At Wits End with Destructive Chewing

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Gibbs is almost 13 months old and has become very destructive with his chewing. He has destroyed molding in the house in 5 places. Has taken one of the rugs and turned the corner back and destroyed the back and eaten 4 holes in the rug. I'm at a total loss as to why he is doing these things. He has a tub full of squeaky toys, balls, rubber bones, chew sticks, and on and on. I need some advice as I'm about to lose it with him and this chewing. He is in his crate, I don't use the crate as punishment but I am right now.

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

How much exercise does he get? I think that walks are not enough for this age. I take Nimbus to the dog park almost every day for about an hour. He never destroys anything. Do you have a pen?

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Gibbs gets plenty of exercise. I'm home all day and he plays all day long with our 3 Westie's. I had a pen and he climbed out of it when he was a puppy. Gibbs rips the limbs off of our rose bushes and other shrubs in the backyard and when you tell him to drop it or leave it, he just runs from us with the limbs. I'm concerned about him eating some of the rosebush limbs and getting the thorns in his stomach. He is just a mess. We have gone to puppy training and intermediate training, and he just wants to chew on everything.

[Lynda Kamrath]

He wants to play.

[Malenie Piscetelli]

Did Gibbs been fixed yet? Do you leave him alone when you are not home? Do you play with him a lot. Do you give him a lot of attention. Lucy is 10 mos old and I play with her a lot, give her a lot of attention and I walk with her every day and about total 5 miles a day or more. I take her 5 times a day. Once a week play date. When I am not home I put her in the crate. She only destroys her toys.

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Yes, Gibbs was fixed at 7 weeks old. No, Gibbs is not alone when we are gone he is with the Westie's. Gibbs is like my shadow when he is not outside playing. He follows me every where in the house, he helps put the sheets on the bed, fold the clothes, really likes the vacuum cleaner and loves when I dust mop. He is plenty busy during the day, so I don't think the chewing is out of boredom, I think Gibbs just likes to chew. We sit down every day and brush his hair for about 30 minutes. I usually spend 30 - 45 minutes throwing the ball in the morning and then again in the afternoon Gibbs and the Westie's all love chasing balls. I take him on golf cart rides with me every day. Gibbs loves to do butt tuck and run, I think he gets plenty of exercise.

[Malenie Piscetelli]

Ok, sounds good everything you do with Gibbs. But try one thing go for a long walk everyday with Gibb only. Good luck!!! :)

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

It's great that he gets to play with your other dogs. But the backyard is not the same as getting out and running. When I was dog sitting Nimbus' brother and another goldendoodle at a different time, they were wrestling all day long. But they still needed to run.
Maybe you could try an agility class. I found that Nimbus' obedience has improved tremendously since we've joined an agility class.
Good luck! I hope he'll mellow out.

[Debbie & Gibbs]

I would love to do agility with Gibbs, I think he could do it. I haven't been able to locate any in the area that we live. We are in East Texas, not a real large metropolitan area. We are going to start our obedience classes back up this fall. Hopefully, as he ages he will curb the chewing.

[Gail and Bailey]

Are there any dog parks in your area where he could run free and have lots of strange smells to investigate and pee on??  This would tire him out and occupy his mind.  Take him by himself and leave the Westies at home so he can really explore on his own!

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Unfortunately there are no dog parks in the Tyler, Texas area. They have one in the planning stages, and are gathering donations for building it, but we aren't there yet. We live in a gated area and a number of the residents take their dogs to the point. It's an open area on the lake and turn them off leash. I would never trust Gibbs off leash, and some of the folks that take their dogs to the park are not good stewards in picking up after their dogs, so we don't go there. They have also had several dog fights with the dogs running loose and one dogs was severely hurt. Just not a lot of options, thankfully, we do have a large back yard. I do walk Gibbs about 3 miles 2 - 3 times per week.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Is he alone, when he has done all this damage? You may be setting it up for failure by leaving him to his own devices. I agree....more excercise....and by that, I mean, not just walks. These guys need full out run, jump and play to be tired out. And maybe tethering him to you during the day, so he doesn't have a chance to be destructive. I would not leave out anspd alone while he is still in this stage. For his safety, as well as your furniture/rugs, etc.

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Gibbs doesn't have to be alone to go chew. Last night we were less than 5 feet away and he walked into the kitchen and started chewing on the molding and we were right there. Now, Gibbs does sneak off and steal the cleaning brushes and puts them on the bath mat and chews on them. I can replace those, it the moldings and rugs that are really getting me. Maybe he does need more exercise. You are soooo right, he is never left alone in the house, when we have to be gone he is crated. He is NOT trustworthy at all.