Chewing

littlemack

What has everyone done for chewing. I just came to the realization that I have a major chewer on my hands and she has single handedly ruined my coffee table, end tables, dining room chairs, love seat ottaman, and the list continues, 

She finds a piece of string hanging and goes crazy, typically she does all this in the few minutes it takes for me to go to the restroom or check the mail. 

advice. 

pumagirl

Good luck!! We now have a deal going with the local pet store. We buy a toy and then return it and let them know how long it took Puma to destroy it. We get discounts on the next toy. Have yet to find one she can't tear apart.

Djammy

I honestly think that there is no such thing as the "indestructible toy". And if there is, something else will get destroyed ... such as the teeth for example.

Training is a much less expensive and much more effective way to show a dog that dismembering things is not their only purpose of being on this world.

They just need to learn that.

And of course never let your guard down, monitor and manage - because after all no matter how smart they are, they are still dogs with instincts and irrational ideas. They don't have the same values in things as we have and they are just crazy curious. Who can blame them? If I had only one mouth to use as my "hand" and 24hrs a day worth of time, I'd probably start examining things and killing time by chewing, too.  

Until the training shows effect, reorganize the home a little. Put away chewable stuff. Buy a kennel or cage or dedicate a special room without chewable furniture in it to the dog during your short absences.

Over the day provide chew treats, enough exercise and plenty of toys under supervision.

Provide diversion by just taking the dog with you to the mail box.

It may just be a quick walk, but it is still something happening for the dog. Plus the dog does not stay alone unsupervised.

Only allow supervised access to furniture and things that the dog is not supposed to chew on. Train and establish a solid "leave it" command and use that every time you catch the dog trying to manipulate things it is not supposed to. Praise for and treat "leaving" those things with something yummy. Stop the behavior at the earliest signs in its roots already.

Everything becomes so easy and falls into place, once we stop expecting our dogs to know what we want and start showing it to them plus accept that they need time to understand and learn.

Titan626

Kong has some really great products for chewing, Titan is in his teething phase still so we pretty much have their whole line for puppies. He's gone through most of them though and a few chew sticks but he loves the simple things the most. Paper, string, his leash, my lanyard, his towel, the rugs. He likes to lick our cabinet sometimes too, he will just go for a good 5 minutes if I don't catch it in time. But other than that hes been chewing less though the more we take him out to play. We do a lot of fetch, tug-o-war, and he loves chasing my cats string toys around the house...makes me wonder if I got a cat or a BT sometimes  :-? If he's an older dog, he could be bored so try going through some basic training with him to keep his mind stimulated as well, that can also help. The posted above already made some really good points like praising your dog for "leaving" things alone, but with consistency and persistence things should work out in the end!

Djammy

@Titan626

They sure behave pretty "cattish" now and then. You've got a point here. I often even call my dog "cat-dog", because she cuddles like one, sneaks around like one and likes to chase tiny toys in a very cat-like manner.

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