I have a dog problem. Anytime myself or the wife is away at work the dog chews on anything she can get her mouth on. The only thing she won't chew is dog bones. She hates them. All of them. Now i know there are some dog owners on here so can anybody help me out? She started out just chewing the newspaper, flyers and kleenex but lately has chewed up the attenae to the cordless phone and seems to like chewing the arm of the lazy boy chair. She is an American Eskimo/Sheltie cross. Obviously she is doing it because we are gone but they has to be something we can do to stop this no?

She chew cos of pain on her teaths.

Give her a few old pair of shoes from both you and your wife, and see wot she does.

Unfortunally they have that timing to chew everything.

You think so? I never thought of that. She's only around 1 year old so it makes sense.

TDL take a look:

http://www.vetnetwork.com/petcare_artic ... ppies.html

and

http://www.cushionguy.com/infochewing.html

Read and off course it all depend on temperamental of your dog and breed. Mine is a Bull terrier and its fcuked hard to deal with them while they are puppies.

I gave an old shoes to mine, but i teach her that was her toy and not an habbit.

Also, I don't remember where I heard this, but you may want to read up on leaving the radio/TV on (I'm about to go to bed and don't really feel like looking it up, sorry ). Apparently if the dog hears human voices when the owners are gone, they don't freak out as much because it makes it seem like someone is there.

Same here...my American Staffordshire Terrier (Kody 3 yrs.) used to chew on eveything. He ate my remote control (incl. batteries)! And yes only when there's nobody at home.
So I bought a doggybench for him where he can stay when I'm out... At first he tried to chew his way out but eventually he gave up!

Try some dried pigsear for your dog (if you don't mind the stench! )...

Good luck

Get one of those pet travel crates and lock your dog in during the day. Dogs are den animals. She might not like it at first, but she'll get used to it. In fact, my dog sleeps in his at night even though I don't lock him in. He just likes having his own space.

doggybench!

This is the same thing we do. She (Lissy 1 1/2 years) like her own space, and sleeps in there during the day when we are at work and at night.
We didn't lock her up during the day in the beginning, but she started on furnitures.
Now she's in her travel crate during the day, and sleeps until we come home.

A large portion has to do with the breed and the animals age...just think of a teenager with overactive hormones and you will get the picture.Around a year to 2 years most dogs will try and test their bounds and see what they can actually get away with,Sheltie's are no exception as they are extremely hyper anyway. American Eskimo dog's are pack animals that are bred to pull sleds all day....so you can plainly see that a big portion of the problem is simply the dog isn't getting all the exercise it needs.Alot of good suggestions have already been made but the most important thing would be patience tempered with consistancy of your doggy rules.You may have to resort to setting one room up just as a doggy proof room that you can keep her while you are away.I would shy away from handing any clothing or something along those lines...the dog will get a mixed message and make training that much more harder.I would suggest a big rope with knots tied in it or even this,get her a squeeky stuffed animal....something that she can take and shake and make noise with...you know...like killing another animal for real type thing....dogs like that If furniture is the issue try a big assed stick of wood....sometimes the easiest solutions are availabe right in your backyard....But a big thing beyond all this is making sure you take her out for a good run at very minimum once a week...that is minimum..Idealy it should be every day but I realise people get caught up in their own lives.Go to a football field or track field and your wife get on one end of the field and you the other and make her run back and forth between you 2 for 15 minutes or so....seriously..your dog will not be happier and it releases alot of their pent up energy that it has stored up throughout the day.

PS.You should give us all a pic of the pooch.

Hmm, I have heard that taxidermists can solve almost all dog problems.

Anyone who has a dog with the biting power of a Staffy will know the damage they can cause and I know other dogs, while less destructive, can still be little shits.

Mr Ruthless only chews when alone, we trie locking him into the dining room and kitchen, little there to damage, but he started running head first at a pine door, then he broke thru it!!!!!!!

Pigs ears are cool, but my dog demolishes them in a matter of minutes, and he hates the "proper" toys built for staffs, not that I blame him, brown plastic shit.

Chewing varies from breed to breed, but chewing till the age of 2 is common, you just need to discipline the animal, remember they are pack animals and will/should see you as the Alpha. Dogs, in general, will learn eventually.

You could try, as someone here suggested, leaving a radio or TV on, or leaving a radio on quietly just playing static, but none of these worked for us, the dog just went even more mental cos he thought someone was in.

I know it might sound cruel but have you tried hitting the dog on the backside with a slipper? Dogs are tougher than us and TBH he prolly would hardly notice, but it would give you some reference point. I struck my dog once with a slipper when he ate a very expensive pair of trainers, and touch wood he just needs to see the slipper and he will be behave, altho he is still a shit when we go out.

