My 9 month old puppy that eats the house, eats anything, tile floor, mini blinds, toys if she finds them..?

Question

as soon as you walk in the door you can tell that she has done something wrong because she lays on her back with her tail between her legs. We have only had her for 3 weeks and are almost at our wits end with her....HELP!!!!

Answer 1

I have the same problem
give her a chew toy or keep her in a cage or whatever while you're gone
she needs attention and her teeth are growing....give her something

Answer 2

You should crate her during the day. Let her out right before you leave for a good 10 minutes...walk around with her. Then put her in a large crate - if you can come home at lunch and let her out that's great - if not she will survive. When you get home at the end of the day, let her out immediately. Make sure when she is in the crate that she has a couple of toys and a blanket or old towel to lay on.

You are setting her up to fail. She is a puppy and will chew and then she gets punished. I had to crate my dog for a year and that was it - he is now 8. Every so often he gets a hold of a paper towel, but he is great otherwise.

Note - never put your dog in the crate as punishment....then everytime you leave she will think she's being punished. My husband trained dogs for 12 years. You don't have to spank a dog - praise them really well when they are good and ignore them for like 30 minutes when they aren't good...it works.

Good luck and remember she is just a puppy who needs gentle guidance - she will be your friend for life who gives you unconditional love...unlike humans. :)

Answer 3

I was 100% against crate training. I didn't want to take away my dog's freedom or put them in jail. Then I got a hound puppy. Nothing was safe. She pulled the doors off my closets. She took the fruit bowl and rolled in the bananas. She put all my dirty bras and undies from the laundry into the living room. She even got a sticky fly tape off the ceiling (I still don't know how) when she was 3 months old. I'll never forget the sight when I walked in. Those lovely long ears and droopy jowls were covered with sticky streamers and the flies were still buzzing. After I got done laughing hysterically I literally raced to the local feed store and said, "give me the biggest, roomiest crate you've got, NOW!". I chose a cage instead because it was more open and had a greater floor area. She was the size of a small beagle but you could stuff a pony in that cage, lol! It was her or me, something had to change. I suddenly found that when I'd come home instead of scowling, grumbling or yelling about the mess and having her dread my coming home I now had a pup eagerly awaiting my appearance because I wasn't stomping around grumpy and picking up messes. I could go right to her and pet her and love her and she became a very happy little dog. After the initial resentment at being confined she began to look on the cage as her own private den and would put her favorite toys in it and go take naps in it (we left the door of it open when we were home). She had food and water bowls that hooked on the sides and a nice cushiony mat to lay on. Sometimes she'd even generously allow one of our other dogs to go in it and they'd act like they were being invited to the queen's tea. I am now 100% in favor of crate training.

Answer 4

Nathan - this dog is not feeling guilty she is petrified -

This dog needs to have her confidence built up - please send me all the information I requested my heart is breaking I can feel your dogs pain, she is so scared, you will need to crate train her immediately - she has to be confined, she is afraid of so much her energy is out of control and I will show you and your wife how to be the pack leader and how to use your positive energy to help her calm down - right now she is so frightened that she cannot understand what you want from her because she does not feel safe.

All these issues can be fixed and you can see major changes in a matter of a few days however I need at least an hour or two to go over a few different techniques with you.

in order for her behavior to change, I have to instruct you and your wife how to change your behaviors with the dog so that you can communicate with her in a manner that she understands.

Send me the information and I will review it when I return from my clients home tomorrow - I have a 10 am appointment and I should be home by 1 pm or so and if you have the time, I can have you and your wife ready to start working with this poor scared baby by Saturday early evening.

I also want to send you some files and documents for you to read and review - you will not retain 100% of the information that I will explain to you, that is why I want to provide you with documentation that you can refer to and refresh the things that I go over with you. This way you don't have to worry about remembering every word, I will provide you with back up documentation.

Lets talk more tomorrow - she can be fixed believe me Nathan

Answer 5

Dogs dont feel guilt. Exposing the belly means she was submitting to you and has nothing to do with her being "bad".


I`m sorry, but I am strongly against using force to control an animal. Bitter apple spray wont work and even if it did she wouldnt know what IS appropriate to chew.

