I have an 8 month old lab that loves to chew whatever he can get his paws on, tennis balls, stuffed toys, poop

Question

pls help me figure out how to save my house and my dog before i get fed up. i cant believe he eats his own poop too......uuuuuugggghhhhhhhhhhhh. he eats up his food like crazy and even got a larger bowl for him. HELP!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

I have a 1 year old lab that week got at 6 weeks of age. The best way I found to help with chewing is everytime you find him chewing on something he's not supposed to chew on, take it away while saying "no" in a firm manner. Then hand him something he's allowed to chew on and make it a game, play with him and the toy. Make sure his toys don't resemble anything you don't want him to chew on and always buy those same toys so you don't cofuse your puppy. Also, I found that cayenne pepper sauce works well for the poop eating thing. It takes time but be consistent, don't give up. You puppy will be worth the trouble!!

Answer 2

OMG I had the same problem with our black lab puppy.. Labs are known for LOVING to chew.. They have a LOT of energy and want to play all the time.. You should walk him/her and burn off some of that, That will help a lot..

Toy that are just his/hers are good BUT nothing shaped like shoes or anything else you want to keep lol, This teaches them its OK to chew on them..

If he/she is eatting their own poop a cheap fix that sometimes works is try feeding him pineapple something about it after its pooped out they don't like!! A lot of the time The dog eats his own poop because he can smell the unprocessed food in it.. So don't feed them human food ever!!! Also chili powder om it will make it taste bad lol...

And last pet stores have pills and powders to make the poop smell and taste bad to them!! I hope this helped a little

Answer 3

He is supposed to be like this:)

Okay, get a kong toy and stuff his food in it and that will keep him busy for a while. Stop feeding him from his bowl. If he's working at the stuffed kong to get breakfast/supper it will keep him happy and busy and using his mouth.

Crate him when you cannot watch him. Make sure he has something he can chew.

Get him acceptable chew toys and play with him using them. Do not leave his toys all over the place. He gets a toy when you give it to him.

Give him plenty of physical and mental exercise. If he is pooped, he'll be too worn out to destroy your house.

As for eating poop, check out your local pet store or vet. There is stuff you can feed him to stop him from eating his poop.

He will chew less aggressively as he gets older, but labs are "mouthy" dogs---bred to use their mouths, so he's always going to want to be carrying stuff around.

Answer 4

There is a product available in many pet stores called Bitter Apple - works very well.

As for the poop - go out right after he does his business and douse it with either cayenne pepper or tobasco sauce - he will probably only ever eat it once again. There is also a powder available in pet stores which you can add to their food to make their stool taste bad.

Question - does he have free run of the house, if so you may want to limit him to certain areas unless you can give him 100% attention to ensure that he can not get into anything. Also, see if you can find a toy for him for his chewing

Answer 5

If you aren't crating your puppy when you are not home, or can't be right there to monitor his behavior, you might consider this to prevent unwanted chewing.

Be sure your pup has lots of things he CAN chew to appease the urge to chew, which will be present until about 3 yrs old. Dogs will still have that strong urge until 3, even tho they have all the adult teeth in as the teeth are still shifting within the jaw into proper place. My American Eskimo was a destructive chewer until 3yrs old, and this is what my vet told me as to why it persisted. But by 3 she was fine and I've never needed to crate her since then.

Answer 6

labs are known (any vet will tell you) to be very greedy dogs they are always hungry, you will never change that. The chewing you can manage by not ever smacking your dog it makes them worse. Hide all cables wires etc out of reach, provide many toys for dog, be very consistent with puppy at all times about what he can/cant chew. He be fine in a couple of months. Dont give up on him its very normal.

Answer 7

Puppies are chewing machines. Have lots of stuff for him to chew. Clean up the poop as soon as he does it. If he chews on your things, beat up the thing in front of him. It sounds psycho but it works. If he thinks you don't like the thing, he won't like it either. Don't do it with too many things though. He's just a dog, not a person.

Answer 8

He's a puppy- he's teething! He needs to chew- but not whatever he wants. Bitter apple will keep him away from what you don't want him to chew. But get him some things he CAN chew- most pet stores have all kinds of teething toys for puppies (and kittens, too)!

Answer 9

yes labs chew on EVERYTHING. i have a cockerspaniel/lab mix and she chews on everything she can find. last night she was chewing on my boyfriends dads painters drop cloth because it was there i have lost a pair of flip flops, house shoes and various other small items because of her, . my dog has to have metal bowls or else when they are empty she will chew them up. we also gave her a stuffed teddy bear and well he isnt stuffed anymore if you know what i mean haha but eventually they will grow out of the chewing or at least i hope so.

Answer 10

Bookmom's advice is the best of the bunch. I will just add to pick up your dog's stool as soon as he defecates. If he is having accidents when you are gone, the food additives others have suggested should help, but if this is just in the yard, why spend money on and give him something you don't have to? And if he is having accidents, crating and housetraining will address the problem.