Puppy chewing

[Amandine]

My 7 mo. puppy, Boomer (I have yet to post pics of him), is driving DH and I batty. He and Edgar wake me up around 7-7:30, and I let them outside to play and lounge on our screened in porch while I am getting ready or catching a few more zzzzs. Well, despite my best efforts at providing acceptable chews for him, he gets into everything on the porch. I''ve already lost a couple plants to his chewing, he puts his front paws on the table or dresser (filled with dog towels) on the porch and pulls stuff off to chew on...and worst of all, he has been chewing our wicker furniture. I have been spraying the furniture with a watered down vinegar solution, but it just doesn''t last long.

So, I am looking for solutions/suggestions for something to spray on the furniture (and perhaps the plants, till I find a tall enought plant stand). I know they make the bitter spray you can puchase at pet stores, and I know its very similiar to the vinegar I am using. Does anyone know if it lasts longer, though? Also, and suggestions as to keep-the-puppy busy toys would be great, too. I already use rawhide and other bones that I fill with peanut butter, but I guess they only preoccupy him for so long. I do have to be careful that its not anything that will incite doggie jealousy, too...as they play with the same toys. I''ve looked at the balls/toys that release treats, etc. as they are rolled around or played with, but I am concerned that one would get jealous of the other when this is being used. I know I could purchase two, but they (of course) always seem to want what the other has.

 

[Haven]

How are you training him?

We''ve been training Bailee so that she understands that she doesn''t "own" anything. We don''t leave her toys laying around for her, we give them to her and then put them away when she''s done playing. We correct her immediately if she chews on something, and if she does it when we''re not around, we leave it out so we can "catch" her doing it so we can correct her with that. Basically, she needs to understand that she can''t chew on anything unless we give it to her to play with.

It isn''t easy. She chewed up my cell phone a few weeks ago, so she was doing well and then had a relapse of sorts, but we''re working on it.

We''ve read the Dog Whisperer books, and I know he''s controversial, but his methods have worked really well for us.

 

[Amandine]

We do leave the toys out, but only in the house. Well, we have a basket that they all go into every night. When they are outside, they only have a rawhide if I put one out there with them, and the two bones that I put peanut butter in. I don''t have as much trouble with him in the house, its usually our fault if we left something out we know he is interested in chewing on (flip-flops, for example). When I catch him with something I don''t want him chewing on, I take it away and replace it immediately with an approriate chew toy. Edgar was into everything at his age, too, and has grown out of it--so I have hope that some of it is just the normal curiosity and chewing that comes with being a puppy (and teething--I know that not all of his adult teeth are in yet).

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Adult teeth come in around the 5 month mark, so Boomer has all of his adult teeth. I have a 7-month-old pup at home, too, and he wasn''t mouthy when his adult teeth were coming in, but has started becoming a bit more interested in chewing. I feed raw bones every day, which definitely helps, but we''ve had to find other things to satisfy his chewing urges as well.

This is just speculation on my part, but I think that their teeth continue to bother them until they completely "drop", if that makes sense. My dog''s head still has some growing to do and his adult teetch protrude maybe a little less than an inch, but still have about a half of an inch left to go. I think he''ll continue to want to chew until he''s about a year--his head will still grow after that, but it will be large enough for all of his teeth to completely come in.

What we do to keep him from chewing is:
1. Keep him tired! We have both of our dogs in a playgroup so they can play for 1.5 hours in the middle of the day. Our pup is best friends with a lab who matches his energy level, and they play and swim until it''s time to come home. Most nights, the pup is ready for round two (better to break up sessions for a pup who is still growing), so after work I take him for another hour. This keeps him well-exercised, that way I know any chewing is not out of boredom, which is the main reason dogs chew.

2. Keep trying different types of chew-toys. Our pup doesn''t love most of them, but he''ll contently chew on a kong if there is a treat inside. I use a frozen peanut butter/banana combo becuase it keeps him entertained or awhile. If it''s not edible, my boy isn''t interested.

3. Use bitter apple on places he likes to chew. I would guess your vinegar solution is very similar, but I''m just wondering if Bitter Apple might work better? I saw some teeth marks on our crown moulding two weeks ago and sprayed and he hasn''t touched it since...

Also, one last thing...does he usually chew at the same time every day? I noticed that our pup only wanted to chew on stuff at night if he didn''t go out for a second walk/outting. I knew that the cause was boredom, so as soon as we started consistenly going on a second outting in the evenings, the chewing stopped. A friend of mine had a dog that only chewed when she was gone, so she knew it was a result of some separation anxiety. One friend noticed her pup only chewed after a meal, so she increased her dog''s food and the chewing completely stopped.

 

[lala2332]

bitter apple is amazing stuff. Also, Winston liked to chew/eat leaves...he didn''t have PICA, just curious, so I would saturate a little leaf with bitter apple and leave it somewhere where I knew he would find it....cured him of his curiosity.

