[dlbriese]

My dog Xanadu chews on absolutely everything from shoes, to DVD cases, to the walls and I don't know how to stop it. He's about a year old (we think) and we think he's an American Staffordshire Terrier mix. I've tried puppy proofing everything but he still manages to find things to chew on like the moulding at the base of our walls. The problem is he doesn't do it when he knows I can see him. How can I stop this ?

 

[Chels_girl]

Don't leave him alone. I'm going through something sort of similar with m own dog. Kali steals things and takes them out our doggy door.
So I've started keeping her with me at all times, or in her ex-pen. Give your dog lots of chances to chew on his own toys, and makesure you praise him when he does.

 

[GottaLuvMutts]

Have you tried bitter apple/cherry? You can get it at any pet store and it tastes terrible to most dogs. It's odorless and doesn't stain, so you could spray just about anything he regularly goes for.

Also, I second what Chels said: crate him when you can't watch him like a hawk.

 

[FourIsCompany]

How much exercise is he getting?

 

[jboboxer]

Have you tried bitter apple/cherry? You can get it at any pet store and it tastes terrible to most dogs. It's odorless and doesn't stain, so you could spray just about anything he regularly goes for.

Also, I second what Chels said: crate him when you can't watch him like a hawk.

Bitter apple is amazing to me, which I can pull my puppy away from a cable give it a bone, distract it, do many things, but if I take my eye off for a second she's back on the cable. If I spray bittle apple, she'll smell it, maybe take a lick/bite and run away. When it drys out it doesn't work so well or you have to reapply it often.
I don't think bitter apple is the best thing for it, it's probably better to distract it and give it a bone or something you want it to chew on. Spraying the item helps so the dog won't keep going back to it.

The ingredients are mostly alcohol and I've heard you can mix lemon juice and a dog won't touch it. But I've read that some dogs actually like bitter apple. My puppy runs in a hurry.