what can i do about my little dog, she likes to tear things up?

Question

my dog is a little chihuahua.

Answer 1

Hession bag,
Brick,
Lake.

Answer 2

Having VAST experience with Chihuahua's (LOL) I think I can answer this for you! (We've had them for the last 20 years or so!) Depending on how old the dog is, there are several reasons: Firstly, if she's a puppy, they ADORE shredding things, best advise is keep her occupied with other things, like large bones and newspapers, it's a mess, but it keeps them from tearing up the good stuff! They tend to shred bones for much larger dogs to pieces! They love them! Big balls of smashed up newspaper also keep them busy for hours. They also LOVE to play and fetch, our general experience is small stuffed animals without any bits that can fall off and swallow, much like you would get for an infant, tennis balls even. Mostly if you keep in mind that she's almost like a miniature Labrador, and likes to be occupied like that, running, fetching, playing, etc... you should be able to get her to stop. If she's an older dog, and also depending on what she's tearing up, she may be trying to tell you she's unhappy, being left alone to long, or not getting enough attention ... We've found that they LOVE to travel and go with you EVERYWHERE. Chihuahua's are also SERIOUS lap dogs and love nothing more than to be parked on the lap of their 'alpha male' 100% of the time ... while that's not feasible, maybe a little more 'puppy time' would help, again, that's in an older dog ... the best way to determine if she's unhappy is the sort of things she's tearing up, if these are things like shoes, bed linens, your clothes, that's a sure sign that she's unhappy, she's going for the things that smell most like you, if she's just generally tearing things up, that's more just a rambunctious puppy who likes to play. The last option is to have her spayed if you haven't already, it won't completely cure the problem, but it will calm her down a tad. Unfortunately you will probably NEVER get her to stop completely, but these are a few things that might help. Good Luck! and I hope this helps you!

Answer 3

I had a big pup that loved to go for rides in the truck with me.. but if I stopped at a store and left him alone.. he would have the seatbelts chewed to shreads in seconds. May have been something called seperation anxiety.. pet stores sell a product called Bitrex.. it is odorless and non toxic but tastes horrible (I tried it first before applying it to the seat belts .. ick!)
kind of like some of that really sour candy stuff.
I also found that giving the dog something to focus his desire to chew on that was an acceptable alternative to shredding important things helped out a lot. I encourage him to vent this need of his on readily available meaningless objects. My dog enjoyed chomping on golf balls and empty plastic soda bottles.. he made a game of chewing the caps off of them. Better pick up pieces of soda bottles then replace a couch every week :)

Answer 4

My little Tzu loves to tear up tissues or toilet paper. She can shred 1 kleenex into 10 million pieces. I just bought heavier wastebaskets so she cant turn them over to get to the paper.
She has a stuffed teddy bear that she tries to tear up but isnt strong enough. The bear is very soft inside which makes it light weight. She really works it over. Try something like that with your little one.

Answer 5

Try using a spray like Bitter Apple (available at most pet supply stores) on the things that she like to chew. The bitter taste should get her to leave those things alone.

Answer 6

i have had the very same problem with my dogs except they arent little chihauhaus!!!!!!!! theyre huge!!!!!!! anyways i have found that scolding doesnt work with dogs who have a very hyper and strong spirit. i know it may seem a little harsh, but when u catch her chewing on something just pop her on the nose with ur hand(not real hard just enough to get the message through to her that its wrong to tear things up)

Answer 7

Get some bitter apple spray from a pet shop, spray it on your stuff (test first for staining), and dogs hate the smell/taste.

Answer 8

yes GOD bless Chihuahua's huh I too have one & yes she chews everything in sight...I can;t tell you how many pairs of my pants she has chewed !!!
I have been told they outgrow it she is now 2 yrs.....
I yell ....till I am blue in the face.. I just get her chew toys & she seems fine with them I keep everything else out of her reach......thank goodness she is short..
so hang in there & good luck with your little precious package,,,,

Answer 9

you know what i kinda have the same problem...i know alot of people would be like try teaching her by telling her no when she does that but i'ave tried that and my pup doesnt lissen....so i really dont know but i would like to see what others might say...and btw how old is she??:)

Answer 10

that's not a dog, its a giant rat