Chewing on books

[Caitlin888]

My poodle cross is beginning to get quite cheeky and starting to become a bit naughty. He has began chewing the books on the book shelf a lot more, even though he knows it is wrong and also being a bit aggressive e.g bitting our hands and clothes more. Is this just apart of him being a 5 month old pup? 

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

he could be teething.

I would be putting a little bit of vicks vapour rub on the bookshelves (near but not on the books) and i would be giving him black kongs with food frozen into them or  a little bit of vegemite or peanut paste wiped inside.

He's coming into the dog version of adolescence - how you treat him now will affect him for the rest of his life.   He may also come into something called "a second fear period" where he's scared of things for no apparent reason.  

http://k9protraining.com.au/2005/10/17/puppy-development-schedule/

[Dogsfevr]

Pup is no different to a toddler starting to crawl ,you make it safe ,your pup has no idea it's wrong ,it's simply an item at its level .

it sounds like pup is in control and you need to go back to basics with training .

yes it's teething so will chew and some teeth worse than others so you need to supply good teething chew options .

If pup is free range and going to chew then put it in a safe area ,puppy pens are great for this period 

[Loving my Oldies]

1 hour ago, Caitlin888 said:

My poodle cross is beginning to get quite cheeky and starting to become a bit naughty. He has began chewing the books on the book shelf a lot more, even though he knows it is wrong and also being a bit aggressive e.g bitting our hands and clothes more. Is this just apart of him being a 5 month old pup? 

Your pup is very young and isn’t being naughty - he is being a pup who needs to be shown what is right and what is wrong.  It is vital that you get on top of the biting hands and clothes right now as it is something that will most likely just escalate.  There are plenty of excellent trainers on this forum who, I hope, will jump on here with better advice than I can give.  Until they do, the thing you must do straight away is the moment he starts to bite if it is while you are playing stop, give him a firm “no” and walk away.  

 

And don’t forget to get a crate   .  Your pup is very young, very active, but still needs time out and to be given a space where he knows it is time to switch off.    

Edited May 12, 2017 by Dame Danny's Darling

[mita]

Books are one of the household items that get,  over time,  a lot of handling by the owner.  So the owner's scent gets transferred onto them quite strongly.  Dogs are attracted to items with their owner's scent on them.

 

My  Angel, the tibbie, took to chewing the latest library book I was reading... when I was out.  I had to front up to the Library with the chewed book, to pay for its replacement.

 First time, the librarian fell about laughing...she said 'Can your dog read?  Look at the title!'.  It was 'Epitaph for an Angel' (a coincidence, of course). 

Second time, librarian not so amused, it was becoming a habit.  Again, she pointed to the title.  It was 'What Terrorists Want'.  She said it looked like this 'terrorist' was picking on library books.

Then a vet behaviourist pointed out the handling, scent transfer connection.  So 1. I kept current library books up out of her reach; and 2. I frequently rubbed the palms of my hands over her chew toys & soft toys to transfer my scent to things that could be legitimately chewed.

Then, no more chewing library books. 

Edited May 13, 2017 by mita

[persephone]

You seem to have a puppy. Chewing is what they do. 

 

If you want to protect items, keep them out of reach. 

Pup is not being naughty,and does not know 'wrong'. 

His biting is usually normal puppy play, your pup hasn't yet Been educated in human / pup play ;)

Reading examples like the following may help. 

 

https://clickertraining.com/how-to-survive-puppy-teething-and-nipping

 

 

[Scrappi&Monty]

In terms of biting your hands & clothes, I doubt that would be aggressive, more like natural puppy play. Aggressive would be if he was snarling and showing angry body language, you ignored that and then he bit you viciously. I doubt (and hope) that isn't the case

 

Sounds like pup just needs to learn that playing with other dogs is different to playing with humans. 

My two dogs like to roughhouse and do silly wrestling and chew eachother's legs/faces etc, but they know to be soft. And they know that they can't nip or chew me (or any human for that matter). 

Some of the more experienced trainers on DOL hopefully will come and give you some help. 

But pretty much if he is chewing and nipping people, maybe the first few times it happens, swap your hand for a toy to chew on instead.

If that doesn't work and he is being hyper and keeps doing it, a firm 'NO' or 'OUCH' and stand up, ignore him and leave him alone to calm down and stop being silly.

He should learn that if he nips/chews people, they will get sad/mad and will stop the game. 

 

In terms of the books, if possible keep them up high, or block them off so he can't get them perhaps? If you catch him in the act you can "No!" But because dogs tend to not understand why you are upset at them if it has been more than a few seconds since they did the 'naughty' thing, only tell him 'no' if you catch him doing it.

Does he have plenty of safe toys to chew on?

[Kajtek]

 

If pup is free range and going to chew then put it in a safe area ,puppy pens are great for this period 

Yes.... but every item chewed is making wonderful memories. 

HonBun chewed my antique chest box as a puppy. She is almost 11 now and I look at the chest corner then I look at her and go awwwww...

Beautiful memories of puppy-hood.

Enjoy