Also, our trainer taught us this trick. We screamed every time W got near anything that he looked like he would chew, usually shoes. We didn''t scream at him, just in a high pitched way that would startle and distract him. and then once he wasn''t interested in teh shoe anymore we would call him over and play and love on him. He didn''t like the high yell and learned not to go near that stuff....i.e. shoes. His breed isn''t known for chewing, so we may have been lucky that it worked really quickly.
The yell also worked well for when he would nip at us when playing. It would startle him and he would realize that he had gotten finger with the rope and now he is great and very good at having a soft mouth.

 

[Amandine]

NewEnglandLady...

He does still have one tooth in the front coming in, and you are right about the teeth. This is from somewhere online, but it summarizes what I meant, "The chewing is normal for a large dog her age. The permanent teeth are loose when they come in, and have to be set in the jaw by chewing. The dog HAS to chew. At this stage -- which can last to around age 2 years -- she is not really able to always stop herself and go to her own toy to chew. She needs supervision to help her." (from a vet)

Its pretty much what my older dog, Edgar, went through. I do know about Bitter Apple, I worked at a Petco for several years (and read lots of training books and magazines) and the apple vinegar I use is pretty much the same thing, and both evaporate pretty quickly.

I do try to keep him tired. Some of it is simply playing with Edgar or running around with DH in the yard (fenced). We do go on walks, not daily however (but close)...I live in Atlanta and still work in retail, so the heat and humidity at the points in the day I can take them are not always conducive to a long walk--not so much for me, but for Edgar, my heavily furred dog. I''ve learned its just too much for him to go mid-day. I have read the Dog Whisperer books, and its one of the things he does that I really agree with. Its just a little frustrating when we get back from a walk and I''m tired, Edgar''s tired (he''s only 3 1/2) and Boomer is still raring to go.

Nothing like that puppy energy!

We do have have a number of chews, all of which I supervise when used except the really hard bone I put peanut butter in--rope toys, Nylabone, the really tough version of Nylabone, rawhide, rope with doggie tire...I know it doesn''t exist, but I keep wishing there was a end-all chew. Maybe I need one of those Harry Potter wands and a little magic to create that...

I know I just need to spend more time training, and just give it more time...but I can wish and dream of a quick fix, can''t I? I must be doing something right, ''cause Edgar turned out okay.

 

[deegee]

I have no advice, but I feel your pain. I have a 7-month old puppy too. She has chewed through 3 laptop power cords (all unplugged), the charger cord for my husband''s playstation 3 controller, 2 collars, 2 leashes, 1 walking harness, her food and water bowls, shoes, and lots of other stuff. One morning my husband left early for work and he baby-gated her in the family room. By the time I got down stairs, she had pulled the cushions off the couch and chewed a hole in the couch itself. She has plenty of toys and bones. We walk her every day and she also plays with the big dogs across the street every day. I have a book about basic training for puppies, but none of the suggestions in there have worked for the chewing. She licks the bitter sprays. Thankfully she is starting to settle down some. I wonder when I''ll feel comfortable leaving her all alone inside the house.

Good luck - and if you find anything that works, please post it!

 

[lyra]

My little 11 month old adoptee chihuahua is an avid chewer. We provide her with new toys frequently and she has a basket that is for her toys. I think some dogs remain active chewers for a long time. Provide your dogs with acceptable chew toys in that area of the house. Put them away when they are done. Lola loves rediscovering toys in her toy box. We get rid of worn toys too.

Lola can''t have anything extra in her diet, but the other 2 dogs like a product called Busy Bones, which are edible one-time use bones. They come in different sizes. All three dogs love the big real legbones (beef?), and will use them for months. I notice that Lola seems to use chewing as a stress relieving device perhaps. She calms right down when she chews. Maybe there is a connection?

We have a bitter spray, and it isn''t vinegar related. I know because we had to put it on the handle of the chair I sit in and I was constantly getting it on my fingers. Then if I ate something, I''d taste it! Yuck, it tastes like I imagine nail polish would taste like. It does seem to work though.

Good luck!

 

[Amandine]

Date: 7/16/2009 11:21:01 PM
Author: deegee
I have no advice, but I feel your pain. I have a 7-month old puppy too. She has chewed through 3 laptop power cords (all unplugged), the charger cord for my husband''s playstation 3 controller, 2 collars, 2 leashes, 1 walking harness, her food and water bowls, shoes, and lots of other stuff. One morning my husband left early for work and he baby-gated her in the family room. By the time I got down stairs, she had pulled the cushions off the couch and chewed a hole in the couch itself. She has plenty of toys and bones. We walk her every day and she also plays with the big dogs across the street every day. I have a book about basic training for puppies, but none of the suggestions in there have worked for the chewing. She licks the bitter sprays. Thankfully she is starting to settle down some. I wonder when I''ll feel comfortable leaving her all alone inside the house.


Good luck - and if you find anything that works, please post it!

I did find one thing that works to make me comfortable leaving Boomer alone--crating him while we are gone. He likes his crate, and while most nights we leave the door to the crate open (its in our bedroom, so he feels like he is part of the pack--we shut the bedroom door) he will go in there and sleep or hang out when he feels like it. We used a gate for Edgar, but it was in the kitchen and there just wasn''t anything for him to get into. Is your puppy crate trained?