I'm at a loss... Hank the chewer

[Karen]

My puppy is now 8 months old and he is getting worse with taking-chewing-destroying.  

We have spent a fortune on dog toys and continue to replenish them because he can destroy every 'tough' toy out there.  My house is littered with toys, balls, etc.  If he can get a shoe, ball hat, pillow, whatever in his mouth he will and it will be ruined.

He is so smart and he knows this behaviour is wrong - I know he knows it is wrong but he continues to chew and destroy.

I don't know what to do. I hate chasing him and even more, I hate yelling at him.  I need to do something because hiding everything, leaving absolutely nothing left around including couch pillows, shoes, etc. is not enjoyable for us or him. 

Thanks for any advice :)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

As for the toys I would not leave them out where he can get them whenever he wants.  For dogs like this, I think toys should be a reward and given when you are able to watch him.  I would pick them all up and give them back "on your terms".  I really think that some dogs start to think that toys are really there for them to chew up...they don't know any better.  It's a fun activity and it sure generates lots of excitement when they do it....and then it's replaced with a whole new one to start destroying.  I think at 8 months you also need to be sure he's getting enough exercise...sometimes they chew out of frustration and because there's nothing better to do.  At this age they are full of energy.  Have you done any obedience training yet?  I would certainly start training the "leave it" and "drop it" commands.  That's really how they learn that there are certain things "off limits".  Finally, I would "dog proof" the house until you have a chance to do the training and are confident that he won't ingest something dangerous.  Remember that the chasing and "yelling" are just showing him excitement....that makes it a game. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

Jane always has great advice on training. She has been consistently training her dogs for years with the help of a highly skilled trainer. In addition to what she mentioned, several years ago BJ, Gavin's owner, posted about a technique called tethering. It is basically attaching the dog's leash to you so that he/she is always within 6 feet of you and you are able to correct any misdeeds. This must be done consistently. It helped us with our "problem" dog. He is now five years old. He is reprimanded for barking at the window but will occasionally bark at nothing. If he does so more than once (as in crazy, loud, uncorrectable barking) I get out his skinny slip lead that I got at the vet's office at some point. It is lightweight and easy to slip right on. When he sees that leash come out, he just comes over and lays down at my feet. I hope all goes well and the training you institute does what you need.

[Tara]

"Remember that the chasing and "yelling" are just showing him excitement....that makes it a game".  I couldn't agree with Jane more.  My 1 year old ald developed a true love of this game.  So, we've taught him to "bring" items to us to be exchanged for a treat (or better toy).  It took a bit of persistence--and swearing off ALL chasing!--but he will now bring us whatever contraband he gets his paws on. 

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

My Polly has been a bad chewer in the past and the only toy that outlasts her is a round ball, no edges to get to.  If a toy has an edge she will not leave it along until she destroys it or I catch her and take it away. For other items in the house we used to use bitter lime sprayed on everything, regularly.  We have two wooden decks out in the yard built specifically for my girls to get up and lay in the sun.  Polly will chew the edges of those also if not watched.  Bitter lime, round balls with no openings (our favorite is Chuck-it), and keeping an eye on them a LOT.  Polly is much better but still reverts if we aren't careful.  I am 100% with Jane about yelling and running at them.  My girls know what Eh-eh means and leave what ever immediately if I say it to them. It really is a quick teach and we use it often.

[Anita Scalf]

I understand your frustration!  My first dog was a major chewer for her entire life. I won't tell you how many pairs of shoes she chewed before I finally learned to put them away. My mother spent years trying to teach me to put 'stuff' away, but it took having a dog to make the lesson really stick ;-) 

Hank's chewing is not wrong. It's totally normal. He is part retriever and retrievers have been bred to be 'mouthy' for a long, long time.  It is instinctive.  Chewing is rewarding so he is going to keep doing it. 

What is wrong at the moment is the fact that he still has access to things you don't want him to chew.  While the house is littered with toys it is apparently not littered with what he wants to chew at any given moment. The idea of limiting the available toys is a great one because it ensures that you can trade what you don't want him to chew with what you do want him to chew....just make sure that the item you give is the same texture as the one you want to take away. 

