Anyone else have this problem with their dog?

[CareBear]

Everything is great about my dog except for the fact that he likes to chew the wall. I dunno how he does it, but we come home and there are holes in the wall. He has a ton of chew toys, bones, raw hide, etc. Does anyone else''s dog do this? Any solutions for it?

 

[littlelysser]

I''m guessing that you don''t crate your dog while you are gone. That is certainly one way to handle the problem...

 

[CareBear]

Is it common to crate your dog when you''re at work? Wouldn''t the dog be miserable stuck in his crate for that many hours?

 

[E B]

Date: 3/3/2006 4:52:15 PM
Author: CareBear
Is it common to crate your dog when you''re at work? Wouldn''t the dog be miserable stuck in his crate for that many hours?

We have our pug in an x-pen during the day. It''s like a playpen for a baby. She''s got her bed, her toys and a bowl of water in it. This way, she''s contained, but she''s not stuck in a tiny little crate.

I''d suggest either an x-pen or bitter apple for the walls. It''s this spray you get (from PetCo or Petsmart) and it tastes awful. When we see her chewing on something she''s not supposed to (which isn''t much anymore), we spray it with the bitter apple. She stays away from it after that!

 

[Mara]

my neighbors have a dog who has his own ''room'' in the house, aka the guest room is his room, he totally bites and chews on the walls..ridiculous. i would so never stand for that!!!

if you don''t want to crate him up entirely, get one of those big metal gates they sell for outdoors, portia''s is something like 5x5 when it''s setup and i used to put her crate and toys and bed and water in there. she would hang out there just fine. now that she''s an adult, she is VERY well behaved, the only issues we have ever had with her is if she gets sick on the rug or something, so she stays out in the living room and kitchen area and sleeps when i am gone.

but if she was a destroyer, i would definitely crate or pen her up.

 

[Mara]

i see ebree already mentioned the pen, that is what i was talking about.

also, bitter apple did not work for us at all, portia actually LIKED it when she was a puppy, and it just smelled gross and got the stuff all wet.

 

[XChick03]

I crate my dog while I''m gone. If I didn''t I wouldn''t have a house to come home to. We stick a couple toys and a bone in there with her and she loves it. She spends a lot of time in it even when we''re home. Its like her "room."

 

[mrssalvo]

How old is the dog? Zoe chewed the corners of the baseboards in our house when she was still a puppy. It was my fault because she was too young to be out of the crate when we weren''t home. I just felt so guilty putting her in the cage. After the chewing incident and a not too happy hubby she wen''t back into the crate when we weren''t around until she was a lot older and we''ve never have had any problems with her chewing on anything since..

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 3/3/2006 5:06:12 PM
Author: mrssalvo
How old is the dog? Zoe chewed the corners of the baseboards in our house when she was still a puppy. It was my fault because she was too young to be out of the crate when we weren''t home. I just felt so guilty putting her in the cage. After the chewing incident and a not too happy hubby she wen''t back into the crate when we weren''t around until she was a lot older and we''ve never have had any problems with her chewing on anything since..

Isn''t it odd how it''s so tough for us to get over this? I didn''t crate train my first two dogs; did crate train the third, and I''m a total convert to crating NOW, but BOY, was it hard to get past the guilt!

My second dog was gated into the kitchen, but I really think she felt insecure when alone, and she would chew on EVERYTHING. Kitchen table legs, chairs....she even pulled wallpaper off the bottom part of the walls! YIKES. I ended up having to crate her when I moved to a place with open concept, and she hated it, but after 4 months of crating and weaning her out, never a problem after that. However, there were bad habits that I just couldn''t fix by then....tipping over/raiding the trash, jumping on the furniture - tons of stuff.

When I got my current dog, Nicky, I decided to try crating, and I was flabbergasted at how he came to LOVE his crate. Not only did it give him peace of mind, I realized it gave ME peace of mind. I had come home one night from being out and my little boy''s face was swollen beyond belief---his eyes were slits. I phoned the emergency vet, and since he was crated with no way for him to have gotten into anything, she quickly deduced that he was stung by something and prescribed benadryl. At that moment, I realized the value of the crate for his safety and my peace of mind.