Do as the mother dog would do. Pick her up, look her dead in the eyes and give her a menacing growl. This will stop the behavior. You MUST give her something that is hers to chew or you will only be reinforcing the bad behavior.

Answer 6

To be more accurate she does not 'know' that she was bad...what she does know is that when she has fun during the day doing normal doggie behaviors...you always seem to be really really mad at her when you come home from work...AND YOU ARE REALLY SCARY ...If she knew...she wouldnt do it. It really is that simple. Dogs do not operate out of the same emotions that we do. Everything originates to a safe situation or a dangerous situation....ie. it is safe to eat the house when you are gone and it is not safe to eat the house when you are home.(now its not safe to be around you either) NOW TO HELP FIX THE PROBLEM! First you must understand that she NEEDS to chew...it is necessary to her own mental well being...this chewing on the other hand does not need to include your stuff. I would really suggest crate training her if you are not able to keep her in a safe, secured , and non-chewable location when you are gone. When dogs are properly crate trained, dogs LOVE their crate...they are den creatures by nature and a crate offers a dog a comfortable safe zone.This also helps confine her to a safe space and she cant physically eat you out of your house. You need to minimize the amount of things she has access too....If your child colored on the wall with crayons, you arent going to leave your child unattended with a blank canvas wall and crayons....you are just asking for a work of art. It isnt that the kid is coloring that you want to discourage it is the location. For your dog it isnt the chewing you want to discourage it is the specific objects. Start her off easy...some indispensible chew toys for a dog are 1.) a Kong..(beehive shaped rubber toy...hollow in the middle..STUFF IT! make it interesting and yummy) 2.) a hollow sterilized bone (you can stuff this too...make sure to pick ones with a thicker outer wall).if she likes ice cubes both of these can be frozen with the goodies inside. Encourage her to chew on her stuff reward her for chewing on it....Once she learns that you dont mind her chewing and she isnt going to get into trouble for chewing...you can start teaching her discrimination....when you are home of course...let her choose between a mini blind and her toy...if she goes for the blinds tell her no. then when she goes for her toy praise and reward...MOST OF ALL BE PATIENT SHE IS STILL A BABY...A REALLY NAUGHTY ONE..BUT SHE JUST HAS TO LEARN THE RULES OF A HUMAN HOUSE....if you have any more specific questions please feel free.....

Also if possible enroll her in a reward based training class..the ones at Petsmart deal with all of these behavior issues that you are dealing with and help with prevention for the ones that arent here yet...

Answer 7

sounds pretty much like a typical husky to me. My two huskies eat ANYTHING (they prefer salad instead of steak). Just make sure that your husky is getting the nutritional value it needs (take it to the vet to get checked) Eating rocks can be a major problem. It can cause the teeth to chip or not develop properly or even wear them down. It could also cause blockages in the stomach.. When you see your husky eating something that it shouldn't just give it a stern 'no' and then redirect it's attention to something else. If you leave it outside alone it might be eating because it's bored...

Answer 8

She is getting her adult teeth it hurts. Crate her or put her in an acceptabe area. She may also be suffering from seperation anxiety. So she chews to distract herself.
Dogs live in the moment, the reason she acts guilty and scared is that YOU (her owner her master her TRU LUV) is pissed every time you walk through the door! Unless you catch her in the act, stay calm. Getting mad for no reason(that she knows of) makes the seperation anxiety worse! I went through all of this and did all wrong. Now I am playing catch up all the time. Best of luck.

Answer 9

is she a lab?. time to creat train. it is her happy place and will keep her safe. never punish her there. fill it with toys and chews. she will sleep there and nap when ever your out. to make it work you must play hard 2x a day for 20 min. to make her tired. am & pm .good luck ! this really works. my 4 danes fight over the crates b/c i only have room for 3 crates so the last one in sleeps in a dog bed.they love the crates. the first 2 days are strange but if you stand firm they work great.

Answer 10

your puppy is bored and teething
it needs mental stimulation - Obedience lessons will definately help with that..

also a good selection of teething toys
hard - nyla bone type
medium - rubber kong type
soft - stuffed animal type

yes and crate training too - do not leave the pup loose when you are not home... crate it - DONT LET IT OUT IF IT WHINES-
if you are not home often you were not ready for a pup and should have selected a mature dog