[Linny]

I'm sure this has been covered, since it would be a commen problem, but I scrolled through and did not see the topic. Please bear with me and I will appreciate any and all advice. My dog is a female stray I took home. Her name is Liza. She is approximately 8 months old. Is she old enough to pass the chewing stage yet? Do some dogs never pass the chewing stage? I bought a product at the store today that you spray on things to keep dogs from chewing on them. It's called "Bitter Barrier". The main ingredient is Tea Tree Oil. I sprayed it on a water hose basket I have on the porch that she had, along with most every other thing out there, been chewing on. As I sprayed the basket, I got some of it on my hand and fingers. I walked over to Liza to see what would happen when she licked my fingers. She always licks my fingers and hand when I hold it down to her. It did not to faze her. She licked my fingers and hand until I took my hand away, so I'm thinking that was a wasted effort. We buy her bones, large and small, from the local butcher shop to chew on, and also chew toys from the store. She chews on all of them, plus everything else. I don't want to be to hard on her if she is still in the "puppy chewing" stage. But I do want to know how to make her stop if it's not just a stage.

[golden&hovawart]

It depends on the dog!.
Males seems to take longer to stop because they don't usually mature as fast as females!.
My male ate his last shoe,at 1 yrs old while my female never destroyed anything but would dig like crazy!.
Chewtoys helps a lot!

[Curbside Prophet]

A dog that stops chewing is a dead dog. Otherwise, how would they eat? Seriously though, teething generally ends around 6 months, but being a chewaholic should never end. Chewing is a great way to burn off energy when you need the dog to lay on a mat. Therefore the dog should be taught what an appropriate chew is. Once you've taught that, the dog will have little concern for inappropriate chews...unless the dog is not being fulfilled mentally, socially, and physically. Remind me, how long have you had the dog?

[ChrissyBz]

Depends on the breed too. Our Labs are still chewing and are nearly 2 but ive heard Labs can be chewy til 3. Our rotties chewed till they were 9 months.

[briteday]

Our two older dogs enjoy a good bully stick or other chew toy mainly when they are winding down in the evening. Our younger dog (she's 2-1/2 years now) seems to be part termite! If she is not playing with other toys she is chewing on something. We have learned to stock up on chew things when we see them at good prices.

Some dogs get over a lot of chewing when they finish teething but others seem to always want to chew on something, forever.

[Linny]

Originally Posted by Curbside Prophet

A dog that stops chewing is a dead dog. Otherwise, how would they eat? Seriously though, teething generally ends around 6 months, but being a chewaholic should never end. Chewing is a great way to burn off energy when you need the dog to lay on a mat. Therefore the dog should be taught what an appropriate chew is. Once you've taught that, the dog will have little concern for inappropriate chews...unless the dog is not being fulfilled mentally, socially, and physically. Remind me, how long have you had the dog?

Good point about the dead dog! We've had this dog for 5 months, which would make her about 7 to 8 months now. So maybe she needs just a little more time to get past the chewing stage if she ever will! She a mixed breed. Best we can tell from pics I sent in here and the vet is she's part Rhodesian Ridgeback, Black Mouth Cur, some Shepard, and probably something else! She is an "outside" dog with 40 acres to run and play on. She finds a lot of stuff to chew on, we give her lots of stuff to chew on and we don't always catch her when she's chewing on something we don't want her to chew on. We both spend a lot of time with her. We do scold her when we catch her, but know that she is not really getting the message because we don't always catch her doing it. I guess we should give her a little more time. But after that, how do we teach her what an appropriate chew is?

Originally Posted by golden&hovawart

It depends on the dog!.
Males seems to take longer to stop because they don't usually mature as fast as females!.
My male ate his last shoe,at 1 yrs old while my female never destroyed anything but would dig like crazy!.
Chewtoys helps a lot!

Thanks for the advice. Good to know since she is a female. She destroy's things but she's not to bad to dig. She does dig a little and I hope she grows out of that too! We've bought her every chew toy on the market, but she still seems to prefer our patio furniture and she's had more than her share of shoes! It's great to walk out on the porch and find one shoe or several peices of what used to be a pair of shoes! If I did not love this dog....

Originally Posted by briteday

Our two older dogs enjoy a good bully stick or other chew toy mainly when they are winding down in the evening. Our younger dog (she's 2-1/2 years now) seems to be part termite! If she is not playing with other toys she is chewing on something. We have learned to stock up on chew things when we see them at good prices.

Some dogs get over a lot of chewing when they finish teething but others seem to always want to chew on something, forever.

Part termite! I'm glad to hear you say that. My 7-8 month old dog picks up fallen limbs in the yard and chews on them. We were building a porch and all of the peices of wood we cut off, she would pick up and chew on until she practically made sawdust out of them. We often build a fire outside, and she will pull and chew on the ends of the logs or limbs sticking out of the fire. She's crazy about wood! After that, she will chew on whatever else is available. I hate to hear that your dog is 2-1/2 and still chewing!

[RonE]

I posted these on another thread, but - just in case you missed them . . .

This happened a couple hours after I saturated this sleeper sofa with bitter apple.