Now, I think I''d feel guilty not crating a dog until he learns what''s safe and ok for him.

 

[CareBear]

My dog is about 8 months old. His biggest problem ever since we got him was chewing. Pretty sure he''s done teething by now. We lock him up in the den when we''re not home and he''s chew up the den pretty good. So we lined up the perimeter of the den with boxes and he''s chewed through most of those boxes too. Bitter spray doesn''t really work, it doesn''t bother him at all. We live in an apartment so I can''t put him in a yard, which is probably what i''m gonna do when I have a house. I hope he grows out of this as he gets older.

 

[E B]

Date: 3/3/2006 6:58:51 PM
Author: CareBear
My dog is about 8 months old. His biggest problem ever since we got him was chewing. Pretty sure he''s done teething by now. We lock him up in the den when we''re not home and he''s chew up the den pretty good. So we lined up the perimeter of the den with boxes and he''s chewed through most of those boxes too. Bitter spray doesn''t really work, it doesn''t bother him at all. We live in an apartment so I can''t put him in a yard, which is probably what i''m gonna do when I have a house. I hope he grows out of this as he gets older.

I''m telling you, an x-pen is SUCH a good thing to have! He won''t chew through the metal bars, and he''ll still have room to run around. You can buy them in different sizes.

 

[pricescope]

Before using a crate please try to supplement your dog with calcium - ask your vet for the right one, we use to use "school chalk" when they had them simple and natural, i wouldn't suggest a modern one as i don't know what it's made of.

ETA: my advice makes more sense if you have a medium to large dog, sorry if i missed you mentioning the breed

 

[littlelysser]

Putting a dog in a crate isn''t mean. Dogs are den animals by nature, and the crate becomes their space. Particularly if you make their crate a good place. We always give them treats or stuffed kongs when they go in and we praise them like crazy.

Our dogs both go into their crates willingly when we leave for work. Their crates are super padded and they always get a treat when they go in. We know they won''t hurt themselves or do anything to the house. We also have a dogwalker come during the day while we are at work, so they get to get out and exercise...but really, they just sleep in the crate.

It is a good thing.

If you are interested, do some research on line...there is a lot of info out there on it.h

 

[Diachi]

It sounds like everyone love their doggies-me too!

I also know that chewing in an adult dog often signals seperation anxiety and that crating is a very valuable solution to the problem (as long as the dog ceases the behavior while in the crate-I fostered a Greyhound once that broke her front canine on a crate while struggling to escape it and had only been in it for 2 hours).

That being said, it sounds like you and your dog could use the help of an experienced trainer who can help guide both you and your dog's behaviors to support one another. Dogs read much more then we realize in our behaviors and we, as humans, often react exactly the way we shouldn't to certain situations or don't fully understand the issue from a canine's perspective.

I hope this is helpful and makes sense! I read a LOT of dog-related books, magazines, etc. and the one book that gave me the "A HA!" moment like Oprah always says, is a book called "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell. Even if you don't follow all her instructions or agree completely with how she suggests doing things, the important thing is to take away from it what will work for you and your dog.

Good luck!

 

[Mara]

Care I would venture to say that lining the den with boxes is just an invitation to him to chew through those, he probably thinks those are there for his pleasure. Dogs don''t think like us at all.

A trainer once told us, take away the temptation and try to put them in a situation where they can ONLY succeed. aka don''t put him in a place where he is able to chew. Take away the option. This would be a crate or an xpen. Honestly, if you feel like the crate is not enough space after having his freedom, try the xpen, it''s like a wire gate but they can see through it so they don''t feel totally penned up and they can still see their surroundings through it. Trust me once he tries to chew on the metal, it will deter him REALLY quickly and eventually he may entirely break the habit and you may not have to use it always. Portia tolerated her crate but never loved it, she is happiest when she is out, but the days when she is sick or I know she hasn''t gone ''poo'' the way she should etc and I have to leave, I know I have the xpen as the option that she will tolerate just fine.

Good luck oh and I recommend also a private hour with a trainer to talk about this issue, we spent $150 for an hour when P first came home and it was money well spent because it taught us some things and her some things.

