Arrrrgh

[Toby the Puppy]

Toby is seven months old now and is chewing up a storm. He chews EVERYTHING, well almost, so far he has left the furniture alone (touch wood). You name it he will steal it, hide under the piano with it (baby grand in a corner so I think he feels it is his cave) and chew it to shreds. He has so far chewed several shoes, my good leather glove, a really big cheque (another post) a leather wallet which he steals out of my purse whenever I forget to close it, anything he can scarf off the counters (including but not limited to entire loaves of bread, plastic bags, glasses, dishes, yoghurt containers, full tub of margarine, food scraps not yet put into the organics bin), my husbands brand new golf pants still in the shopping bag, plastic bags from the newspapers, newspapers that I haven't even read yet, an entire jar of fish food, my cell phone etc. etc. etc. All of these things are not laying around on the floor either he can get what he wants from anywhere. I know the advice is going to be to not have these things be accessible to him but I would really like to teach him that he can't do this. Any advice on how to go about that? So far I scold him and take the object away, if it is really bad I will put him in his crate or tie him up in whatever room I am in with his leash and Gentle Leader (which he hates). I have three kids plus the hubby and I have told them all over and over not to leave anything they don't want chewed laying around. Our house isn't that messy but aside from having a totally sterile and empty environment I don't know what else to do. I feel that it is somewhat of a game for Toby as well. He will grab something and take off for the piano, but if I don't follow him right away he will sometimes come back to see me and make sure I notice he has something he shouldn't, then if I try to approach him he will take off for the piano again. He has lots of chew toys, bones, balls, squeaky's etc. He really only spends time chewing on rawhide and I don't want to give him that too often. He can go through a large rawhide roll in less than an hour and I don't think that is good for his tummy. I have tried Nylabones but he won't go for them.

If anyone has any advice I would be very grateful. If I just have to ride this out until he gets a bit older that would be ok to hear as well. I just need to know that it will stop!!

Sorry this got so long.

 

P.S. He does get plenty of exercise. He will be starting another obedience class next week and we have the number of a local person who teaches herding so maybe that will help. Also, he will be starting agility training in a couple of months.

[shelb'smum]

I have no great advice,

But I am so sorry! I had to laugh at some of the things he chews!!

like the fish food!! Wicket will eat it if I leave it out.

 

I have never had an issue with chewing, both of mine are very good about that, and if I do ever catch them with a prohibited item they get a stern "drop it" and "leave it" comand. then that object goes in the middle of the floor where we repet the leave it command until they understand that they are not to touch that object. and of course praise for learning.

the best thing you can do is puppy proof everything, and watch him like a hawk. when I would leave the apartment my Ex would never pay attetion and i'd get home to things strewn everywhere, but after he moved out and I took complete charge, I just watched them made sure they didn't pee / poo / steal / anything else harmful to them or I, I can now trust them to be in a seperate room.

[Cynthia P]

A crate when he can't be supervised....but you know that....

 

I thought I was over that with my 14 month old BC puppy Preacher but I had him loose in the house (ours are almost always crated until they are at least 2) while I was on a conference call and he chewed my husband's muck boot shoe.

 

One of the things I find works most of the time (besides being fanatically neat...which I am not) is teaching them to give. Trade them for an item of "whatever" for a cookie....pretty soon they'll be cleaning up the house and bringing things to you. One of my older dogs just keeps bringing things to me...I end up with a big pile of misc items just outside my office during the day.

 

If he has a favourite thing to chew on that is "out of bounds" put some bitter apple on it.

 

You can also take a kong and put cream cheese or peanut butter and freeze the kong(so it lasts longer); Gives him something he is allowed to chew.

 

Supervision and time, especially supervision will cure the chewing.

 

Good luck.

 

Cynthia

 

Pam 7 y.o. BC

Libby 3 y.o. BC

Dixie 4 y.o. BC

Preacher 1 y.o. BC

Mist & Tate 10 m.o. yesterday

Boomer, 8 y.o. ACD

Mia & Sergeant 9 y.o. GS

Maggie 6 y.o. GS

and the white dogs and the sheep

[Maralynn]

Kipp is 2 y/o and still enjoys chewing. If he can grab it, he'll try to chew it. The other night he (all 29# of him) dragged a full 2 liter pop bottle to the middle of the room and started gnawing away - It was immediately taken away!