It was (is?) my sister's sleeper sofa. I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of it for a couple of years because it's butt-ugly and not too comfortable.

I'm thinking, in a couple more weeks, my problem will be solved.

[Linny]

Originally Posted by RonE

I posted these on another thread, but - just in case you missed them . . .

This happened a couple hours after I saturated this sleeper sofa with bitter apple.





It was (is?) my sister's sleeper sofa. I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of it for a couple of years because it's butt-ugly and not too comfortable.

I'm thinking, in a couple more weeks, my problem will be solved.

Oh my! That's tragic, but also funny! Sorry.

I hope she does not love Bitter Barrier as much as yours loved bitter apple.

[briteday]

Our wild child also chews firewood too! I've had to fence off the firewood pile otherwise she tears it apart looking for something small enough to get into her mouth.

[Inga]

My dogs have never been real impressed with the No chew products. The bitter apple stuff that some trainers squirt right in the dogs mouth for things like barking. A few of my dogs love that and get into pushing contests to see who can get closest so they can have the next squirt. LOL I think it is best to provide plenty of appropriate chewing toys and to teach them what is not appropriate. Some dogs never stop chewing and seem to always have that need. I think as an energy release. Some dogs get that sort of glazed over look in their eyes while they are chewing. Kind of like they are just so happy and relaxed. Even with dogs that chew forever, they will learn what not to chew and what is alright. Teaching "Leave it" will help you.

[Durbkat]

Snoopy was never a real big chewer on furniture or anything, just people's hands. He stopped around 5 or 6 months with verbal corrections.

[Linny]

Originally Posted by Inga

My dogs have never been real impressed with the No chew products. The bitter apple stuff that some trainers squirt right in the dogs mouth for things like barking. A few of my dogs love that and get into pushing contests to see who can get closest so they can have the next squirt. LOL I think it is best to provide plenty of appropriate chewing toys and to teach them what is not appropriate. Some dogs never stop chewing and seem to always have that need. I think as an energy release. Some dogs get that sort of glazed over look in their eyes while they are chewing. Kind of like they are just so happy and relaxed. Even with dogs that chew forever, they will learn what not to chew and what is alright. Teaching "Leave it" will help you.

Funny post Inga. I went to the "Behavior Training" to see what it was all about. It has some good basic information to make you think about what you are trying to teach your dog and how to go about it. I will start tomorrow with the "Leave It" command. She's actually very good about minding when you are right there when she is doing something you don't want her to do. She loves to take my hand or arm in her mouth and kind of chew on it. When she bits too hard I just call her name a little sharply and she stops immediately. She will do it again the next time, but stops again when I call her name. If she approaches something I don't want her to mess with, I call her name and say no, and she leaves it alone. She won't go back to it. At least not while I am there. Then I get up the next morning to find that same something torn up all over the yard! I guess we just need to keep working at it, and one thing we, (I should say I), are doing wrong is not being consistant. I will let her jump up on me because she just wants to play and I love to see her happy. But when I leave for work in the morning I fuss at her for jumping on me because I don't want my clothes messed up. My husband has her to the point that she never jumps up on him anymore, but he still plays with her and she is still happy!

Originally Posted by Durbkat

Snoopy was never a real big chewer on furniture or anything, just people's hands. He stopped around 5 or 6 months with verbal corrections.

Awe..look at that face! What a sweet dog. I will take your advice on the verbal corrections.

[Elana55]

Dogs chew things. That is what they do. It is their nature. The whole world is a cheww toy to a dog. They don't discriminate between a pigs ear or a cow hoof and a sofa or a laundry basket. WE do.

You have shown here why aversives don't work. You tell your dog not to chew something and, while you are their, she doesn't chew that thing. This is because she doesn't discriminate. She has learned that it is dangerous to chew that thing in your presence, but whooo Boooy when you are not around it is a free for all! Yelling at a dog or saying "No!" is an aversive. Aversives asserted by humans teach the dog to stop doing things when the human is around. Dogs don't associate the aversive with the behavior, they associate the aversive with the person who uses it! If another person was present who did not care about the laundry basket, I bet the dog might just give it a taste to see if it is OK to chew. If that person yelled.. and every other person who caught her yelled, she would only learn that it s dangerous to chew the laundry basket when you are there.. not that chewling the laundry basket is bad!

Dogs need supervision. Young dogs need it more than older dogs. To correct a dog from chewing something you need to be vigilent and NEVER have the dog out of your sight when there are things around the dog is not supposed to chew. When the dog goes to chew the forbidden item, it is far better to replace that item with an item that is OK to chew.

Crate training helps in this area a LOT. When in the crate the dog is only provided with appropriate items to chew.

I have not had a dog inappropriately chewing things in many years since using vigilence and a crate (plenty of execise and mental gymnasitics.. training sessions.. help too!)

Between the crate and being vigilant you can probably get the dog to reliably chew only appropriate things most of the time. However, as said before, dogs chew. It is what dogs do. It is like people talk.. it is what people do. If they are not saying what you like, you don't stop talking.. you change the subject or find another person to talk to, right?

