We have an 8 month old half basset hound/half golden retriever. He's cute as can be and I love him very much, but he's driving me crazy! My family is ready to get rid of him, but I've been there telling them no all along, that he'll grow out of it. Well now I'm getting to the point where I feel maybe we should rid of him too and it breaks my heart. I don't want to, but I'm at a loss of how to stop his constant chewing and destroying. I still hold firm my belief that he will eventually grow out of this, but how many more items have to be ruined first? I've made sure he has tons of chew toys. I give him constant attention and love. Whenever I turn my back on him, he's nawing on something. My NEW furniture has bite marks on it. My doc martins are ruined. My daughters MP3 player has been destroyed, my husband's brand new $60 work shoes are shredded to the point that we have to buy new ones again. The list goes on and on... Please help me... I don't know what to do. Thanks!
2006-12-18 00:34:49 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
The final straw was spending all weekend mixing, cutting and baking ornaments for my daughter to give her classmates for Christmas. We got them all wrapped and ready for her to take to school today and he got to the bag and ripped them all open and chewed up the ornaments, ruining them all. She is sleeping still and doesn't know yet, but she's going to be heartbroken. We put things up high and away from him, but he's tall like a golden and can reach where you wouldn't think he'd be able to.
2006-12-18 00:38:20 · update #1
sorry to hear about your puppy delema...most puppy owners have been there...lol All is not lost. the best way to teach a dog to not touch anything that is not thiers is to teach them the leave it command. this command is easy to teach and It will serve you for the rest of his life. The first thing you do is put him on a leash...holding it with slack....put a small pile of treats on the floor where he sees it and controling him tell him to " leave it " in a very firm voice. the second he goes for it snap the leash with a firm "hey" repeat command "leave it" and the the second he looks at you treat him with the treat in your hand. repeat over and over for at least 5 minutes, walking him away from treat on floor and back again. VERY IMPORTANT to treat him the minute he looks at you ! Do this exercise as often as you can during the day for a few days. Carry treats with you (rollover cut into 1/4 inch pieces) Never let him get the treat on the floor untill you are finished with each session and then YOU pick it up and give it to him. Remember lots of praise and do not say no to him....just a hey and leave it "firmly". In a day or two go for all things ...one at a time that you do not want him to touch. In a week when he is off leash and roaming the house...set him up with a pair of shoes or a treat on the coffee table and see if he listens when you tell him to leave it. Don't forget the treat ...I know this sounds like treat overkill but it works. The second week no more treats for this command..just praise and instead of giving him the thing you told him to leave ..give him a favorite toy to play with. Hope this helps you. I know it will seem like alot of work for the next week but it will last you for your dogs life on everything you do not want him to grab, pick up or go for. Good luck and do not be discouraged if it doesn't work the first few times. control and repeat is the key to this and consistency in sessions for a week are the key.
2006-12-18 01:25:05 · answer #1 · answered by multicid 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy him a big crate or cage. When ever he chews something, scream at him in the biggest, loudest, scariest voice possible, and smack him pretty hard on the snout (not the nose, which can cause damage). Yell "NO. NO CHEWING, BAD." then, drag him to his cage, and when you put him in say "CAGE."
after some time, he will know cage is bad, and chew toys are good. When he is behaving or looks like he is getting into something, give him a chew toy. (KONG's work great, you can shove some meat in there and he will be at it for hours. They are like, indestructable, too!)
Remember he is still just a puppy, even though he is huge. He is like a toddler if he were a human. If you start teaching him now, then he SHOULD grow out of it. It is just like housebreaking your pet, you need to teach bad and good. when you house broke him, didn't you yell at him when he went in the house, and show him outside is good? same thing. =]
Before you get rid of him, keep trying.
2006-12-18 00:53:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is the dog crate trained, did this for my pup especially through the teething phase ... it worked wonders because the amount of damage done was minimal, my brother had a rottie and she got to everything ... he finally built her a pen and that also work but only because she didn't think to chew thru the pen itself. The dog was put in if we left the house or at night for sleeping. He's the best now ... we don't even have to worry about him taking food off of coffee tables. and of course we did use obedience training as well. Oh and if he's teething they have these heavy white meat bones (real bones) they really help with cutting gums for the teeth ... vet and trainer recommended.
2006-12-18 00:46:08 · answer #3 · answered by Chele 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't expect a puppy to act like a mature dog. We had the same problem with our American Bulldog/Yellow lab mix. But the problem was ours. We had to put shoes in closets behind closed doors. We had to keep items on shelves, in drawers, hung up or put away. Really, she trained US! No more keeping a cluttered house with everything down and laying about wherever we wanted to drop things. I still lament the loss of my favorite red shoes. They were the perfect shoes. And then there were my gray ones, and then there were my husband's ...
We got used to thinking that if we left anything out, it was our "offering" to her. She outgrew the chewing at 1 1/2. We outgrew the carelessness with our belongings at 45 :)
2006-12-18 00:49:36 · answer #4 · answered by Orquidea 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My lab/husky did the same thing. She chewed everything from the mopboards, to furniture, to pillows, eating my parakeet, etc. The only way I found to discourage this behavior was with mousetraps.
When the traps went off (not latching on her nose) it scared her enough that she kept away from the object. She used to get into the garbage and I found if I hung a mousetrap from a string, it was as effective. To this day, she sees a mousetrap - even if it's not "activated" she shys away from the area.
This also works well on christmas trees etc.
2006-12-18 16:52:04 · answer #5 · answered by darknazgul200 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the best thing is to crate her when you can't directly supervise her. it's not cruel & will save you alot of grief. also, buy lots & lots of rawhide.
my puppy is almost a year old. and just like kids, they get into everything. mine's chewed phone cords, electrical cords (I don't know why she wasn't electricuted), and plastic of any kind.
good luck.
2006-12-18 00:48:28 · answer #6 · answered by Magick Kitty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well get doggy ick stuff it isn't toxic but itastes awful spray it on anything he might chew on and give him his own toy whenyou chatch him chewing on something you don't want
2006-12-18 00:43:48 · answer #7 · answered by james_lynne1977 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