 

Right now I do supervision and crating with Kipp. I also do "leave it" and "come" with him. "Leave it" is said in a growly voice, and he gets an "oops" look on his face. At the second I follow up with a cheerful "come" - something that almost always gets him a treat or a toy - and he usually trots right over to me for his reward.

[quicksilver]

Hmmm my youngest collie (a bitch) chewed things up until she was pretty much 18 months old. Nickname 'Monster Munch'.

[Anda]

HAHAHAHA, reading your despreate thread made me laugh (sorry ) just because it resembles so much my own Ouzo... Especially the part about making sure you notice what he's stolen and that you are chasing him. It's all a game for him. I usualy check to see what Ouzo has stollen, and if it's not of high value, I try to ignore it. And then he comes and shoes me what he has, and I just tell him "so what... I don't care..." The puzzled look on his face is priceless! Then I ask him for something else, a toy, so he has to drop whatever he has in his mouth and pick up the other one. He then gets a treat for bringing me the toy. Sometimes things become a wild chase, especially if it's something like a bill that I was trying to pay, or underware (if I don't get to it on time, it's gone ). He's getting better and better, but he still steals something at least a few times a week. "Leave it " works pretty good, unless he decides it's his evil day then he jumps up and down in the bed in anticipation of the chase. That's when either I close the bedroom door and catch him, and praise him after he releases the object (sometimes I have to fish in his mouth for chewed pieces of paper - he hides them and tries to swallow them fast before I catch him). Sometimes I ignore him and then he comes disapointed and finally drops it.

 

Ohhh, one more thing that I did with him and got my revenge!

 

He has a fascination with shoes, especially my husband's tennis shoes. So I constantly find them in the middle of the livingroom, taken from a room. I was pissed one morning when I saw him in the bathroom mirror (I was getting ready for work) run for the 4th time with the same shoe and look at me in the mirror, to provoke me to a chase. So I went and told him to fetch the shoe and put it back where he took it from. MIRACLE! It worked! He took the entire size 12 shoe and put it back. He did try to act as if it was too heavy for him to carry it all the way, but I knew better that he can reach high speeds carring that shoe So now, whenever I find shoes moved in the house, I get Ouzo to put them back.

 

P.S. Last week I yelled at him and told him to put the shoes back only to find out that he wasn't at fault, it was my dear husband who left them in the livingroom

 

It will get better, but with a lot of consitency, something I was guilty of not applying... At 7 months, Ouzo was a tornado on the move. Now, at 17, he's a storm which can be predicted. Maybe I just learned to read the sign before the storm begins!

[sharkie]

Same here with the shoes! we put all our shoes in the garage now. Skye is a constant chewer and biter and when she gets excited we tell her: "Skye, go get your mumu".

 

 

It's funny because she now knows that when she's excited she'll carry the cow around in her mouth. Oh btw it makes moos when she bites it and that's how we know where she is around the house

[Anda]

Maralyn, we posted at the same time. Reading about Kipp made me have to mention: remember Ouzo is the specialist in opening brand new two litter bottles of soda! If given the opportunity, he easily drags the bottles from the kitchen in the livingroom, where he proceeds to open them ) Coke on a light carpet... wonderful...... Plus the plastic bags they came in. Or the brand new poopy bags (!) if they happen to fall from our pokets.... I had awaken to a green livingroom, he shredded at least two bags last night!

