new doggie, how to avoid chewed furniture??

[larussel03]

So, FI and I adopted the cutest 2 year old lab at the Humane Society b/c we''ve been dying for a dog, and with me doing the job search thing, I have time to make her comfortable before working. I have not left her home alone for more than 20 mins once so far, and I don''t think she''ll chew up the furniture, but one can never be positive. For anyone whose done this before, how did you go in and out so that the dog would not be nervous? I just left yesterday and she didnt bark or cry while I waited in the hall, then when I came back from the grocery store, she was at the door, so I dont know if she left or not.

Any advice?

 

[divergrrl]

Two Words: Crate Train.

It''s humane, it''s safe, it''s the way to go until you know. My german shepherd (who I got as a pup) was crated whenever I was not home until she was 2.5 yrs old.

My beagle was crated at night & during the day for 7 years (she was destructo dog).

Monks of New Skete is the best book!

Jeannine

 

[~*Alexis*~]

Wel my boyfriend has a dog that he got before we were together that he got from the human society. he loves him and he was good.

For our anniversary I got a 7 week old puppy, we named him cooper. I think that since your dog is already 2 years old you should be fine as far as the chewing the furniture thing. I would just make sure he has chew toys and rawhides to occupy him time up. I would leave for maybe an hour next time and see what he does. If he didnt move then you should be good.

Post a pic? i love doggies.

My pic of Cooper is in the LIW thread...

 

[firebirdgold]

You''ve got three choices... Crate train the dog so she''s comfortable and happy in her crate and leave her there when you go out. Or confine her to one space like the kitchen. Or treat everything that looks chewable with bitter apple spray.

Which ever you choose, make sure she gets plenty of exercise including walking on heel and doing other disciplined stuff, and also make sure she has plenty of approved things to chew on. Mine likes the nubbly starch bones in cheeseburger and bacon flavors.

Granted my lab mix left teeth marks on all the outdoor furniture, some of the window sills, and gnawed part of the way through a post before he outgrew the chewing phase and I discovered bitter apple. Plus he still chews random bits of wood he finds outdoors like firewood, driftwood, and a wood garden turtle I really thought was stone before it lost a leg. So you might want to take my advice with a grain of salt!

 

[Blenheim]

When we first got Dylan, we spent A LOT of time with him in closely supervised situations. The second he started chewing on ANYTHING he wasn''t supposed to, we loudly said "No", removed the object if it was small enough (table legs aren''t), and placed one of his many approved chewing objects in front of him. If he persisted, we would try some bitter apple spray on whatever he kept chewing. He quickly learned what''s okay to chew and what isn''t, although he''s still shaky on some things (mainly shoes and dirty clothes he drags out of the clothes hamper). Still, he''s only allowed to get to those things when we''re home, and we generally spot it pretty quickly and then go through our "you shouldn''t chew that" routine (say no, take away, replace with something that he can chew).

I agree with keeping your pup in a confined space while you''re gone. We keep him in the kitchen, with a lot of water and toys. We leave his crate in there with the gate off (he tends to close it and then get upset that he can''t get in), and I really think that he spends most of his time sleeping in the crate. There''s much less opportunity to get into trouble when he''s on linoleum with nothing "bad" within reach, but lots of toys to keep himself occupied. We also take him on a brisk 30-40 minute walk if we''re planning on leaving for more than an hour or two, feeling like if he''s tired he''s less likely to get into trouble.

 

[littlelysser]

One thing you could do to help cut down on any seperation anxiety she may have...don''t make a big deal when you leave...or when you come back in. The less stressful you make it, the better. Just leave. I know it seems kind of mean, but that way, she won''t feel anxious at all.

We also often leave our dogs with a kong stuffed with some kind of treats. They have to work on getting the treats out, so they don''t care that we are leaving and actually associate our leaving with them getting something good.

I''d also maybe leave a tv or a stereo on - so she doesn''t feel all alone.

Crate training is also a great option. We crated both of our dogs until we felt we could trust them outside the crate.

Last thing - I doubt she was waiting at the door. She may have been - but our dogs greet us at the door pretty much everytime we come home. They are waiting when we walk up the steps. But we have a webcam that we put on every know and again...and when we are gone, all they do is sleep. They must hear the car pull into the drive way or something...

And finally - congrats on the new pup!

 

[lizz]

We got our black lab at 8 weeks old. We used crate training too. Also, we gave her lots of appropriate stuff to chew, like stuffed animals or a cong with a treat inside to chew. It helps that we have another dog to keep her company. She was always supervised in the home when we were there. When we were gone, they were both in our back yard (which is fenced).

She had her spells of chewing. She chewed our patio cushions when we were gone. She''s chewed a metal garden light, our patio swing cushion, and the binding of some photo albums when she was in the house (she went in the other room, and we didn''t know what she was doing).

Good luck. Congrats on your new lab, they are GREAT dogs!!!!!

