WeimMe Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 (edited) Long ago I accepted that Hugo loved to chew and needed to be kept busy - very busy - or physically separated from chewables in order to maintain household harmony. All of the rooms that can be shut off to him have the doors permanently closed and I've drilled into the family that any items left on the floor are as good as gone. He's put outside when we go out, and crated at night so that he doesn't destroy our bedroom while we sleep. This was a soloution that we were all comfortable with...until he moved on from chewing shoes and swiping edibles from the kitchen benches to eating the furniture. A few weeks ago he discovered the joy of chewing on the kitchen cabinets. This morning in the 15 minutes that my daughter left him unattended in the main part of the house while she sat oblivious playing on the computer (he is forbidden access to the study as he can sever a cable with one snip of his jaws), he ate the couch. This is the second one he's wrecked. The last time he pulled chunks of foam out of one of the cushions that had the cover off (I was washing the slipcover), this time he dragged the couch into the centre of the room and tore the fabric covers from both cushions to get at the foam. All while wearing an elizabethan collar (he was desexed a few days ago). My heart just sank when I discovered the carnage because I know that this means that my husband will no longer tolerate him being in the house at all unless he is in the crate. Has anyone else lived with a very destructive dog? Did they grow out of it? How do you cope with them/manage them while they are going through this phase? We have another dog who ate shoes etc when she was younger, but her naughty phase pales in comparison with Hugo's. If things don't turn around I don't know that we will be able to keep him - we simply can't afford to replace the things he destroys. UPDATE Just wanted to update this post in case any other owners of insatiable chewers are interested. It's nearly 2 months since I posted the above in utter despair (Hugo is about 8 months old now) and I am pleased to say that he is doing so much better. From the advice I received I devised a strategy of lots of legal and fun things for him to chew like boxes with kibble inside and also plenty of rawhide type chews as well as basically making it impossible for him to have the opportunity to do the wrong thing. I spend a fair bit of money on chew things and toys each week, but it is worth it to save my own belongings (not to mention the furniture/house!). He is only allowed inside offlead for a few short periods a day and he is closely supervised for those times, otherwise he is on leash (with something to chew on) while we watch TV or in his crate. He doesn't seem to mind too much as he likes being outside. I also do obedience with him and walk him every day. He is very active and athletic and needs to be kept busy - if nothing is provided then he'll find something to destroy. I can't recommend the obedience classes enough and I am so glad that I decided to re-enrol, even though at the time I didn't really want to invest any more money in him. It is a difficult thing to admit...but for a while there I did not like him or enjoy owning him at all. He was so full of energy that I couldn't even pat him - he would just bite me and run away, and frankly...he was was just completely out of control. He has a long way to go obedience-wise (probably more due to me than any shortcoming on his part!), but attending the classes and working with him every day has really helped to develop our bond. He is still a handful and has to be watched all the time, but I am hoping that in time he will grow out of it and one day I might even be able to let him loose in the house..... Edited August 13, 2012 by WeimMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Muzzle (the soft basket type like THIS )when indoors and supervised ..outdoors with old tyres/lots of edible bones , cardboard boxes - toys which make him think/work until you can get an appointmemnt with a recommended trainer/behaviourist the only one I remember reading about on DOL in QLD is Jane Harper. I hope you can get some help soon ..it must be frustrating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeimMe Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Muzzle (the soft basket type like THIS )when indoors and supervised ..outdoors with old tyres/lots of edible bones , cardboard boxes - toys which make him think/work until you can get an appointmemnt with a recommended trainer/behaviourist the only one I remember reading about on DOL in QLD is Jane Harper. I hope you can get some help soon ..it must be frustrating I did think about this as a temporary solution for while he is indoors. I will give it a go until I can schedule a trainer to come and work with him I think. At the moment he's not supposed to be walked due to the stitches etc from desexing and I am wondering if the lack of exercise might have contributed to his boredom. It is next to impossible to keep a very energetic dog "quiet" for 2 weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 