The trick is not to extinguish chewing, but to redirect it to what is the right thing to chew. This does not mean dogs will NEVER chew inappropriate things. It does mean you have increased the odds in your favor.

[Linny]

Thanks for the insight Elana. It sure explains a lot. I don't know about the crate training for her since she is an outside dog, but I sure see how that would be a tremendous aid. My husband is retired and is usually here most of the day. I think the idea of taking away the object we don't want her to chew and replacing it with something that's okay is a good idea. We have picked up all the little blocks of wood from the porch construction since she loves them so much, and saved them to give her in exchange for the furniture, potted plants, etc. We also have loaded up on other appropriate chew toys and objects. I think this will help. You seem to know a lot about this subject. You're right, dogs chew. When she slips up, we will remember that! Thanks again for your help, and I thank everyone else for their time and advice.

Linny

[Elana55]

Your welcome. Try getting a dog chew (Kong) and loading it with peanut butter... as a replacement... Just try it and watch.

[echo8287]

My 2 little Schnauzer's had about all the safe chew toys I could find at the store. I bought everything 4 at the time so they wouldn't run out. They are 10 months now. One of them sort of stopped chewing on things at about 7 months. She still will chew on a bone or chew toy occasionally, but is not obsessed with it. She is more of an investigator.
The other one lasted till she went into heat Jan 1. She chewed up pillows,chair legs, sticks, firewood,socks,shoes,blankets,towels, if she could get them,paper towels, toilet paper, trash etc. She loves to just chew. I think it relaxes her and is a therapeutic behavior. I will catch her starting to chew on something and she looks at me >Aw I wanted to chew that. Since she went into heat she has not been chewing on stuff. So I guess I'll see when she comes out on the other side, if it has subsided. David

[natureloverchris]

Originally Posted by briteday

Our wild child also chews firewood too! I've had to fence off the firewood pile otherwise she tears it apart looking for something small enough to get into her mouth.

I have the firewood problem too! Schmoo is getting better but he still does it.

It sounds like you've got a good plan now. Good luck with it

[MegaMuttMom]

When Cherokee was your dog's age he chewed on the side of the house, the deck furniture, and even a punk spot on the deck floor. He never chewed stuff inside that we didn't want. Why? Because we were there and said ah,ah and put something else in his mouth. All the shoes were in the closet. All the remotes were up where he couldn't reach. I told the kids that anything that was where he could get it was fair game.

Now that he is older (1.5 years), he doesn't get in trouble outside either but then again, he has decided that inside is much better than outside unless he's sleeping in the sun. It is much harder to train an outside dog because you aren't there to tell him the RIGHT things to do. Can you bring him in more?

He is still an obsessive and vigorous chewer but he only chews his nylabone, his antler, his kongs, and every piece of stick, stump, or bark he can find.

[Linny]

[quote=MegaMuttMom;188560]When Cherokee was your dog's age he chewed on the side of the house, the deck furniture, and even a punk spot on the deck floor. He never chewed stuff inside that we didn't want. Why? Because we were there and said ah,ah and put something else in his mouth. All the shoes were in the closet. All the remotes were up where he couldn't reach. I told the kids that anything that was where he could get it was fair game.

Now that he is older (1.5 years), he doesn't get in trouble outside either but then again, he has decided that inside is much better than outside unless he's sleeping in the sun. It is much harder to train an outside dog because you aren't there to tell him the RIGHT things to do. Can you bring him in more?

He is still an obsessive and vigorous chewer but he only chews his nylabone, his antler, his kongs, and every piece of stick, stump, or bark he can find.[/QUOTE

I have tried to bring her inside the house but she does not want to come in. I stand and call her, baby talk her, try to entice her with a treat. She will stand in the doorway and wag her tail, but she flat refuses to step inside, and I don't want to force her. I think it would be easier to train her if she were inside more, but she is uncomfortable with it. Maybe she will stop some of the destruction when she gets older as your Cherokee did. I'm with you about keeping the things out of reach. It would not be fair to scold her for something I could have prevented. She does enough damaged to things I cannot take out of her reach! I never knew that dogs loved to chew on wood so much. You mentioned sticks, stumps and bark. It made me laugh because everytime we walk out in the yard with her, she finds a stick and just walks along beside us holding the stick. Then she will stop and chew it a little bit, catch back up with us and find another one. Usually she will also stop and chew on a stump or two. We were thinking, "What is it with the dog and wood'? But I see she is pretty normal in that repsect. Thanks for your input. I love to read the things everyone experiences with their dogs.

[MegaMuttMom]

Cherokee was 7 months old when we got him, and a rescue. When we first brought him home he spent most of his time in his crate (his choice, door open) or in the yard. As he has learned to trust us and bonded with us, he no longer wants to be alone and spends his time with us in whichever room we are in. He still isn't very cuddly but when he does put his head in our laps, it is EXTRA special because we know how far he's come. It sounds like we have dogs that are a lot alike. With time, and a lot of gentle care, yours will come around. Obedience class helped a lot with bonding. He learned that looking us in the eye leads to good things.