Chewing...

[Nancy Evers]

We have a 13 mos old Goldendoodle (Sophie) who is just wonderful... but she chews... Right now she is chewing a chair in my living room. Luckily it is not the nicest chair, but I am more worried about her injesting something than anything else. She has chewed most of our kitchen chairs down and we are now sitting dangerously on them... we have tried bitter apple... she loves it. I am at a loss... I know she is a baby still but with two little people babies running around with lots of little toys, I am worried she may chew toys too! (we keep her out of the playroom area...).

Any thoughts? Here is a pic of our beautiful Soph...

[Adina P]

She won't stop chewing soon...she needs to chew. So your best bet is:

1) Close supervision so she can't get away with chewing things that are inappropriate without you catching her and redirecting her to something else. When you can NOT keep BOTH eyes glued to her she needs to be in a crate or leashed to you.

2) Make sure she has lots of exercise--a tired dog usually gets into less mischief. How much exercise is she getting? What kind of exercise?

3) Does she have plenty of chew toys she DOES enjoy? Perhaps it's a matter of finding something that works for her.

4) Work on training a solid response to commands like "Leave it"

[Moose&Mica]

Adina, you are the queen of good advice! I would like to add one word....KONG. Stuff it with something your doodle can't resist (peanut butter seems to work very well). As they get better and better at getting stuff out of the Kong you can make the treats harder to get out by freezing it or working a hard biscuit through the opening. This is also great if you just want a few minutes of "me time". Mine will still occasionally chew up stuff they shouldn't, but it seems to be limited to paper products (go figure) and the occasional pair of sunglasses. They have not started on the furniture thank goodness....they leave that to the cat's claws. :)

[Sandy]

13 months or 13 weeks old? Because I would think at 13 months this should be stopped, but at 13 weeks it's almost expected. I froze an old tea towel - doused it in water, then froze it. I think it helped Toby's gums when he was teething. I never left him unattended. He was either with me, or in a crate. I redirected him every time he chewed - I felt like that part of his life would never be over, but then, it was. He wasn't fazed by bitter apple either.

[Nancy Evers]

She is 13 MONTHS old... her chewing has slowed down quite a bit... but it has also just started on this chair... I think she is bored during the day... until our 14 year old comes home and plays with her. She gets lots of exercise, but we will see.

[Sandy]

Hmmmm...13 months old - it seems like more of a bad habit now than something she needs to do for teething. What do you do when you catch her in the act? Does she get a stern "NO" and put in her crate? Does she have interesting bones and things to chew on? I know when Toby gets bored he gets at ME. He wants attention or else. At that point I stuff his Kong, or get one of his older bones out and stuff a little peanut butter in it, or if I'm desperate, go with the expensive option and give him a bully stick. I will look in my obedience school book and see if they have any alternative suggestions. Has Sophie been to Obedience School? If so, you can practise her sit-stays and down-stays as well. I'll go look in my book now..... :)

[Adina P]

If she is bored and UNsupervised...that is a recipe for trouble. I highly recommend crating this dog OR placing her in a safe room like a laundry room or bathroom (provided there is NOTHING chewable in that room) when nobody is home.

[Mommy2Max]

She is a looker! I think that is the main problem with doodles. They are so cute, they can get away with just about anything in my eyes.

I agree 100% with the advice given thus far. Thankfully, Max hasn't chewed anything other than his toys but, he is always next to me with a toy and/or maybe he isn't the biggest doodle chewer out there.

[Karen & Lucy]

WOW, what a black beauty !!!!!!!!!! I am/have been very fortunate, Lucy does not chew anything ,but shoes. Since I brought her home I have had tons of dog toys for her to chew on, plus bones laying all over the house. My kids are grown and you would think I had a baby in the house with all of the chew toys. I have even given her a piece of wood to chew on, she loves it, OH and a empty plastice pop bottle. Sophie is just a baby yet, so like Adina says, supervision is the clue. I also would tie her to me. Good Luck, don't give up!!!

[Karen & Lucy]

OHHHHH, I just read some of the other posts and see she is 13 months old. It sounds like obedience school is needed.

[Debbie and Thomas]

She is a gorgeous doodle. Did she always chew like this-or is this something new? I am NO expert, but our trainer told us that when dogs molars are coming down-they will chew on anything that is available to them. Although she did say that this happens around 18 mths.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Some dogs like bitter apple! Mine did. My mom made a little paste/paint with Cayenne pepper and painted the wood on her kitchen chairs because her pup was a wood chewer. That took care of that problem for her. It is good to make sure that they have things to chew and to watch them closely; however I always think by 13 months (mine is 13 months too) they should be maturing out of the chewing. I get surprised every time. Ned doesn't chew furniture but STILL loves trash and toilet paper.

[Nancy Evers]

Thanks for all the good advice. I think that it boils down to this...
1. She does need more exercise... she gets 3-4 half hour walks a day, plus play time with my teenager. But with two little boys under the age of 4, I spend most my time watching them, and so she does not get constant attention, although I am home all the time.
2. I have identified the time she appears to be getting bored... It is usually early in the morning... 9 or 10 ish... Maybe if I can make an effort to take her for a walk with the boys on days when it is not raining, it will help. I will try to do that.
3. She loves her Kong... good idea.
4. She has always been a chewer... but very specific things... baby toys... kitchen chairs and now this chair... She is definitely outgrowing it... and maybe it is her molars... I will just try more exercise and see how it works...

You all have been very helpful. I know some of you have spoken with my sister Betsy D, who is getting her baby Cimmy soon... Hopefully you all will be there when she needs advice too! Or maybe by then, I will be a pro and have all the answers!

Thanks all!