[ReefBum]

We have a 1 year old Golden that we brought home from our breeder about 6 weeks ago and she is a great dog. However, she has this terrible habit of seeking out and chewing up TV remotes. She has gone through 5 in short order. We still have her in a crate but we don't force her to stay in it at night or when we are not at home. We have a ton of chew toys and she does get a lot of excercise. She really just goes after the remotes. We have kept Goldens for years and we have never seen anything quite like this. Any advice on how to avoid going broke from replacing remotes? We thought about bitter apple but then we would have it on our hands. She only does this when we are not around.

Thanks!

[opokki]

Would it be possible to just keep the remotes out of her reach? My mother has this remote holder which looks like a book but it opens so you can store your remotes inside. Maybe something like this would be a good option for you.

[Curbside Prophet]

I would practice redirecting her to an appropriate chew. You may want to buy a practice remote just for this exercise. I would place the practice remote, and one of her other favorite chews in front of her. Encourage her to grab her toy by a name...all of Elsa's toys have a name. If she grabs it, say "yes" and give her a piece of kibble. If she goes for the remote, block her from grabbing it by simply moving it away and placing the toy closer to her, and ask her to retrieve her toy again...reward for a positive response. Do this for 5 minutes a day, and I believe you'll see some results pretty quickly...I hope. What you're doing is associating the remote with no reward, but grabbing her toy may actually get her something. Let us know if you try this and what results you find. In the mean time you'll have to keep the remotes out of reach. Good luck!

[ReefBum]

Many thankks for the responses. We have been keeping the remotes out of reach but sometimes we forget. We will give that training idea a shot.

Thanks!

[ky_lvs_labs]

i know what u mean about your dog chewing stuff, my springer spaniel chewed a hole in our carpet, i think it was because he was bored. they all go threw the chewing stage.

kylie x