How do we keep our 10 mth old lab from chewing up everything???

Question

WE JUST GOT A BLACK LAB PUPPY ABOUT 2 MTHS AGO, SO WE'RE GUESSING SHES ABOUT 10 MTHS OLD NOW, AND SHE CHEWS UP EVERYTHING. FOR EXAMPLE SHOES, DOLLS, STUFFED TOYS AND EVEN A PAIR OF EARRINGS. SHE HAS CHEW TOYS, RAW HIDE BONES AND EVEN THE BIGGEST BONES WE CAN GET SHE CHEWS UP IN DAYS. HOW CAN WE KEEP HER CHEWING JUST HER TOYS AND NOT EVERYTHING ELSE?

Answer 1

ha ha ha ha ha
When you buy a lab a bone, make sure it says "compressed" or "compression bone"...those will last a little longer, and by "a little longer" I mean maybe a day! Get a Kong (don't get the puppy kong) and get the Kong filling or stuff it with Milk Bones. Also, we bought our Lab a tire for a riding lawn mower...that seems to work.
But, honestly....I don't know of anything that will make a lab quit chewing...these things just keep them chewing other things for a while.

Answer 2

Crate her whenever you aren't around. This is not animal abuse, nor is it mean. Excessive chewing, while caused by teething, is also a way for the puppy to relieve stress and anxiety, and it becomes a learned behavior. Another responder suggested getting her a Kong and as the "mommy" of a power chewer, I agree. Also, pick up a Nylabone too. Give puppy an old towel that can be chewed to sleep on and give her safe chew toys (NO RAWHIDE!) in the crate. You can get a decent size crate for about $50 at Petsmart or Petco, etc. Get one that is just slightly bigger than what your pup will be full grown. Teach her to "go in her house" when you are leaving. Don't laugh, but all I have to say is "Mommy is going to work now!" and dang if my dog doesn't paw open the crate door and go inside!

Having a place of her own will also ease puppy's anxiety, and she should learn what she can and cannot chew. Remove other temptations from her reach and make sure all family members put their shoes, gloves, hats, etc., away. This will pass but remember: Some dogs are chewers! If you provide enough of the proper, satisfying chew toys, she will eventually leave your things alone.Oh, and don't bother with anything like bitter apple spray, vinegar, tabasco, etc. My brother in law's dog loved the taste of bitter apple and chewed MORE, and my dog thought hot sauce was just dandy.

Just relieve the anxiety, provide Kong's and Nylabone's, and all shoudl be well. Peace and "woof."

Answer 3

That is so odd. I only say this because I've had 4 Labradors in my life, and none of them chewed "that" much. I have a 4 year old female lab now, and the only thing she ever chewed up was one of my slippers. I thumped her nose with it, (not hard) and any time she sniffed it or went in the direction of it, I chewed her out. Maybe that's the key. At 6 months of age she was bringing me my matching shoes when she wanted to go outside to poop. So maybe just be a bit more agressive, and don't give in to her "because she's cute". Those brown eyes are hard to get mad at, but you'll have to show her who is boss. Labs are smart and will play you like a fiddle if they realize they "can." Male labs are smart,
but I've always found it easier to train females. I don't know what else to tell you, except be stern, "all" of the time, then once she's caught on that you mean business, you can cuddle more. Also, play fetch a "lot" with her, she has a lot of energy. As for chew toys? Go to Wal-mart or Pet smart, and they have a "soft hamburger" that has a soft sound to it when it's squeezed, and for some odd reason, my Lab loves that hamburger. She's had 2 in 4 years, she just plays with it and doesn't tear it up. well, good luck.

Answer 4

HI there,
Well to start, aren't lab pups wonderful and so sweet? I adopted one two months ago and it is now 7mos. He is the first of four labs I have had that chews. Isn't it horrible?

He has got my flops, both pairs, toys to little bitty bits, ate a hard piece of frisbee a bit back, just anything he can get.

