how can i stop my dog from chewing? she is getting worse. today she chewed up a sofa cushion. help me?

Question

she has chewed the carpet, shoes. magazines. cds. i cant take it. i got her 2 months ago. she is not crate trianed very well and everything says i shouldnt put her in one while im at work, but i cant take it anymore. hhhhheeeelllppp!!!!!!!

Answer 1

Chewing is an instinct. A great thing is to find a good chew toy for the dog. For example for a dog who chews a lot the black Kong would be good. You fill it with peanut butter (low fat; don't want the poor dog getting fat on ya) and give it to the dog before you leave. They will work on getting all the peanut butter out. It will give them hours of entertainment and focus their chewing instinct on this one toy and getting its goodies out. Your dog could be just bored. Do you give it vigorous exercise daily?

You can get certain spry deterents to help deter the dogs from certain things. You can spray your couch for instance. The only drawback is they have to applied daily and could stain the couch fabric. You would have to read the instructions.

Nothing will help resolve this issue any better then if you just make sure your dog is properly trained. Training is so important.

By the way....

Whatever you are reading that says crate training is wrong is not true. It all matters on how its done. The crate should not be used for punishment and the dog should not have any negative association with it. It is an important training tool and do worlds of help if done properly.

Answer 2

You really need to crate train her. People have probably told you not to leave her in the crate too long because she is young, but she needs to be in one when she isn't supervised. Just make sure she gets a break during the day if you can. Maybe somebody can come play with her at lunchtime, if you cant? Otherwise, you can't be sure what she's doing while you're not there. Here's directions how to do it:

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

Also, get some "bitter apple" spray to spray on things she likes to chew and you don't want chewed. It tastes awful and trains dogs not to chew.

Answer 3

You can crate a destructive dog, Then when you're home give her something that you will want her to chew. I have done this several times and very quickly they learn what is permissible to chew. I use the long rawhide rolls, and they lasts a fair amount of time. You have to give her no choice but what you her to chew on. Being in a crate is not harmful to a dog. They soon find it a quiet place that they will stay in.

Answer 4

uhhhh who is everyone? Let's see

Your dog is FREAKING out when you leave, so much so that she has literally destroyed major items in your house. And how does that make putting her in a crate, where she can't hurt herself or your stuff bad??

Read all the posts on Yahoo answers. 99% of us recommend and DO crate training.

Crate trained dogs are calmer in the crate than when loose in the house.
Crate trained dogs can't eat your couch, your floor, or anything that might be toxic which means you won't come home to find them dead and you won't be needing to make a trip to the emergency vet because your dog ate the cord to a lamp.

Dogs are den animals. They like being in a safe secure place. If done correctly, crate training can be a life-saver (literally for her and a sanity saver for you) and a very positive experience for your dogs.

And while you are at it - roll up a newspaper, put two rubber bands, one on each end, and go whack all the people over the head who told you NOT to crate train your dog!!!

Answer 5

You have to use your primate brain to avoid these sorts of things.

Purchase a nice crate for the puppy, and use it when you are not supervising her. Puppies should not be loose in your house at ANY TIME if you are not actively watching them.

Now you have allowed an issue to be created. When you leave, and a dog gets slightly anxious, she then goes and chews things to make her feel better. This is very rewarding to the dog. Many times they choose things to chew that smell like someone they are close to. This makes them feel even BETTER. There is NOTHING you can ever do to take away this reinforcement the dog got while doing this. Every time the dog is successful in relieving her anxiety in this manner, she is MUCH MORE LIKELY TO DO IT AGAIN.

The ONLY solution is to confine the dog in a manner in which it CAN NOT do these things. It is very smart to confine a puppy from the very start so they never learn to do these things.

In addition, here is an article I wrote about how to teach a puppy not to chew inappropriate things in your home.

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Why your puppy needs a TOY BOX

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If you have a new puppy, you know already that they like to chew. Not only do puppies LIKE to chew, they really NEED to chew. Chewing is more than entertainment for puppies. It helps them teeth, and it relaxes them. They are able to relieve themselves of frustration and anxiety by chewing.

Destructive chewing usually begins quite innocently for the puppy, but it can rapidly escalate into a serious problem if the puppy is not supervised and directed properly.

Here is a typical scenario:

Owner has new puppy. Owner leaves new puppy unsupervised. Puppy gets anxious, and looks for something to soothe itself with. It comes across a shoe. (or anything else that smells like the owner) Immediately the puppy is comforted by the scent of the owner. Then it will begin to chew the object that smells like the owner to relieve it's frustration and anxiety. As the puppy chews, he feels much better. The amount of reinforcement a puppy gets from this activity cannot be over emphasized. The liklihood of a puppy expressly seeking out your personal items goes up exponentially after even only ONE incident where he's allowed to relieve his anxiety in this manner. This is why careful confinement and supervision is SO IMPORTANT. You can never remove that reinforcement the puppy got while he was chewing the object that smells like you.

So what do we do? We confine and supervise the puppy very carefully, and we make sure she has a GREAT toybox with a variety of very interesting chew items. You can use a box or basket of any type as long as the puppy can easily get to it to take out chew items. Some things that can go in the box are kong toys, nyla bones, real bones.....use your imagination and keep it interesting and varied. For the first week or so, put a tiny smear of peanut butter or cheez whiz on each toy once a day.

So now you have your toy box set up, and your pup is out playing. Of course the pup will choose a toy from the box to start. But eventually the pup will decide to investigate something that's not his business. This is why you MUST watch a puppy EVERY SECOND he is loose in your house in the beginning. You don't want to miss an opportunity to TEACH. So, when the puppy focuses on something he should not have (this means LOOKING AT, SNIFFING, or PUTTING HIS MOUTH on any object you don't want him to chew) immediately interrupt him. I usually say AH AH, as I move towards the puppy. Once you have his attention, rush him happily and cheerfully to the toy box, and help him find a cool toy to play with and chew. Encourage him with a little tug game, or a few tosses.

Do this each time your puppy focuses on something he should not have. I also interrupt and redirect in this manner each time the puppy looks up at tabletops, countertops, stovetops, trash can, etc.

If you are consistent, and if you supervise CAREFULLY, in several weeks you will have a puppy who will consistently choose articles from the toy box to play with and chew.

Keep the box in one place, and never miss an opportunity to encourage the puppy towards the toy box when he wants something to play with.

Answer 6

their is really nothing you can do about your dogs obsessive chewing. she is teething if she is a puppy. if she is an older dog, either she is ignored and nobody plays with her or she has no toys. either way, i suggest that you buy some toys at a petsmart or something. your puppy will lose her teeth eventually, and all will be well. if it is an older dog that should work, if it does not, ask for a real trained professional.