How do I train my dog to not eat cell phones? HELP!?

Question

My dog has a cell phone fetish. He is 10 months old lab mix with pit bull. Very well behaved uses bathroom outside, stays in yard.. everything you could ask for BUT He keeps eatting cell phones! He is sneaky! This will be the third phone of mine he has ate.. and he ate my fiances antena... HELP. I tried spanking him with news paper.. locking him in his kennel... spraying him with water.. he wont leave them alone. Puting it up high and keeping my eyes on my phone isnt working ill leave it on table or couch for 5 mins bam monster dog is grinding his teeth in it. HELP!

Answer 1

OK, first of all violence IS NOT going to solve the problem. No more hitting or spraying ok? You could try keeping the cell phone on you or put in a room he can't get access to. Usually behaviour like this means he is bored. Get him bones to chew on, toys that make niose. You have to entertain him. Good luck.

Answer 2

A lot of great suggestions have been given. Yelling, spanking, spraying etc won't do any good. It only creates mistrust between you and your dog. And... I"m positive your dog doesn't come near the phone if you or your b/f is around hm? So the problem is how to deter him while you're not there watching him all the time.

Purchase a product called bitter apple. Its a deterant that keeps dogs from chewing on things due to its nasty taste. Now I must caution you... Though this product worked splendidly for my Golden Retriever my brother's Pit Bull didn't mind it one bit and chewed on whatever regardless of how much we used. If that happens then use something like tobasco sauce or chili powder wetted down a bit. You don't want something w/ such a strong odor to keep the dog away, you want the act of CHEWING on THAT object to keep the dog away.

Good Luck

Answer 3

My dog had the same problem. What I did was have the cell phone and a chew toy next to one another. offer him the cell phone and say NO sternly. Offer again and if he goes for it say NO even more sternly. Do it a third time. Then offer him the chew toy and when he takes say yes and play with him for 5 minutes. Then offer the cell phone and the toy at the same time. If he goes for the cell phone repeat saying no . Soon he will learn. Usually only takes about 10 minutes.

The dog chews on the cell phone because it has your smell on it and he just wants to be near you. Positive reinforcement is much better than hitting a dog. It will make them much more loving and less aggressive.

Answer 4

Keep the phone away from the dog; he probably can tell it from a toy. Don't lay it down; keep it on you, or place it on a chest or something that is off the ground. The other answers I'm reading are good as well, training class especially & also treating the phone with something distasteful to the dog like chili-pepper or bitter apple spray from the pet store , but beware, you might pick up a taste of it yourself if you get your mouth too close to the phone and if you use chili pepper, be careful of getting it in your eyes.

Answer 5

He's a big dog so chances are that he'll pass it over the next day or two. You will have to keep a close eye on him and his bowel movements. If he starts throwing up or seems to be in any kind of distress you need to find an emergency vet that is open. Most likely it'll pass without a problem, but it could get stuck and cause a blockage in which case you'll need to have a vet surgically remove it.

Answer 6

He is probably looking for attention. I am guessing you use your cell phones alot. Hmmm. Dogs are not stupid. He sees you using your phone.... not paying attention to him..... chew up the phone..... he gets a response. Even if the attention is scolding him, you are paying attention to him. Your dog is probably bored. Keep your phones out of reach and if he does get one, immediately replace it with a bone. I would recommend Nylabones. They have worked well for all of my dogs. I will say your dog will either love them or hate them. If he doesn't like it find one he does. Other than that set aside some time each day to play with him or maybe go for a walk. With a lab and a pit bull, they need a ton of exercise (physical and mental) especially at 10 months. Good Luck :)

Answer 7

It's easier to train people than it is to train dogs.
Your phone looks like a chew toy. He's a puppy. It is obviously a high value item for him. You like it. It smells like you (or your boyfriend). When the dog has it, you make a big fuss.
Put your cell phone in a drawer when it isn't in your hand.
No dog can be trained to be 100% reliable when you aren't in the room. 99%? Maybe. Are you willing to lose your phone one in one hundred times your dog is left alone with it?
Never hit a dog. It doesn't work.

Answer 8

I had my dog trained at Pet Smart and one of their tricks to deter the dog from doing unwanted things is,

Get a can and put 10-15 pennies in it tape the opening so they wont fall out. When he gets near your phone shake the can near his ear. The sound really scares them. Now place the can near your phone at all times, he wont go near it. You can do this method with anything you don't want him near. They get scared at just the sight of the can. I wouldn't over do the shaking of the can because they really do get quite scared. But it works I know others who have used this method as well.

I used it for everything, outside I placed them around trees he had previously tried to destroy, bushes, patio furniture, outdoor sports equipment. You name it I had can there to protect it, it looks a little nutty when company comes over but nothing was destroyed ever again.

Good luck!

Answer 9

One, don't hit. Two, kennel is suppose to be a place for him to relax not a jail and three, leave it in your purse, your pocket, in a cabinet, on a holster. There are options. Don't make it accessible to him

Answer 10

put something really nasty tasting on the phone that wont damage it, you can search the internet or go to petstores for sprays that wont damage it or even smell bad to you..., or there always is option B, which sounds mean but is really effective, you could yell at him and beat him with tha phone that he eats, like right after he does it, i know that sounds mean but but i dont mean like break his legs or anything i just mean one or two really good whacks, and yell at him, let him know how mad you are at him.