my opinion hes got a lot of energy that needs burnt and he's basically frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SincereArtisan Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Consider keeping your shoes somewhere inaccessable for him. Also, try going out and getting some chew toys that are OK for him to chew up. They have a wide variety of treat balls out there to keep your pooch busy, and buying a collection of them would be cheaper than replacing another $80 pair of shoes. Check out Kong recipees, and get him a few Kongs to keep him busy while you're gone. There is also the Everlasting Treat Ball and rawhides to consider... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg's mum Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Shane, welcome to the boards. From your comments, I get the feeling that you may not have been adequately prepared for the furry maniac you have running around your home. Rather than give you the full couch treatment, try this: a) use bitter apple or bitter orange on the items that are most at risk. don't put your shoes or at risk itmes where the pup can get them c) make sure that whatever you're doing to make it possible for the puppy to get out of the crate when not intended stops d) give your pup roughly two hours of combined exercise, play and brain work. e) take you and the puppy to obedience training school. Classes given by the SPCA and continuing education groups are generally very cheap. Now the pitch: Go to Border Collie Rescue http://www.bcrescue.org/articles/index.html when you have quiet devoted time. Then come back here and read our archives. Keep talking to us and stick around and we will help you through the sea change that will occur when you realie that you do not have a dog. You have a lifestyle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy865 Posted August 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Okay, so get him lots of chew toys, and more exersize...I have another problem though, I dont know if this is common, but Maverick is very skiddish and gets scared easily and hide's somtimes when he's inside, anyway i can pre vent this?? I try shutting all the doors so he cant go into the rooms, and put up a gate in the basement, but he opens the doors and push's the gate open...Any way i can help him on not being kind of wimpy? Thanks Shane P.S. i think it was Meg's mum that said to give him brain work, how do i do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Brain work = teach him to do tricks. Try these sites: http://www.loveyourdog.com/tricks.html http://www.thedogtricks.com/index-3A.html (or if he knows these, then go to the next one): http://www.thedogtricks.com/index-3B.html http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie...2/indexorg.html You could also try clicker training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg's mum Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Shane, Brain work for a border collie means solving problems, it isn't just tricks. Activities like learning proper behavior, being very gradually challenged to stay or wait longer, just to the point but not beyond the point where stress starts to show: That little look that means pups about to whine and yawn. Meg and I play hide and seek ALOT. I had her toys in the long grass and watch her run search patterns. We use hot hot hot and cold cold cold to help her. You can do this in the house as well. The most important aspect of all of this is to work with her. But to effectivley do that you need to learn a few training skills like NILIF. (Nothing in life is for free) THAT IS HARD TO DO!!!!. Since you have a 'soft' dog. There are lots of things written about working with one of them. Some basic principles apply however: Be soft with your dog, get rid of emotion and bite your tongue, learn to correct pup calmly. BUT don't comfort them. I suspect that your little pooch is acting out of anxiety in being destructive, and is in general fearful. Did you get them from a rescue or the pound or did you raise them? Heidi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Betsy, thanks for those links! Already tried a couple of tricks, and four minutes later, Ouzo now knows to "bow" and enjoys "turn around" (we still have to work on it, he thinks he's supposed to turn around and try kicking the treat out of my hand at every 90 degree angle of his complete 360 turn ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwilliams Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 hot sauce or black pepper will help him stop chewing on things it work with abby. if we caught her in the act she would be corrected their with a paper or with a deep tone in my voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunar Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 If he gets let out of his cage and no one is home or everyone is sleeping he will go and chew things upIt sounds like you answered your own question, to me. The simplest rule (and hardest to follow, alas) of puppies is not to give them a chance to misbehave. If you can't be actively watching him, put him in his crate. Puppies chew things, it's just unfortunately what they do - and at a little over 1 year old he's still not past that, obviously. We have a 3 year old dog who still can't be trusted loose. They must earn that priviledge over time, by showing you that they aren't going to destroy shoes and furniture when you're out or sleeping. Is there a particular reason why you can't do this? Or is it just because you feel bad about "locking him up"? My husband felt like that... until Zeeke got into the garbage one day, ripped it open all over the house, then got very very sick all over the bed. It's honestly safer for them to be crated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie+Tess&Kipp Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 