I give the dogs a marrow bone on Sunday aafternoons, and the bones kept them quite occupied for hours and hours!
]When my hubby and I woke up the next morning, we heard a weird noise, I thought he had the bone up near the wall , but to tease my hubby, I said, oh it's just Gus, eating the wall.He said mm hmm. Anyways, we laid there a bit, then got up, looked at wall, and OMG THAT PUPPY was EATING OUR WALL.

Ours has gone in stages. I take away whatever he has grabbed at the moment, say Thank you, and offer him something he can carry around or whatever. Then he'll be really good for quite a long time, then he just has to be a puppy.
I think we all need to put things out of his reach, emphasize the things that are okay, and those that are not.
Do you use food treats for rewards?
Give him lotsa bones, so he has something to chew away hard on as he "feels the need to destroy" !!

Goood Luck!

Answer 5

Keep all your important stuff away and if it does chew on stuff consider him helping you get rid of stuff.
This is the reality of having a pup in the house.
They do eventually grow out of it in a year or 2.
At the same time, this would be the best time to discipline them.
You must be firm and only discipline them at the time you catch them in the act or they will not know what you are punishing them for, dogs learn by relating an action to the result they get from the action. So if it knows that when it chews on stuff he is not suppose to, he will get punished, he will eventual learn to slowly stop chewing stuff. You may need some patience and consistency.
Keep giving it a chew toy or hide and spent more time with it as the reason for chewing is that they are bored.
They really are like babies... need a lot of attention and TLC.
Hope that helps. : )

Answer 6

OH BOY!! Welcome to motherhood with a puppy! Labs love to chew! You need a space for her when your aren't home. I had a very big kennel for my labs. where they could go outside and come back inside with a doggie door, BUT they didn't have access to the whole house, only parts of the kitchen. When they got older they stopped chewing so much and started obeying better. (I have seen kids chew as badly as dogs when teething, dogs teethe too)!

When you are home and the dog is out of kennel and you see her chew, tell her "no". Give her a chew toy. Everytime she chews something that isn't a "chew toy", she is to be told "NO". Eventually, she will think chew toy good, furniture bad.

Also, find a to kennel her when you aren't home during the day. Put plenty of chew toys, food and water in her kennel.

It is hard to kennel a dog like a lab. We spent a lot of time and money doing it properly. I know that is hard for everyone, but if you can find a way to construct a large containing kennel with outdoor access to a fenced yard, it is awsome for the dog.

Labs do have a tendency to dig under fences or jump them, so you will need to protect the underling of you fence and make your fence curved at the top or get invisible fencing.

Good Luck and Take Care

Answer 7

whenever you see her chewing on something go to her and say "No" and then put a toy in front of her to start chewing on. Its teething. all puppies do that.. and if you go to Petsmart they have puppy training, they will teach you exactly how to stop your puppy from doing that! i did that with my puppy, she's a golden retriever mixed with a lab, she was 4-7 months old when we put her in training, she ended up best out of the class! so if you put your lab in, labs have a history of being smart dogs, i guarentee that she will have learned to only chew her toys, and if she hasn't you will be able to come up with an idea to do that, just from going to the training class! good luck!

Answer 8

Take her out for walks. Sounds like she's got pent up energy. Doing walks will dissipate this energy and relieve the chewing. Worked on our 6 month lab mix.

Answer 9

right now i think the dog is teething and its normal.. just get em some chew toys.. and play with em.. teach em to fetch.. labs are very smart dogs... they learn fast and you should also.. put a leash on em... let it drag around so they get used to being on one.. so when you do take em outside they wont flip out because they dont know what it is... and leave it on em... oh and the rope with 2 knots on it worked well for me...

Answer 10

I had a black lab he did the same thing.I just had to make sure I put them away as much as possible. watch him or her because they will eat the wrong thing. mind did, and know I have a chocolate lab he tried it I popped him on the nose he never did it again. he just turned ten years old.