[Anda]

Sharike, we have the same cow!!! It stopped Moo-ing, but it's still intact! I think this one is called "Vaca" (Romanian for cow). Because he already has a "Cow" and a "Moo"

[sharkie]

Sharike, we have the same cow!!! It stopped Moo-ing, but it's still intact! I think this one is called "Vaca" (Romanian for cow). Because he already has a "Cow" and a "Moo"

Oo you do!? that cows real tough and i was wondering what would happen if the batteries went dead

[Maralynn]

Maralyn, we posted at the same time. Reading about Kipp made me have to mention: remember Ouzo is the specialist in opening brand new two litter bottles of soda! If given the opportunity, he easily drags the bottles from the kitchen in the livingroom, where he proceeds to open them ) Coke on a light carpet... wonderful...... Plus the plastic bags they came in. Or the brand new poopy bags (!) if they happen to fall from our pokets.... I had awaken to a green livingroom, he shredded at least two bags last night!

 

 

That's funny! Missy is good. We can have a bag of trash set to go to the dumpster and leave it sitting next to the door all morning, and she wouldn't dream of touching it. If she wants to play she gets her ball. But chew on things? never! Kipp is opportunistic. If he can grab something, he goes for it. Last night we ate dinner out on the deck and put our steak scraps on a plate on the picnic table. Two minutes later I look over and guess who is on top of the table helping himself?

[Toby the Puppy]

We do 'leave it' or 'drop it'. If the item is highly valued he will still run with it (more work needed on those commands). He will drop the object when I ask him but only after I have climbed under the piano to look him in the eye. I bet it looks pretty funny from behind. And I am sure he is laughing at me too!! I used to try trading for a treat but felt that he was escalating the behaviour to get the treat, it was the same for the counter surfing. I used a clicker to try to teach 'off', meaning get your big puppy paws off my counter. He learned 'off' rather quickly but was 'up' constantly because he knew he would be told 'off' and then get a treat for doing it.

Shelb'smum, I am going to try putting the stolen object on the floor and teaching 'leave it'. That may work because he is pretty good at leave it when I put little treats on his paws right in front of his nose. We were having a few people over once and I was demonstrating his amazing abilities. My husband dared me to try it with some of the roast beef we had had for dinner. Everyone was quite impressed (me too!!) when he left the juicy roast beef just sitting on his paws inches from his nose!! And he did get a different treat for being such a good boy.

Hopefully he will grow out of it like my first BC did. You could put your plate of food on the floor and she wouldn't dream of touching it. Poor Toby has a long way to go to live up to her, but I know he can do it.

[BCMomma]

Don't know what to tell you because Rudi our 10 year old BC chews blankets into ponchos......STILL! I stuff the dog beds with them now but we have several blankets with perfect round holes in the middle!! And she has had this facination with the fold on the top sheets - there was a time we didn't own a set of sheets without holes or the top fold-over chewed completely off. We now keep our blankets in a storage crate with a lid but we feel lucky that she didn't take to the leather couches.

 

She never chewed anything other than her toys when she was little but we kept her in a crate (when she didn't break out like Houdini) most of the time or was supervised and kept busy. We kept baby gates in doorways of rooms that we off limits and puppy-proofed the house pretty good.

 

Good luck, just maybe try the bait and switch with tasty treats.

[SincereArtisan]

Have you tried blocking off the piano? Making it so he is unable to access that part of the house? Maybe being uable to retreat to his safe place will make the game less fun.

 

A good scolding when you catch them with something they shouldn't have and a 5 minute time out is what I do. Then, upon letting them back out, I give them a toy that is acceptable to chew on, get them very interested in it, maybe play a little keep away, and permit them to run off and do as they wish with it....but keep an eye on 'em.

 

Maybe you should work on ''setting him up'' to steal your wallet, or a shoe laying around. Place you open purse in the middle of the living room, then let the monster in. If he tried getting into your purse, tel him to leave it. If he doesn't, up the punishment a little and scold him. And get LOUD. I pitch a verbal fit when I catch my dogs in the middle of something they really shouldn't be doing, (example: "repotting" plants, kitty box snacking, counter surfing...etc.) Yell, stomp, run up on them, act totally DISGUSTED. I typically follow that with a time-out, or I leash them and glue them to my hip for the next 20 minutes or so, and every time they lay down I get up and move. The leash tactic is easier to do at the park, when they do something unacceptable there, because I'm walking around anyway, and they'd MUCH rather be playing with all the other dogs.

