My dog chews up everything! How do I stop him??

Question

His is a 1 year old lab - he has had many toys but that doesn't stop him chewing anything else he can find. It doesn't make any difference if he has been walked for hours a few times that day & the non-chew spray stuff doesn't work.
I have stopped buying him toys recently (even the ultra "strong" virtually "indestructable"ones (kongs ball of rope knots etc) as he destroys them totally, sometimes within the first 10 minutes & sometimes it takes him a couple of days. He has chewed his beds too so now at night when he is in the kitchen all he has is a blanket (which is ripped to shreads). He doesn't have any toys or even a bed anymore which I feel bad about but I can't keep giving him things to destroy within minutes!
I thought it used to be because he was teething & when his teeth had grown it would stop, but it hasn't.
Any advice please, I feel like I have tried everything.
Thanks.

Answer 1

First of all they NEED to chew. You have to supply the dog with chew bones and toys that it can chew. There's no way to stop it. I learned the hard way too. Mine chewed off the handles on my scissors, screw drivers(and they are hard) you name it it destroyed it. Good luck.

Answer 2

When my chihuahua was 1year old she chewed shoes, wood, and stuff she shouldn't. Well to find out its part of teething. They grow teeth which might hurt or their gums don't feel right, so they chew on hard stuff mostly. All you have to do is put everything up you think she will chew and go buy hard toys. Buy like hard chewing bones, balls, ropes, anything that will satisfy her chewing needs at that age. Good luck Now if she does it while your away, the best way to stop that is to get those gates that fit in a doorway. Put her in a bathroom and put the gate up so at least she can see out and hear. Make sure nothing is in their but hard toys also. Good luck =) Your dog could also becoming bored and feel the need to chew everything no matter what. Walk her everyday before you go to work, if you have time. Walk her once a day or twice. Some way she will break from chewing, my dog did. You should invest in a chain link fence for your yard, if you have one. That will help alot.

Answer 3

Labs can be hard core chewers and destroyers of everything within reach - or so I've heard. The Lab we had eventually grew out of chewing up everything (including the bricks on the fireplace), thank Dog!

What we did was always try to make sure she had something to chew on that was approved (rawhide bones, pig ears, etc) if she was going to be alone and if we were present, we had a "noise box" to throw near her when we caught her chewing something she shouldn't. The "box" was just a small used peanut can with some marbles inside. The noise scared her away from what she was chewing, usually, and she wouldn't go back to it while we were paying attention... Huh, now that I think of it, maybe that didn't work so well after all.

The Kong was the only thing we found that she couldn't destroy, but the problem was that she lost interest in it unless we put peanut butter inside.

Now days, crating is a popular plan for when you can't watch the dog. Depending on your situation, this might be a viable option. I personally wouldn't do it for extended amounts of time, like if you work 12 hour shifts - but a dog will frequent learn to enjoy sleep in the crate overnight. He might shred his blanket, but it would be confined to a smaller space then. Of course you want to get about the biggest crate you can find for him - something that he can stand up fully in and turn around with no difficulty.

We have a little hell hound of a Beagle-mix that will shred everything in sight if she's left alone in the house. We found that out the hard way the first time we left her alone. She destroyed my MP3 player, managed to get up on the kitchen counter and eat a loaf of bread and chewed up several books. We got a crate and from then on, when we leave the house, Tippy goes into the crate. She's good about it - we put in some toys and so on. It's been a real sanity saver.

You might also check into obedience school. A little training can go a long way with a dog that likes to destroy things, so I've heard.

A little off the subject (but only a little), I read a book called Marley & Me about a dog with a destructive streak. It's a great book - it doesn't address how to fix the problem, but you might be able to laugh along with some of it and recognize you and your dog in some of it.

Answer 4

There are some really good suggestions here, so I'm not going to add a whole lot. I do just want to suggest that you make sure that you give your dog enough exercise by walking it every day at least twice a day. He also needs to be disciplined with plenty of love, and given lots of affection and attention. Labs are wonderfully affectionate dogs that usually love to play with you, so you should play with him a lot each day; Also, everyone else is probably correct too: he's too young to stop chewing yet because his jaws and teeth have completely developed yet. Pig ears, dog bones, dog biscuits, deer (and pig) hooves are all excellent things to give him to chew on while he's got to chew.

Above all--DON'T chain your dog up!! That is an almost abusive practice and it doesn't address the problem that you are trying to deal with with your dog. Crating sounds like it might be a reasonable solution for when you are not in the house, too. Good luck with it spending your time until your puppy has grown a little!

Answer 5

i have a labrador mix puppy and she used to chew everything to
what i did to stop it was buy her chew bones made from cow skin she loves them ok she eats it in 2-3 days but now she doesent chew shoes or other things any more i can even leave her alone at home and every thing is ok ,ropes with knots also do the trick meine gets a new one every week she chews it up also the same day but its better than my exspensive furniture o r her bed

Answer 6

Whatever you do, please don't chain him up. It is cruel to do that to any dog, espcially a large one that needs lots of exercise. Only irresponsible, nieve pet owners do that.
My puppy loves her kong toy frozen. I don't even have to fill it with dog food and penut butter. I just stick it in the freezer and she loves it. I heard it's good for pups' gums to chew on frozen stuff. I know when my sis was a baby she liked her one "chew toy" refridgerated. Pups are a lot like babies and toddlers. A ton of patience is required. Make sure you give your pup plenty of play time. Chewing can be a sign of boredom.Good luck!

Answer 7

I used hot sauce to keep my dog from chewing. I would put it on the thing he chewed last and when he went to it he wouldnt touch it again he now doesnt chew anything this also works for if your dog likes to dig put hot sauce where he digs and he will eventually stop

Answer 8

I know this sounds weird and gross, but try deer hooves.. You can get them at the local tractor supply and feed store.. I know several people who have had problems with dogs chewing on everything, even passing up bones, yet they chewed on these and stopped chewing everything else.

Answer 9

your dog is chewing everything because you have allowed him to have so many things to chew on so now he thinks he can chew on anything, try giving him bones to chew on, they are good for his teeth and will hopefully distract him from chewing anything else. he may also be attention seeking from you. if you make a fuss over him chewing everything he has achieved what he set out to do....get your attention. dogs are not dumb animals

Answer 10

if he's only 1....he still needs to chew because he may still be teething and his jaw bones and such are still developing. I would make sure to get him some chew bones and such and see if those help somewhat.....best of luck to you