All of the above are great suggestions. Also try Vicks Vapourub on things like wooden furniture and door frames and anything that smells awful to a dog on soft furnishing. Sometimes perfume will deter them. With outdoor wooden furniture Crip Stop works. Most important though is to train the dog about what it can and cannot chew. To a dog one piece of fabric, paper, timber, plastic, etc is the same as any other. I always keep a toy basket in the house full of toys and stuff they can chew up including some hard chews like nylabones, sections of tree boughs or deer antlers. To learn about the toy basket they must be constantly supervised when not crated or muzzled so no mistakes occur. Give the dog something from the basket and encourage them to chew it, praising generously. Every time they go to the basket praise so they know that is their stuff to do with as they like. They will make a huge mess chewing everything up but it is easier to pick up toy stuffing, shredded cardboard, etc than replacing furniture. Every time they even look like chewing something not from the basket, reprimand in a very angry growly voice. I use the command "leave" then when they look away from whatever they were going to munch on, I praise immediately. The idea is to teach them that they own the stuff in the toy basket and you own everything else and they must not touch. If the growly voice doesn't work use a throw chain as well to startle them as you give the command. Throw it near the feet, not at the dog. Most dogs only need a few goes with the chain to get the message that you mean business. After that just clicking the chain will make them take notice if they are ignoring you. The praise once they leave the forbidden object is a very important part of the process. My toy basket has survived several BCs but my new little JS puppy has managed to eat most of the basket as well. He has averaged at least 5-6 hours a day of constant chewing. Never mind I can always get another basket and now at 10 months he pretty much has the run of the house all the time when we are home and his only real vice is sock and tissue stealing if he gets a chance. If we all go out he goes in a puppy pen just make sure he doesn't relapse to trying to eat the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Elbie was a little bit destructive as a pup - we caught him chewing on the corner of a wall (brick!), the deck (wood!) and various other things. Spraying the bitter spray on it didn't work and in the end we just kind of supervised him and reprimanded him when he chewed on anything he shouldn't. He has grown out of it and fortunately our second dog isn't very destructive either so can be left unattended in the house when we duck out. I think some dogs might just be a bit more chewy than others, alas .... I hope that he grows out of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Most important though is to train the dog about what it can and cannot chew. To a dog one piece of fabric, paper, timber, plastic, etc is the same as any other. I always keep a toy basket in the house full of toys and stuff they can chew up including some hard chews like nylabones, sections of tree boughs or deer antlers. To learn about the toy basket they must be constantly supervised when not crated or muzzled so no mistakes occur. Give the dog something from the basket and encourage them to chew it, praising generously. Every time they go to the basket praise so they know that is their stuff to do with as they like. They will make a huge mess chewing everything up but it is easier to pick up toy stuffing, shredded cardboard, etc than replacing furniture. This is pretty much what I did with 'hurricane Weez' when I first brought him home. Although I didn't bother reprimanding him for 'bad chew', I just took it away and replaced it with a 'good chew' then praised him for chewing the new item. But then I was working from home and started working on the behaviour straight away, if the dog has an established habit I can see it might be necessary to use both the carrot and the stick. I also tried to increase the value of the 'good chew' items by playing tug with them, throwing them about or using food-stuffed toys. It is hard to entertain a dog with stitches (I recently had this problem with a young active kelpie!) but you've just got to get their brain tired out. Lots of little trick or obedience training sessions can really make a difference to their level of restlessness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Most important though is to train the dog about what it can and cannot chew. To a dog one piece of fabric, paper, timber, plastic, etc is the same as any other. I always keep a toy basket in the house full of toys and stuff they can chew up including some hard chews like nylabones, sections of tree boughs or deer antlers. To learn about the toy basket they must be constantly supervised when not crated or muzzled so no mistakes occur. Give the dog something from the basket and encourage them to chew it, praising generously. Every time they go to the basket praise so they know that is their stuff to do with as they like. They will make