 

[firebirdgold]

Mine had a wierd chewing problem too. He used to destroy anything wooden. My mother still has furniture with teeth marks and a support beam for her patio has a 6" hole in it. Combination of bitter apple and training mostly cured Monster-dog. I say mostly since he eats my bf's driftwood yard decorations and I discovered that the stone turtle in my yard was really a dense wood turtle after a flipper went missing.

Training gives dogs focus and mental discipline. Even if you don't train them specifically against a problem behavior, a well trained dog who does his 'lesssons' regularly will quit most unwanted behavior. Partly because it helps with things like boredom and anxiety.

I was told I'd have to put my fuzzy-monster down when he was 3 months old. I could have bought a good-sized diamond for what I spent on his training. But it was worth every penny. Now if I had only remembered to ask the trainer to specifically help me socialize him with children....
He was crate trained but that was mainly to housebreak him and to give him a secure feeling den. My parents puppy didn't graduate totally from his pen until he was 3.

I'm not sure why pricescope suggested calcium, but perhaps under the theory that your puppy is trying to get a nutrient he's low on? You should have him checked out by the vet to make sure everything is in balance. I'm assuming you're still feeding him puppy food that's appropriate for his future size?


Oh, and be careful when picking a trainer. Don't go for one who solely treat trains, that's just teaching your dog tricks. And make sure you can suss out their dogs. The first trainer I tried turned out to have a german shepard that killed other dogs at the dog park and needed a shock collar! opps.

ETA: It's a shame he doesn't do this when you're at home. It's amazing what a water squirt bottle can cure!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 3/3/2006 6:58:51 PM
Author: CareBear
My dog is about 8 months old. His biggest problem ever since we got him was chewing. Pretty sure he''s done teething by now.

I think it probably still the age. i know for Labs, they don''t really settle down and stop being destuctive until they are around 2 years old. Hopefully, it''s not anything more than that

 

[fire&ice]

Chewing is a natural stress reliever for a dog. Yes, remove the dog from the situation. Our first pup would chew one of our shoes when we were gone.

We had to put up all of our shoes & confine him w/ baby gate on steps to the downstairs. Strangley enough, he started carrying around a fuzzy baby instead.

 

[pricescope]

Date: 3/4/2006 4:05:28 AM
Author: Wren

I'm not sure why pricescope suggested calcium, but perhaps under the theory that your puppy is trying to get a nutrient he's low on? You should have him checked out by the vet to make sure everything is in balance. I'm assuming you're still feeding him puppy food that's appropriate for his future size?

You right Wren, i need to clarify that i did not suggest to add any calcium into the the food, good puppy brands have it in balance.

What is possible that for this particular pup it's not enough still and it's easy to check by offering him (not giving to him) ...well, we used chalk, i cant come up with anything as obvious for a dog as a source of calcium, as a test for his cravings.

If your dog launches at it as our did it may be a good idea to ask a vet for recommendations.

My point is that behavioral problems are not always behavioral at the root.

 

[strmrdr]

Doesnt help here but have a funny dog chewing story.

My dog tiger did not and does not like being in the house.
So we built him a dog house and run outside.
I got the bright idea of putting an old pair of jeans in the dog house for him to sleep on.
I cut the snap and zipper out.
The next morning all that was left was the belt loops.

Next we tried some carpeting, within 3 days it was gone.

Once when in the house he pulled the sock right off my foot and started eating it.

He had dog food available 24/7 and when there wasnt cloth to eat he ate it just fine and seemed to like it.
He had chew toys too which he always carried around.

He didnt stop eating cloth until he was about 4 years old LOL

 

[Dee Jay]

Strm - you''re lucky you had any clothes left by the time he was 4!

 

[koko]

I agree with lyttlysser, dogs are den animals & sometimes when left alone in too large a space they become insecure & destructive. The crate makes them feel more secure, as long as they aren''t left there for excessive periods of time. When Bailey our Boxer came home at 7 weeks we crated her when we weren''t home. Then she graduated to a "play pen" during the work day. She is now secure enough to have free roam of the house and isn''t at all destructive, but she has her two Siamese cat "brothers" to keep her company. She usually turns down the blankets on our bed, lays her head on the pillow & naps while we''re out!!