 

[gailrmv]

I would (and have) crate train. It is extremely effective and humane and you do not have to worry about the dog''s safety or your furniture. Eventually you may trust your dog with free reign of the house. Currently my older dog has free reign while my 2 year old dog stays in a crate. She had some anxiety in the first crate we tried which gave her just enough room per the usual guidelines (she was also brand new to us from the shelter at that time.) We then tried a slightly bigger crate and she was much happier in there. It may take a bit of experimentation. Now I just say crate time, (intermittently reinforced with a treat), and she runs right in. Sometimes she goes in without the prompt when she senses I am getting ready to leave.

Lastly, kudos for rescuing a human society dog. You have truly saved a life.

 

[diamondfan]

Crate train! Also, bitter apple spray and paste are good. My puppy did chew a few chair legs, but overall she has not done much damage. I did gate off certain areas and I also did invisible fencing in my house, so she does not go in the living room or dining room or front entry. At night she sleeps in a crate and if we are going out and cannot leave her in the yard, she goes in her crate. She likes it and often goes in during the day to rest. It is not made to be a punishment so she likes it a lot. Some people fill a can with pennies and when the dog goes to chew they rattle it loudly and say NO in a firm voice. I am not so sure about that approach but I have heard it does work. Unfortunately, some dogs are just chewers. My dog is a retriever breed but thankfully she is not a big chewer in the house. Be sure to offer a chew toy to distract from chewing other stuff. I leave her toys in a bucket and she goes in and pulls out what she likes and goes off to her pillow with it. Start early so they do not get into a bad habit.

 

[larussel03]

SO far so good, she seems to have zero separation anxiety and she''s not chewing or tearing apart anything. The worst thing she does is jump on the bed (the only place she''s not allowed) when we''re gone...I can tell b/c she "arranges" the blanket when she lays down...oh well, if that''s the worst then I''ll just keep the bedroom door shut.

Here''s a pic of the new girlie!

 

[littlelysser]

She is such a sweetheart! More pics!!!

What is her name?

One of our dogs is a rescue...and she is the sweetest, easiest dog we''ve ever owned!

 

[justjulia]

Cute!! Okay, we have crated and it works great. There were days though, when we were home, and she was out and we caught her on a coffee table leg or two. It happens. A yr later, I took a black and decker electric sander and sanded out the tooth marks, etc, and restained and it looks fine.

 

[larussel03]

Here's another...her name's Stella and she's soooooooooo good (so far haha) If you're sitting on the ground she likes to walk up onto you with her front paws and put her head on your shoulder. It's almost so cute you could cry! haha

 

[Mara]

congrats on the new addition sweetpea! she's a cutie!!

portia was not a puppy that really chewed or destroyed anything either, i think we got lucky. she did go through a small phase where she chewed on the ottoman a bit but it was really rare, aka i think she only did it 2x.

one interesting thing is that i find that as portia gets older (she's 2.5 years now) her personality changes and also becomes more pronounced. it's kind of interesting, since you say your dog is 2 ... she already has a set personality that you are working with. it sounds like it's a great personality which is excellent! whatever you are doing, i say keep doing it! and crate train if it works for you...we did that with portia to potty train her but since then we have gotten rid of the crate and now we just use a baby gate to keep her in the fam/kitchen area while we are gone and she sleeps with us at night. but she was great with the crate as well.

also side note but bitter apple didn't work for us, portia LIKED it...when we put it on the ottoman. i think white vinegar worked to deter her..she didn't like the bitter taste. i think sometimes trying things like that is hit or miss...just trial and error!

good luck and post more pictures!!!

 

[gailrmv]

she is SOOOO cute!!!! I''m glad things are working out so far.

 

[larussel03]

Thank you everyone for the great advice!

Mara--portia is so cute, I wish we could let stella sleep with us, but she takes up more than 1/2 of MY space on the bed, so I started putting her bed next to me on the floor and now she likes going to her bed to sleep.

So far, no crate. I feel like if she starts havnig behavioral issues I'll introduce her to a crate, but prob put it where her bed is so it doesnt seem like a punishment. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she stays good with the furniture though.

So far the only problemos with her are that she pulls on the leash (starting to give me shin splints from walking her while pulling back) and she RUNS up to people she doesnt know, sometimes barking b/c she's excited and I think that can scare people. Other than that, when she barks its only for less than a minute, so barking isn't an issue, thank goodness. The shelter gives us a coupon for 1 free training session, so I will have to take advantage of it to learn HOW to train her to not do things like that. Otherwise we've had no prob's.

 

[larussel03]

So, the guy at the shelter had suggested this trick, and I figured I'd post it although lots of people seem to already know it

To keep your dog occupied for a long time, stick some peanut butter in a kong type toy (he suggested freezing as well) and give it to the dog before you leave. That way the dog has something to "work on" for a while.