a huge mess chewing everything up but it is easier to pick up toy stuffing, shredded cardboard, etc than replacing furniture. This is pretty much what I did with 'hurricane Weez' when I first brought him home. Although I didn't bother reprimanding him for 'bad chew', I just took it away and replaced it with a 'good chew' then praised him for chewing the new item. But then I was working from home and started working on the behaviour straight away, if the dog has an established habit I can see it might be necessary to use both the carrot and the stick. I also tried to increase the value of the 'good chew' items by playing tug with them, throwing them about or using food-stuffed toys. It is hard to entertain a dog with stitches (I recently had this problem with a young active kelpie!) but you've just got to get their brain tired out. Lots of little trick or obedience training sessions can really make a difference to their level of restlessness! For an ordinary puppy the reprimands are not usually needed much more that a little "aarh" sound but for a really compulsive chewer it is s different matter. Exercise and other mental stimulation makes no difference to a dog that is born a compulsive chewer. They are going to chew no matter what and will chew anything they can get their teeth into so you need to be very firm in setting out the rules and providing lots of stuff they can chew. I have had 3 destructo dogs over the years, 2 BCs and now the JS but I have also had dogs closely related to those BCs that hardly chewed anything other than the puppy toys they were given and never even thought about touching furniture, door frames or anything else they shouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 For an ordinary puppy the reprimands are not usually needed much more that a little "aarh" sound but for a really compulsive chewer it is s different matter. Yes and WeimMe's case does seem very extreme! That's why I said at the end a multi-pronged approach might be needed. Exercise and other mental stimulation makes no difference to a dog that is born a compulsive chewer. My comment about training was directed at WM's second post about keeping a dog with stitches quiet, not about the chewing specifically :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I don't know how you'd feel having a bone in the house bug a nice, large bone for chewing could deter him. I'd guess he's started chewing again because he's bored. If he's a very smart dog, lots of trick training can wear his brain out!! My dogs are outside dogs though so I'm only guessing at suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 We have never ever followed the vets no exercise,if the dg is sane onlead then take him for walks,he will not damage his stitches walking . What is the dogs daily activity level ,what do you do to make life fun for him?? Some dogs will chew things to simply get the attention it may be lacking & being told of doesn't off phase them as it is attention. I just read this on another of your posts He also takes great delight in "stealing" things - he'll snatch a item and run off with it and if left unchecked, tear it to pieces. Many many many times a day. He enjoys being chased and considers it a great game, but if I don't recover the item it's as good as gone. Chewing gets rewarded with a fun game ,sounds like time has come for some new rules & respect . Has pup been to obedience school ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeeGee Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Just putting it out there that Jane Harper is brilliant - I've had her assistance numerous times either fact to face or email. She is practical and thorough. If you choose to go the way of a behaviourist, I sincerely believe she is the best. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Has anyone else lived with a very destructive dog? Did they grow out of it? How do you cope with them/manage them while they are going through this phase? We have another dog who ate shoes etc when she was younger, but her naughty phase pales in comparison with Hugo's. If things don't turn around I don't know that we will be able to keep him - we simply can't afford to replace the things he destroys. I only just noticed this paragraph from the original post. How old is Hugo? If you are not going to keep him are you prepared to pts? I know that sounds harsh but it is reality that you cannot expect to pass on a dog with problems to someone else to fix. Dogs don't understand what they can and cannot chew unless you teach them. Some dogs chew a lot more than others but they are all normal dogs and coping with it is part of being a dog owner. I don't even consider this a behavioural problem, just an untrained dog with too much freedom before he has earned the right to that freedom. If the dog is not allowed in the house unless he is in a crate or muzzled then so be it. Dogs cannot destroy what they have no access to. I have had dogs that could not be trusted in the house without direct supervision until they were 3 years old. Others are fine as puppies. When you take on an active breed you have to be prepared for many possibilities