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Thread: A friendly dog with a serious chewing problem - any solutions?

  1. #1
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    Default A friendly dog with a serious chewing problem - any solutions?

    My daughter and her fiance recently adopted a year-old mixed breed from an animal shelter. The dog had spent her whole life at the shelter. She is friendly and playful, but chews everything in sight. This includes shoes, clothes, towels and toys. Is there a way to break the chewing habit?

  2. #2
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    Make sure she has a bone that’s hers. Redirect her to it whenever she’s caught with contraband. A good hard beef bone is best cause they last a long time. Rawhides are good to make the transition, because they really like them.
    And it will pass with time. My dog was a chewer too, but grew out of it eventually.
    Still likes rawhide bones but rarely gets them cause they’ve become ridiculously expensive.
    People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

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  3. #3
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    Summerthyme used to swear by apple bitters spray.
    You can get it on Amazon
    Plato once said, “Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools, because they have to say something.”

    "Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." "Men willingly believe what they wish to believe."
    Julius Caesar

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    Bill Bonner

  4. #4
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    Yes... use a bitter spray on objects that can't be put out of reach. But for a bit, you'll need to think like you have a todfler in the house... look at *everything* that's knee-height or lower, and think about consequences if the dog gets ahold of it. We have friends whose Springer Spaniel pup ate $800 worth of eyeglasses... they'd left them on the coffee table. Ouch!

    If the dog is really destructive/compulsive about chewing, you will probably need to crate her at night... or pick a room to "sanitize" where she can stay safely when not being directly supervised.

    Then, whenever she's loose and supervised, the minute she picks up something she shouldn't have (a shoe, etc) you spring into action... remove the forbidden object, with an appropriate scolding, and immediately replace it with a "legal" toy.

    Above all, make sure she's getting plenty of exercise... she's essentially a teenager/very young adult, snd impulse control takes at least another year to develop. Keeping them tired out helps!

    Summerthyme

  5. #5
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    Play active games way more.

    All of the advice above plus more active play. Fetch, frisbee, hunt (an inside game).

    Hugely reward chewing of acceptable toys, reprimand shoe-chewing. I'd even leave some(old ones0 around as 'bait' so you can catch.

    I went through the same thing with my highly energetic 4-yo lab/pointer cross. She's fine now, although there are still some missing socks. I'm working on getting her to fetch my shoes on command. Boy does she love that!

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