I decided to see if this really works, so I stuffed a little less than a teaspoonful of PB in Stella's natural bone (where she'd chewed out the marrow. I've left the room, walked by her a billion times and she doesnt even look up. Looks like it's a pretty good trick! Will have to run out and buy natural pb though I dont want her eating anything with added sugar in it after this test run.

ETA: same sort of tip that littlelysser gave!

 

[Mara]

hheeh i tried that with P, but her little tongue is not that effective at getting out the stuff after a certain point. so she ends up eating what she can then leaving it on the carpet and then PB was oozing out. ewww! so we discontinued that. haha.

honestly now that she is older, she just hangs out by the window and sniffs the air and looks outside to see who is walking by, and lays on the couch and sleeps all day! she''s pretty low-maintenance, thank goodness. *knock on wood*

 

[larussel03]

Date: 9/26/2006 6:07:40 PM
Author: Mara
hheeh i tried that with P, but her little tongue is not that effective at getting out the stuff after a certain point. so she ends up eating what she can then leaving it on the carpet and then PB was oozing out. ewww! so we discontinued that. haha.

honestly now that she is older, she just hangs out by the window and sniffs the air and looks outside to see who is walking by, and lays on the couch and sleeps all day! she''s pretty low-maintenance, thank goodness. *knock on wood*

Awwww sooo cute! Except the carpet stuff, my dog just did that witha beef basted bone so now I have a beef basted carpet...not too smart of me....

It''s so funny b/c when I got my dog, my mom almost cried saying how happy she was for me (since I''ve moved from Boston to Ann Arbor) and that they''re the best companions. We''ve had dogs forever, but having my own has made me realize they really are such great companions. I''d probably be alot lonlier when FI is at school (he''s there all day like a job b/c it''s his PhD then he''s doing work at night), but I have the dog to at least sit with me and take care of.

 

[justjulia]

Date: 9/26/2006 6:07:40 PM
Author: Mara
hheeh i tried that with P, but her little tongue is not that effective at getting out the stuff after a certain point. so she ends up eating what she can then leaving it on the carpet and then PB was oozing out. ewww! so we discontinued that. haha.

honestly now that she is older, she just hangs out by the window and sniffs the air and looks outside to see who is walking by, and lays on the couch and sleeps all day! she''s pretty low-maintenance, thank goodness. *knock on wood*

This made me laugh because it''s the same for us. My best friend convinced me to try one of those toys and stuff it with pnb, but because I didn''t want to make the $$ committment for the large one, I got the smallest one (and I thought if the rotweilerlab doesn''t like it, the chihuahuas will. I came home and diligently stuffed it and put it down on the floor. the rottielab smelled it. My chihuahuas looked at me like I was from outerspace. No one ever touched it. BUT, they will be all over hubby and me if they hear a jar of dry roasted peanuts being opened! It''s like the supreme treat while we are sitting watching tv. Go figure.

 

[Blenheim]

We had the same kong & peanut butter experience as Mara and Portia, so we haven''t tried that since.

SP, Stella''s sooo cute! So, you''re also living in Ann Arbor? Would you like to have a doggy play date sometime, assuming Stella likes other dogs? (By the way, I''m also a PhD student here.)

 

[larussel03]

Date: 9/27/2006 10:22:43 PM
Author: Blenheim
We had the same kong & peanut butter experience as Mara and Portia, so we haven''t tried that since.

SP, Stella''s sooo cute! So, you''re also living in Ann Arbor? Would you like to have a doggy play date sometime, assuming Stella likes other dogs? (By the way, I''m also a PhD student here.)

Hi Blenheim

A doggy play date sounds good--We actually have a training class next week (one free from the shelter) so after I see how she is with other dogs and how much I can train her I''ll let you know when I can control her enough to take her out to play with other doggies!

 

[Blenheim]

Sounds great, SP!

 

[larussel03]

Date: 9/28/2006 11:55:26 AM
Author: Blenheim

Sounds great, SP!

Hey--if you are around on Sunday at 2pm, Shortblonde and I are going to get coffee at Starbucks on Liberty--let me know if you wanna come too! For the corner (you prob know it tho) check my making the job search go faster thread!

 

[larussel03]

Date: 9/27/2006 10:22:43 PM
Author: Blenheim
We had the same kong & peanut butter experience as Mara and Portia, so we haven''t tried that since.

SP, Stella''s sooo cute! So, you''re also living in Ann Arbor? Would you like to have a doggy play date sometime, assuming Stella likes other dogs? (By the way, I''m also a PhD student here.)

Hey blenheim--now I can give the update on stella''s first trip to the doggy park. It''s the one in Saline and it''s fenced on 3 sides and has a lake or river on the other side. FI said Stella spent much of her time playing with other dogs, but she''s a bit pushy and a "stomper" (ie: runs over and like tackles the other dogs, but doesnt hurt them). She''s a little rough he says, but I think it''s because she''s really excited. Maybe sometime we can all go down to the park.

Then she swam under the fence haha but came back since FI and the other dogs were in the park. She''s quite the escape artist.