Jump to content

Chewing Skirting Boards


LoonyLuna
 Share

Recommended Posts

My 16 week old german shepherd pup has been chewing on one spot of my skirting boards. I was told chilli paste at puppy preschool (the week before she started chewing, I swear she got the idea from our instructor), but she seems to love the chilli and will happily lick it all off and start chewing again without even pulling a face.

Next I tried vicks, but she rubs herself along the skirting board until it's all over her instead and then starts chewing again. Then I tried bite off spray from Petbarn... I think she finds the taste unpleasant, but powers through. Today I've ordered cayenne pepper with my groceries to see how that goes, but was hoping for some ideas in case this is also a fail.

Extra info:

It's only one corner that she's chewing

It's while we're in bed

It's the closest corner to the bedroom and she likes to sleep right next to it

She does have a crate and eats and naps in there

Sleeping in our bedroom isn't an option as we have 2 cats and that's their refuge, she has the run of the main living area

She does have appropriate chew toys available to her

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be crating her at night for a week or two to try to break the habit.

Yes, I'd be crating at night. My 8 month old JS pup still sleeps in her crate at night. In fact she will take herself off to bed. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i would definitely be teaching her that night time is crate time :) Seems she may be trying to eat her way into your room . band aids , like putting stuff in front of the wall, may just keep her entertained by trying to find a way through/around ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree that crating her is a good idea but you can also apply Aerogard roll on to the places that she is chewing. Dogs hate the taste and also the smell. Once they have learned that it tastes terrible simply the smell of it is enough to keep them away from the general area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep i would be crating at night .you can buy every product under the sun but rarely will they work ,the smart ones just power through it or go somewhere else to chew .

Its most likely become a game & won your not going to win .i would sooner use the crate path at present to stop the habit & the damage & work more during the dog on things she can chew on .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In addition to the excellent advice above, get her plenty of stuff to chew on as she will be teething.

Some people have luck with a wet face washer/flannel, frozen, but my boy never really too to it. We had the most luck with frozen chicken necks, frozen carrots and bully sticks, Bully sticks are great as you should get a bit of chewing time out of them at 16 weeks.

Cow hooves are also good but they stink initially, but I found that after a couple of rinses they no longer pong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for all the extra info! Pepper has stopped her for now :) Unfortunately moving her crate to the chewing spot isn't an option, and my other half does not like shutting the crate door on her at night (it was a battle on my part to get the crate)... I'm looking into moving the crate into the bedroom, maybe she'd stay in there if we were in the same room.

She does love to chew! She gets frozen carrots, celery sticks, and she is enjoying bully sticks which were a recent find for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree that crating her is a good idea but you can also apply Aerogard roll on to the places that she is chewing. Dogs hate the taste and also the smell. Once they have learned that it tastes terrible simply the smell of it is enough to keep them away from the general area.

That's a good one.

I also use the home brand Vicks Vapour rub.

(And a dog gate for that professional counter surfer :eek: )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for all the extra info! Pepper has stopped her for now :) Unfortunately moving her crate to the chewing spot isn't an option, and my other half does not like shutting the crate door on her at night (it was a battle on my part to get the crate)... I'm looking into moving the crate into the bedroom, maybe she'd stay in there if we were in the same room.

That is ashame because its easier to train unwanted habits now than later on when older & no longer considered acceptable & shutting the door is so much safer at this time.

All my large breed pups are crate trained at night & then have free range once older with no issues ,i find it teaches good sleeping habits going into there crate at night

Link to comment
Share on other sites

she's a dog, get her a lamb neck or flap, beef brisket etc that she can sink her teeth into properly. It will also help loosen the baby teeth and avoid having a vet pull them out. Carrots and celery are for rabbits ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get your OH to do his own research about crates, mine has a habit of creating dog his own training theories that have no basis in reality and time and time again I have to lead him back to the old tried and tested methods.

While we all want our dogs to be unique (and each of them are in their own way) it's unlikely that any of us will be tackling a dog issue that has never been seen before. Attempting to reinvent the wheel could possibly end up in reinforcing the behaviour you don't want.

Luna is going to be a big dog and getting her to accept a closed door crate will get more difficult the bigger she gets.

Ours don't sleep in their crate as yet. They can go in and out as they chose most of the time, but the door is shut when we're eating dinner (especially when we have visitors), when we're cleaning the house and it's raining outside and any other time we don't want them roaming around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

Crates are great!

For both dogs and humans.

Dog just needs to get used to it because it's new.

Our now 11-month old puppy is a standard poodle-i.e. similar size to a small GSD (about 24kg).

He's chewed our deck as well as the render in one part, ripped clothes off line etc.!

They're ok to fix, but inside chewing- no way!

He gets bones, chew toys, training etc., too.

There's plenty on the internet about crate training, but we've had 3 dog use crates, including 2 on a trip around Australia- one a 25+kg poodle without any "training" at all.

I just put some food in there when dog is really hungry (leave door open) a few times, then shut the door when dog's inside.

The dog doesn't get a choice! He had a gentle shove if necessary.

Wire crates are really robust.

Pup whined a little for about 3 days, then zero problems!

He had a soft toy in there to chew/ use as a pillow.

He now has a comfy bed in there, but to start I used blankets that were comfy, but easy to wash/ throw out, if chewed or wee'd on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...