So that is pretty much the 'down side' of having a mouthy dog. The 'good side' of  having a mouthy dog is that his love of having stuff in his mouth can be trained into some very useful behaviors.  

A dog that likes having things in his mouth can be trained to 'take it', 'give it' and 'bring it' and 'drop it'....which means he can be taught to pick things up that you drop and give them back to you. He can be trained to pick up his toys and put then away so you don't have to.   He can be trained to drop what he shouldn't have, he can be trained to leave what he shouldn't touch. 

But he must be trained....he wasn't born know what is important to the people he lives with :)  It takes time, but not as much as you may think when  you are dealing with a smart dog. And the payoffs over the course of his life with you are immense. 

[Leslie J]

Cocoa was quite a destructive chewer when she was young. Miracacously, somewhere between her first and second birthdays the behavior dramatically decreased now it is rare for her to chew things up. Hopefully your puppy will outgrow it too!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Roo still can destroy any new toy in less than 2 minutes, he does have less interest in doing so as he ages. Tigger is the "mouth in the house",  there is nothing hewould not test chew if the mood struck, he never destroys his own toys, though.  Go figure.   Here are some toys that my "boys" have not been able to destroy:  Anything Zogoflex -limited options, but very indestructible.  Antlerz,  nylabones, Kongs.  Puppies should be supervised with chewing toys of any kind.

Tethering is a great way to go.  Buy 3 or 4 snaps and 30-45 feet of plan old cheap rope.  Make yourself 3 or 4 ten to fifteen foot rope leashes (so they can be washed when they get too scuzzy and you still have a clean one left).  Tether your dog to you when you are home.  Where you go he follows.  You will be able to instantly say" Hank, mine" when he puts his mouth on anything that is not his.  It completely eliminates the chase routine, which is basically a game to Hank and a bid for attention. 

Make sure he does get plenty of your attention when he is being good, and enough 10-20 minute exercise/play times

during the day.  Always start play when when he is quiet - I know, I know never wake a sleeping puppy!  You will get pretty good at telling when Hank needs a romp when he is tethered to you all the time.

Two or three months of this at his age should really help.  Then you will be able to just call him to follow you around. 

[Dyan Brisson]

My dog is a chew destroyer from the first day we got him . He is also a thief . He loves all paper product , shoes , hat , pillows , socks . He is 3 now . I always go back to when we first brought him home and he took a piece of mail off of the counter and ran . Of course I chased him yelling and laughing . I am no longer laughing . He has learned that most of those things are off limits now . But still has an obsession with tissues and paper towels . He will take them right out of your pocket . Tissues are no biggie , but the way paper towels are made now are dangerous . He will vomit them up whole . So for your dogs safety and your piece of mind you really need to nip this in the bud as soon as you can .
The one tell tale sign I got from Murphy when he is extra bad is boredom . They are like toddlers , even bad attention is good attention . But puppies do need to chew . Murphy loved ice cubes . He would not only chase them on the floor , but loved chewing them . It also has the added benefit of soothing puppy gums . I would also freeze some canned puppy food and let him go for it . But yes start the ,no , drop it , leave it , commands . Good luck . By the way Murphy is 3 and I finally have pillows back on my sofa . Lol

[Lynda Kamrath]

We had a chewer also.  He is now five years old and just fine, but he chewed everything.  He chewed the walls, the decks, all toys, anything he could find.  My husband decided he did not like tabasco sauce so he got large bottles of it and a dauber and would daub in onto the deck.  Besides chewing, he also was a digger.  I think there are some photos of him digging around a tree in our yard (you can see the photos on my photo page, page 6, #5746 and #5737).  I guess the thing we would do is doors closed, everything put away (I still put my flipflops up on the window sill in the bathroom), and anything torn or damaged into the garbage can.  It is expensive but seems to work.  If he chewed it up, he didn't want it anyway.  We also gave him bully sticks on a timer.  Each bully stick was good for about three 20-minute chews.  I would put on the timer on the kitchen range and have him bring it back to me after 20 minutes.  Then it goes into a plastic zip-lock bag until the next day.  He is tired after 20 minutes of chewing anyway.  So that seemed to work for us.