Muzzle for chewing?

[Dot, Maggie and KoKo]

I am really loosing patience with this chewing. This morning it was a nice hole in my down comforter. We have feathers flying everywhere. Yesterday while she was out in the yard, she chewed through the cable for the satellite system knocking out the TVs. I have a technician coming on Sunday to repair the system and put us back into operation.

She may have to pay a visit to the dentist for removal of all her teeth....just kidding.

Seriously though, has anyone ever used a muzzle to get beyond this stage?

Rosie has chewed so many things and seems to be getting worse. She's seven months old and generally a delight if we can just get beyond this stage. We are supposed to get another Doodle this Spring but I'm not sure I could do this again.

[JBAdorableDoodles]

7 months is very young for a puppy, some will chew right through to age 2 and beyond.
You need to supervise closely (even if you have to keep her tethered to you) while she learns
what is a good chew and not a good chew.
Good luck...hang in there, these dogs are worth it!!

[Joy Originator of GiantSchnoodles]

YOURS & MINE
Got the blues. Discouraged. Sad. Somebody pick me up.

Last night I am pretty sure Biscuit ate foil the babysitter left out, and NOW I just found a million little pieces of my son's hard plastic squirt gun in the front yard. I've told him and told him to put that where the dog can't reach it in the garage.

If Biscuit lives to be a year, it will be a miracle. I am very worried and so tired of worrying over all this stuff he steals and eats. We do try to be careful. He isn't even allowed in most rooms of the house. Somebody tell me it will stop eventually. Somebody tell me he'll be okay. He acts FINE. I have no idea when the squirt gun was stolen, but I guess a few hours ago. Sooo... guess I will feed him so the food can cover the sharp parts. IF he'll eat. He only eats non-edible things with relish. Food? He couldn't care less.

I still haven't recuperated from a sleepless last night on the couch (where I could hear if he got sick or was in pain). Biscuit, on the other hand, is ready to play ball. I have no energy left...

YOURS & MINE

1. First of all, you may find it comforting if you watch your dog carefully. You may find that he is not eating plastic and aluminum foil at all. He may just be chewing it up and spitting it out. My poodle used to chew things up and my giant schnauzer would eat it. I would have hot pink lumps of plastic in his poops but the poodle’s poops were pristine. So if your dog is well (obviously in better shape than you are) and if you check the poops, you may find that he is not eating stuff at all. He’s just chewing.
2. Then you might want to give him something else to chew on. I like cow hooves. Dogs can break their teeth on them, so its probably not good to give to older dogs. Its better if they will chew on nyla bone or you might try pieces of ½ inch pvc pipe. But if all else fails, cow hooves have a good smell to the dog and not too obnoxious to people
3. I Teach the concept YOURS and MINE. The dogs have their own toy box. When the dog gets something she shouldn’t have, I take it away and say – that s MINE – I take her to the toy box and say – this is YOUR little toy – and they get to choose the toy they want. I say – good YOUR toy.
Hope this helps. Please let me know how it goes.
copyright JOy de la Ren
Puppy love from Joy & furrry folk

[Cami Jacobs]

This is one of my favorite blogs. Her latest blog Unnatural Appetites relates to this topic. Informative and funny.
http://vetontheedge.blogspot.com/

[Ginny Nightingale]

I do the "mine" thing too whenever the dog takes something she shouldn't have--who knows if the dog gets it, but it is worth a try!
I agree that they often chew up and spit out--but if they swallow stuff, it usually passes through-- I can't believe my little Mattie has eaten two complete squirrels and a rabbit--a bit of diarrhea was all the trouble she had (This was when i was at work and hubby was "supervising"...)
I know the cow hooves smell once they are being chewed on, but that is a small price to pay for the dog leaving your stuff alone! I give them to Mattie at home and she usually eats them on her bed away from us, so I don't notice the smell unless she is sitting at my feet--but yes, they do stink!

[Debbie and Thomas]

My brother had a yellow lab who chewed everything, the cable wires or wires in general, shoes, blankets, hats, pillows etc etc. He went through gallons of bitter apple spray, but it worked. Once he sprayed the wires, Tyler would not touch them again but of course moved onto something else-so that would be sprayed-then on and on until he finally left things alone. He would also buy him big meety bones at the local "market" which would keep him busy until he buried them in the yard to save for later. Good luck.

[z06558zx020a]

Hi nice to meet you. I have had to use a muzzle for Cassie in the last month or two because she has decided her main staple of food in life is rocks, stones and branches. I decided to muzzle her and it does keep her from eating anything but only because she doesn't really move once I put it on her She lays down and stares. The first time I put it on her and walked away , I turned back and looked at her and nearly had a heart attack I thought she was dead. I ran over ripped it off her and she took off and grabbed another rock. I'm sure she was thinking...what a sucker !! Now she will walk a little bit but ends up laying down. Not sure if she gets it or not but at least when she has it on I can breathe a little better knowing she isn't eating anything. I've had her x-rayed and there were small stones luckily nothing big yet but I'm sure without the muzzle it would be only a matter of time. I can't get them all away from her forever. Not sure this helped but just thought I would let you know you're not alone.

[jamiegirl]

Your story reminded me of what our puppy did just the other day. She was chewing on a soda can until I got her off it using her leash. She then laid down about a foot away from the can until I relaxed my hold. Sure enough, as soon as she felt the release of the tension she jumped on all fours and grabbed the can again. I think she thought the same thing - "What a sucker!!!". I have heard that GD's are smart but sometimes I think that I underestimate just how smart ours is.

By the way, I am glad to see that our puppy isn't the only one with an affinity for branches and rocks.