I think an obedience or basic manners class will help you out a lot. My own two border collies get plenty of exercise. We do training (obedience, tricks, agility, etc.) and we go hiking, running, and walking. We also practice (and heavily reward!) quiet behavior in the house and use of appropriate chew toys. And when we are sleeping or gone, the dogs stay in their crates. When my dogs were puppies, I kept them on leash or on a tether or baby-gated into my office where I could keep an eye on them. If they went to chew the wrong thing, I took it away and gave them the right thing. This took awhile, but they seemed to get it eventually. Some people control every resource, but at my house, we have dog toys EVERYWHERE. It did not start out like this (to help them with object discrimination--i.e., you may chew this item but none of these other items) but now they know what they can play with and what they can't, so we leave several toys out, in every room. This way they always have an appropriate thing to chew on or play with. Hope that helps some. Allie + Tess & Kipp http://weebordercollie.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Originally posted by stwilliams:hot sauce or black pepper will help him stop chewing on things it work with abby. if we caught her in the act she would be corrected their with a paper or with a deep tone in my voice. Be careful with your corrections since you say Maverick is skittish and fearful. You don't want to add to his worries and make him think he needs to run when you approach. You can calmly give "time outs" (put in crate for 5 or 10 minutes) which is a major drag for any puppy on a seek and destroy mission Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie etc Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Shane - "you ain't seen nuthin yet"! I had a Golden Retriever - one that I raised from birth- who chewed/ate probably $1000 worth of shoes and leather riding boots over her lifetime. She had a true leather shoe fettish. (And the more expensive or irreplaceable the better -I swear she'd sort through a pile of shoes/boots at the back door, ignore the Walmart leather sneakers and chew the Nike's!) Wilma lived a nice long life otherwise, was a model citizen and was very competitive in obedience and agility. Her shoe chewing was not from boredom, she truly had OCD about leather shoes. Our whole family just had to learn to keep their shoes locked up, and/or crate Wilma when we couldn't be there supervising her as a pup. My advise to you is to do the same - I'd also teach your pup the "exchange game"- if you see him going for a shoe when you are there, call him to you happily, take the shoe away and give him something else to chew in exchange. Do not beat him with a newspaper or yell, as that will just make him a "Closet Chewer" (he'll sneak off with the shoe and hide to chew on it). I like to use the thick "Bully Sticks" (not the wimpy ones that can be quickly gulped down), or Kongs stuffed with something tasty, or raw knuckle bones (messy, but most dogs really like to chew on them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy865 Posted August 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 He is a closet chewer. What kind of treats should i get him, little one's or what? I want to start teaching him tricks, but he's young and is very energetic and cant sit still for very long. I'm going to go out and buy him alot fo chew toys i guess. Should i give him any toys while he's crated to keep him busy? thanks guys and gals, you have been most helpful! Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Shane: 1 1/4 years old is not at all too young to teach "tricks". Pups as early as 3 months are easily trained for the basic "tricks". Check the links that Betsy posted above. You'll find that it's so easy to teach Maverick a lot of fun things to do, and maybe that will keep him more entretained than chewing on your shoes (No guarantee, he might do all the tricks you show him, AND chew on you stuff ). Get him some bones to chew on, you can buy them at any pet store, or even Walmart, knuckle bones (about $2-3), or other hard stuff. It's trial and error until you find exactly what he likes best. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Buy a couple kongs and fill them with peanut butter, yogurt or even wet down his food and freeze it. You can put one in his crate when you leave. Buy some bones and other tough toys that cannot be easily destroyed. You can even buy some cheap stuffed toys and SUPERVISE the destruction and make sure he does not swallow the stuffing. My dogs love them but they only last a couple minutes but they are great fun. You can also use this time to teach not to destroy them... He is more than older enough to learn many things. I start training tricks and such when they are quite young. He needs to learn to pay attention and at this point you need probably need some nice smelly/yummy treats that will help keep his attention on you... You should sign him up for obedience class so they can help you teach him. Some places also have trick classes... Sounds like you have your hands full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flrpwr52 Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 "but he's young and is very energetic and cant sit still for very long." Shane that's your biggest problem. He needs to get more exercise. Long walks, play frisbee or ball then have a short training session. If he has all this pent up energy I don't see how he will be able to concentrate. Take him for a walk. I'd also be careful about what you give him in his crate when you are gone. You wouldn't want him to choke on something when your not around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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