and work around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I hope you can get an appointment with jane harper or someone good very soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Long ago I accepted that Hugo loved to chew and needed to be kept busy - very busy - or physically separated from chewables in order to maintain household harmony. All of the rooms that can be shut off to him have the doors permanently closed and I've drilled into the family that any items left on the floor are as good as gone. He's put outside when we go out, and crated at night so that he doesn't destroy our bedroom while we sleep. This was a soloution that we were all comfortable with...until he moved on from chewing shoes and swiping edibles from the kitchen benches to eating the furniture. A few weeks ago he discovered the joy of chewing on the kitchen cabinets. This morning in the 15 minutes that my daughter left him unattended in the main part of the house while she sat oblivious playing on the computer (he is forbidden access to the study as he can sever a cable with one snip of his jaws), he ate the couch. This is the second one he's wrecked. The last time he pulled chunks of foam out of one of the cushions that had the cover off (I was washing the slipcover), this time he dragged the couch into the centre of the room and tore the fabric covers from both cushions to get at the foam. All while wearing an elizabethan collar (he was desexed a few days ago). My heart just sank when I discovered the carnage because I know that this means that my husband will no longer tolerate him being in the house at all unless he is in the crate. Has anyone else lived with a very destructive dog? Did they grow out of it? How do you cope with them/manage them while they are going through this phase? We have another dog who ate shoes etc when she was younger, but her naughty phase pales in comparison with Hugo's. If things don't turn around I don't know that we will be able to keep him - we simply can't afford to replace the things he destroys. If you look back at my posts I had a severe chewer and I mean she chewed! It's only been since she hit 12 months that shoes are no longer tasty, cables aren't for dinner etc. Nothing gets left down for her but she sleeps on my bed right next to my phone on it's charger cord and it's been untouched *touch wood* Hang in there, it does get better (for some). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin-Genie Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Has anyone else lived with a very destructive dog? Did they grow out of it? How do you cope with them/manage them while they are going through this phase? We have another dog who ate shoes etc when she was younger, but her naughty phase pales in comparison with Hugo's. If things don't turn around I don't know that we will be able to keep him - we simply can't afford to replace the things he destroys. Both my dogs were highly destructive as puppies. They went through two dog beds a week, chewed holes in our walls, chewed chairs, tables, anything they could find. This stopped when they were about two years old. Now they are about four and stay inside all day without any issues. they have a sofa to lounge on, multiple cushions, toys. None of it has been destroyed. If your dog is young, give him time and as others said, tire him out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacha Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 we have used constant supervision and bitter apple with our pup and have so far had no problems with chewing items in the house. he is never left alone unsupervised in the house during the day time, for more than a couple of minutes at the most. if i go outside, have a shower, or for whatever reason i can't watch him, he goes in his crate or he comes outside with me. i'm hoping this approach will get him through the chewing phases and prevent him from developing the habit. he does chew on his own toys and loves his venison ears, but if he grabs anything else i've always been in the same room to catch him and discipline him. it is a pain in the neck being on constant watch duty and having pet gates up in the house, but he is still too young to be trusted. its not so much that i care whether he ruins a cushion or two but i just don't want him developing the habit of thinking he can chew on anything and everything. during the work day he is outside and i basically think ahead and make sure he can't access anything i wouldn't want destroyed. i gave him our old lounge chair to play with outside, which he's ripped apart, but he hasn't transferred that behaviour inside...although as i said, i never leave him alone long enough to do that, and he's always been a heavy sleeper at night so i haven't had to worry at night time. bitter apple spray really worked for us, i'm not sure if you mentioned trying it? its not cheap, but our boy hates it and will run away from whatever i spray it on. from 8 months old he has been sleeping unsupervised at night in the family room and we haven't had any problems so far. he could quite easily tear up the whole house if he wanted to...he's already 45kg