[jackpine]

Have you tried blocking off the piano? Making it so he is unable to access that part of the house? Maybe being uable to retreat to his safe place will make the game less fun.

 

A good scolding when you catch them with something they shouldn't have and a 5 minute time out is what I do. Then, upon letting them back out, I give them a toy that is acceptable to chew on, get them very interested in it, maybe play a little keep away, and permit them to run off and do as they wish with it....but keep an eye on 'em.

 

Maybe you should work on ''setting him up'' to steal your wallet, or a shoe laying around. Place you open purse in the middle of the living room, then let the monster in. If he tried getting into your purse, tel him to leave it. If he doesn't, up the punishment a little and scold him. And get LOUD. I pitch a verbal fit when I catch my dogs in the middle of something they really shouldn't be doing, (example: "repotting" plants, kitty box snacking, counter surfing...etc.) Yell, stomp, run up on them, act totally DISGUSTED. I typically follow that with a time-out, or I leash them and glue them to my hip for the next 20 minutes or so, and every time they lay down I get up and move. The leash tactic is easier to do at the park, when they do something unacceptable there, because I'm walking around anyway, and they'd MUCH rather be playing with all the other dogs.

 

 

OK, I've been reading this thread and have laughed. Lots of really funny stuff. But I've, at the same time, been wondering: why, oh why would you let your dogs do what they do if you didn't really, underneath, somehow, think it was ok and cute. I will most likely get clobbered again here, but really....If you didn't get something out of their chewing on things you supposedly don't want them to chew on, then why are your dogs continuing to do it?

 

You are allowing them to chew on these things, whether you are aware of it or not, they certainly are. You are playing the game as much as they are. Actually, you are teaching them how to play it.

 

There is no way in hell that I'm going to let my dog chew on stuff that I don't want him to chew on. When my Jack was about four months old, he chewed up a first edition book, then my friend's prize running shoe and a bit later, about six months old, the leather strap on my birkenstock.

 

I did puppy proof, this is a reasonable thing to do, for safety sake, but I don't puppy proof to the extent that I can't have my things around. My new BC, Bucky is four months and he loves to chew. Ok, he gets lots to chew on, but he knows already what is permissible and what is not. He does grab things that he knows that he can't have, but when he does I let him know that those things are Not permissible. And because I really mean it, he understands.

Simply because I mean it! They always understand when you really mean it.

 

Whatever you want or allow your dog to do, that's ok. You make the rules, remember. Just don't say that you don't want him to do something and then say, oh, look at how he does it anyway. Isn't that cute, how do I stop it.

[jackpine]

OK, I've been reading this thread and have laughed. Lots of really funny stuff. But I've, at the same time, been wondering: why, oh why would you let your dogs do what they do if you didn't really, underneath, somehow, think it was ok and cute. I will most likely get clobbered again here, but really....If you didn't get something out of their chewing on things you supposedly don't want them to chew on, then why are your dogs continuing to do it?

 

You are allowing them to chew on these things, whether you are aware of it or not, they certainly are. You are playing the game as much as they are. Actually, you are teaching them how to play it.

 

There is no way in hell that I'm going to let my dog chew on stuff that I don't want him to chew on. When my Jack was about four months old, he chewed up a first edition book, then my friend's prize running shoe and a bit later, about six months old, the leather strap on my birkenstock.

 

I did puppy proof, this is a reasonable thing to do, for safety sake, but I don't puppy proof to the extent that I can't have my things around. My new BC, Bucky is four months and he loves to chew. Ok, he gets lots to chew on, but he knows already what is permissible and what is not. He does grab things that he knows that he can't have, but when he does I let him know that those things are Not permissible. And because I really mean it, he understands.

Simply because I mean it! They always understand when you really mean it.

 

Whatever you want or allow your dog to do, that's ok. You make the rules, remember. Just don't say that you don't want him to do something and then say, oh, look at how he does it anyway. Isn't that cute, how do I stop it.

 

 

Forgot to say that that birkenstock strap was the last thing my Jack ever chewed on that wasn't permitted. He learned what was ok and what was not because I was firm about what was ok and what was not, and I meant it.