To prove how tough Ruthless is listen to this, he smashed a pine door with his head, all the time his tail still wagging, another time he ran head first into the sharp corner of a table, stupid arse was still in a good mood and carried on like nothing happened!?!?! The best one was when he was introduced to the neighbours dog, a German Shepherd, Ruthless was just 6 months old and had a fight with a full grown Shepherd, needless to say he lost, but his injuries had zero effect on him, not even when the vet was prodding them LOL

You just need to persist, in my experience almost all dogs can be, with time, trained to an acceptable level, but like kids it can take time.

That would only have an effect if you catch the dog in the act. They cannot associate punishment to an act if it is not concurrent and from the sounds of it thedeadlive is out of the house when any damage takes place.

I had the same problem with my labrador, he ate an entire kitchen floor of linoleum (probably a good thing). I got round it by leaving him loads of stuff he could chew on. And I found the only chew toys that could withstand constant chewing are the range of Kong chew toys. The good thing about the standard Kong is that you can pack it full of dog food and it'll keep them busy for hours trying to get the food out.

Another thing that chewing is a result of is boredom. It doesn't matter how much you do for the dog, she's going to be bored if left alone for 8 hours a day. Do you have a family member or friend who could pop in and see the dog during the day? Even let her out in the garden for 5 minutes, it would break up her day.

Sorry DJ, I shoulda been clearer, he only gets threatened with the slipper if we are there, luckily there is generally someone around all teh time.

The only problem time we have is at night, I have no issue with him sleeping anywhere he wants, but ATM he still chews alot so he must be shut in at night.

Problem is that if his dog is like mine, they aint interested in stuff that does not break, Ruthless only likes stuff that either tastes nice or will be destroyed, all these shitty indestructible things he just ignores, talk about fussy little shit LOL

I actually do not like violence in any form, and I understand a dogs brain works in a different way, but I still found it hard to actually punish him, luckily it has been just the once.

Yeah I got that. I meant in TDL's case - he can't catch the dog in the act so punishment is useless.



When I used to go to training classes with my pooches, the instructor (who was big into dog psychology) actually said that a well timed physical punishment could work wonders, when other avenues have been exhausted.

Yeah, strange how dogs do not feel that sorta pain as much as we do.

I have just been corrected by my missus, he never got slapped for chewing trainers, he started nipping everyone, then it progressed onto harder bites, got to the point he actually drew blood. It was never nasty biting, purely excitement getting hold of him. I actually tried to bite him back, but he did not seem to mind, so next time he did it I grabbed a slipper and twated his arse, and to be fair to him he has never bitten anyone again. I knew I wouldn't have slapped him for something like chewing, that is more of an annoyance than anything else.

I too was told a well placed bit of relatively minor pain could do wonders, as long as not overused, but it will never be a comfortable thing to do for me.

Luckily my dog is turning out fine, he has a truely wonderfull temperament, and he has started to get his protective streak come out now too, which is the main reason I got the dog, a little family protection.

I just wish I had known how strong he would get, he is larger than most staff's I have seen so far, and he has yet to lose a game of tug of war with any dog upto a German Shepherd size.

The only thing I would change is how he is with other dogs, he can be unpredictable, never outwardly aggressive, but never backs down either, sometimes I think he is looking for a fight LOL

Wow thanks for all the suggestions. Lots of dog owners on here. I've tried leaving the radio on when we are gone but it didn't work. She still chewed up some stuff. We've had to tie her up to the dining room table leg because of all the chewing she does. When we had her loose and we thought we had everything put away that she would chew(except for a couple dog bones she never touches and her play rope that she never touches ) that's when she chewed the phone antennae. So we had to tie her up to the table leg while we were gone. I won't keep her in a dog kennel because i feel it's too confining for them to be in 8hours a day.

I think your right also DXA that she's not getting exercised enough. But after 8hours of work and it's -40C outside i'm not going out for a walk/run. But i think the lack of exercise is a part of the problem forsure. God damn Canadian winters.

One good thing is the dog and cat play like madmen. They both get some exercise running around chasing each other. The dog usually ends up getting hurt because the cat gets too excited and starts biting and eventually gets her lip in his mouth and doesn't let go until she yelps.

I'll try and get a picture up of the dog on the weekend. She's not a very big dog at all. More in the small to medium size range but you'll see better with a pic.

Another thing is how do you train a dog to play with a tennis ball or rope? We've got her trained good to ask when to go to the bathroom. We just open the door and she runs to the backyard does her business and runs back inside. But when you throw a ball and try to teach her to get the ball she just looks at you like WTF! But the funny thing is the cat chases the ball as soon as you throw it but the dog never moves. Any tips on how to start training her for that? It would be good exercise for her once she learned.

Thanks for all your help guys.

here's mine.

LoL

Compared to 8 hours a day tied to a table leg, I'd say that would be freedom.

Seriously dude, tying her to the table is nothing short of barbaric and you'll end up with even more problems if you start doing that.