lol. every now and then i'll still do a cursory spray around the edges of the furniture just to keep him on his toes :D good luck and i hope you have some success in stopping the behaviour. but...if we wanna talk about digging...oh my lord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Erik is almost 3 years old. He is currently chewing on a large leg bone and has been for over an hour. When they are fresh he will spend 2-4 hours a day chewing on them. He's a very busy, mentally active dog and chewing is a huge part of keeping him content. He gets all his food either frozen in Kongs or in bone form. That usually amounts to about 2 hours of chewing a day. He broke a tooth a couple of months ago and without the chewing he was very restless and difficult and prone to anxiety. This dog gets 90 minutes of physical exercise a day, which includes plenty of trick training, but he's that bright and active that he really needs 4 hours of stuff to do every day. He doesn't always get it because I'm pretty busy, but we all suffer if he misses out a couple of days in a row. He's like a child, roaming the house poking things, knocking things over, getting things out and dragging them around, standing in the middle of the kitchen and barking loudly for several minutes in the hopes that someone will play with him... He's a lot of fun, but can be very trying when you're trying to concentrate on work. When he was a puppy he was moderately destructive. We lost a lot of shoes. The key for us has been legal chew items available at all times. We use cow hooves, bones, Kongs, cardboard boxes, and we used to use Nylabones as well. Lots of exercise and mental stimulation, and keeping things that might tempt him behind closed doors. He's never been into the furniture, but our other dog has and bitter spray solved the problem. He's pretty good these days. Sticks to his legal chew items, but I'm not dumb enough to leave anything smelling of food around where he might be able to reach it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panzer Attack! Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 My heart goes out to you, WeimMe. i have a dog that is a lot smaller but gets into a fair bit of trouble too. It's SO hard when family members don't follow the rules, my housemates leave ethernet cables lying loose on the floor and lose it when they get chewed while i'm at work, leave food on the ground and wonder why it gets eaten etc etc. A couple of suggestions for you: - Crate Games (especially good for confidence building and calmness in the crate) - Shaping ideas list by Susan Garrett - Obedience training Some other things i have found useful (besides the excellent post by corvus that i can really identify with - nice to see you again btw! :D) are making a list of things that you would like your dog to be and then working on it. For example, i want Scooter to eventually be able to lie on a mat and be calm while Luke & i watch TV... the other two are older and fine doing that, but not Poots! So while we're watching TV i'll put a mat right next to my feet and intermittently reward Scooter with a clicker (and food or a game). Your Hugo sounds like a very intelligent dog (unfortunately destructive dogs often are), so he'll find things like this fun and quite easy, too. You can also swap this with low impact exercises such as teaching him to heel on and off lead, right and left, and to heel backwards... anything useful in day-to-day life will be worthwhile and use up some of his energy! The ABSOLUTE, NUMBER ONE thing that has helped, is CRATING HIM when i'm not around to supervise. If i let him loose in the house he might chew something, or steal something, or run outside and bark at the dog next door, so i just don't allow him the opportunity to make a mistake. Your dog simply cannot chew cables etc if he's in a crate eating a bully stick or a frozen Kong. Lastly - using a term such as "naughty phase" puts blame on the dog, when it unfortunately falls down to you to keep him amused and occupied. Weims are a HIGH energy breed with a lot of brains, and need to be worked or they will go bonkers. It's not Hugo's fault he's not getting enough enrichment in his life, he can't walk/train himself! :) (this took me a while to learn too LOL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 How old is he? My dog was quite destructive as a puppy/young dog. After 2 years of age there has been a noticeable difference. She no longer actually destroys inappropriate objects (although still likes carrying them around in her mouth). She is a lot calmer these days and can actually be left unsupervised in the house by herself for a few hours which I originally though would never be possible. She is actually more destructive when left outside now (as she still digs and chews trees). She has never been REALLY bad though- like trying to chew electrical cables (I've had kittens attempt this!), chewing through walls or tyres etc I think if they are "middle aged" (around 3-6yrs) then its probably likely they will stay more destructive.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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