Puppy eats EVERYTHING!

[Shianne Mack]

My puppy is about 12 weeks now and he literally eats everything he can get his mouth on. I watch him like a hawk, and if I see him heading for something that he is not suppose to I try to get there before he does, but sometimes it's too late. I give him plenty of chew toys, but even then he tears those to shreds. I am lucky that he hasn't eaten anything serious that he isn't suppose to eat, but I am wondering if this "eat everything" stage will go away as he gets older? Has anyone else ever had this issue? Also if so what did you guys do? Another thing, I am trying to get him some snacks/bones for him that will last more than 10 minutes, what is a safe thing to get for him that will help with his puppy chewing?

[Jenny and Cooper]

Hi, our Cooper is the same way when we are in the backyard.  Now I always have a bag of treats in my pocket to exchange for whatever he has that he isn't supposed to.  Sometime he'll exchange and sometimes he won't!  In that case, I'll bring him in the house for timeout, he usually knows by the time he gets to the door that he'll drop it. lol  So for now, just have treats handy and yes unfortunately you'll still have to watch him like a hawk :(

To have peace for 40 minutes of TV each night with my husband, we give him either Beef Stick Twist (Trader Joes), or cowtail (Texas toothpick), cow ear, or beef tendon (something new we just tried and he loves it).  We purchase these from our local home delivery service.  I think they also do mail order.  Here is the website in case you are interested.  They have great food/treats/chews, natural and from USA.  And the best part, their customer service is excellent!  We get our Orijen dog food through them.

http://www.notjustfordoggie.50megs.com/other/delivery.html

[Shianne Mack]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I have already started to put things into affect and he has been grabbing less paper things now. My younger sister who is in high school was doing a project with paper and markers and he surprised me by not touching or grabbing anything! Last time she did this he tore her paper to shreds, so it looks like these things are working! YAY! (: 

[Stephanie]

I would recommend Purina Busy, Bitter Apple Spray and Dura Chew Nylabone. 

The Purina Busy never failed with my dogs, they can last for days. It comes in 5 different types, so you can change it up and your puppy will not become bored. The Busy Bone is a bit harder so I would suggest not giving that one yet because it might break his teeth at this age. Bitter Apple Spray I keep hearing works really well to prevent biting, eating or chewing of anything. It was just recommended to me from a DK member to use 1/3 apple cider vinegar with water in a spray bottle. Also, Dura Chew by Nylabone is for strong chewers so the toys will last.