 

They are smarter than us in many ways. They know the difference between when we mean it and when we sort of mean it.

 

BTW: I'm having no trouble at all teaching Bucky what is ok to chew on and what is not. He understands where I'm coming from. But only because I know where I'm coming from.

[rossie]

Buzz is prone to making things into games where he wins by getting my attention. For example, jumping on me so I say off adn look at him. Or picking things up so that I go over to him and say leave it and take it from him and give him something else. My trainer pointed out this dynamic and since then I've been making sure that Buzz doesn't get any sort of reward for doing negative behaviors. If he jumps on me, I don't look at him, I walk into him and get in his space (he no longer jumps on me). If he picks up something he's not supposed to have, I walk near him and take it from him without looking at him or talking to him. If you think Toby's motivation is similar & that he does understand what he's supposed to be doing, I would advise you to follow a similar plan: do not let it be an interaction. Be a robot remedying the situation and then moving on. No eye contact, no unnecessary touch, no commands.

[jackpine]

Buzz is prone to making things into games where he wins by getting my attention. For example, jumping on me so I say off adn look at him. Or picking things up so that I go over to him and say leave it and take it from him and give him something else. My trainer pointed out this dynamic and since then I've been making sure that Buzz doesn't get any sort of reward for doing negative behaviors. If he jumps on me, I don't look at him, I walk into him and get in his space (he no longer jumps on me). If he picks up something he's not supposed to have, I walk near him and take it from him without looking at him or talking to him. If you think Toby's motivation is similar & that he does understand what he's supposed to be doing, I would advise you to follow a similar plan: do not let it be an interaction. Be a robot remedying the situation and then moving on. No eye contact, no unnecessary touch, no commands.

 

 

sounds like a good plan. And might work for many. But each dog is different, as is is each owner. Technique is only as good as what works. Understanding and will are the prime movers. And your will needs to be stronger than your dogs.

[Lunar]

sounds like a good plan. And might work for many. But each dog is different, as is is each owner. Technique is only as good as what works. Understanding and will are the prime movers. And your will needs to be stronger than your dogs.

 

I totally agree with this!

 

We have a chewer. Or he used to be a chewer. Our shepherd... we got him at a year old and by the time he was two he had destroyed pretty much our whole house. (Most of it occurred before hubby agreed that a crate was not inhumane and in fact REQUIRED with this dog!)

 

But dogs chew for so many different reasons. Zeeke is an anxiety chewer. He had seperation anxiety and he also had impulse control issues (okay he still has some of those!).... so in any situation where he was either frustrated (wasn't allowed to do something) or anxious (left alone) he would grab the nearest thing at hand and destroy it. We solved that by getting him a crate, which not only prevented him from accessing things but it actually changed the mental process behind the behavior... he feels safe in his crate, and his seperation anxiety has gone down to almost nothing.

 

He still loves tissues though. If there is a tissue left anywhere eye-level or lower it WILL get ripped to shreds, no questions asked. The "DROP IT!!" command has been wonderful.

 

Zoe on the other hand chews out of boredom... it's just what she does to occupy herself. Stopping her inappropriate chewing was as easy as removing the contraband and replacing it with a chew-toy. Problem solved. Once in a while she will find something strange in the back of a closet and chew it before I find her with it, but once I tell her that it's off-limits and point out a toy she rarely goes back to it. I just have lots of chew-toys scattered around the house.

[Beth G]

Yeah these guys can be quite inventive when they want something. Everytime he chews a No-no item, I would just take it out of his mouth and say, "NO!" sternly(this works good as these guys are very sensitive) and give him the object that you desire him to chew. Like a nylabone bone, tasty treat-filled kong-etc. It's all about repetition and consistency. Good luck!

[BCMomma]

Our Rudi was a sneaky chewer when it came to the sheets. She would appear to be sleeping on the bed but was actually lying on top of the damaged area!

 

Sure we were enablers but I'd rather buy new sheets than furniture! And she didn't develop the sheet/blanket chewing habit till she was 9!

 

But for the most part, giving lots of chew toys and puppy proofing worked for the younger years.