one year old obsessive chewing (defluffing) in the evening

[Puppy Madness]

Hi all,

I'm not very active here.  My 13 month old ALD Ruby is a sweetie most of the day.  She normally gets a good walk in the morning.  She's pretty mellow until the kids get home from school, then gets more hyper as the level of energy in the house ramps up.  The behavior that's driving me nuts right now is her constant chewing of our couch.  It only happens in the evening when I'm watching TV.  It's like she has this compulsion to chew (which I get) but not just to chew anything somewhat tasty, but things that can be defluffed... she loves to shred stuffed animals and pull the fluff out, try to pull the fluff out of the couch cushions, right now I've thwarted her on the couch so she's trying to destroy her dog bed.  Alternate chew toys will hold her attention briefly and then she's back at this defluffing behavior.  I bought her some stuffed dog toys not too long ago and she's already totally shredded them.  

I've tried the bitter spray, tabasco, cleaning the couch with Febreze to remove the smell of dog treats.  This seems like a fairly recent (maybe the last 2 or 3 months?) behavior... at least the level of it.  She's going to end up destroying all of her soft bedding at the rate she's going.  Has anyone else gone through this?  Is it a stage that ends on its own?

 

thanks!

[Amber (with Maggie)]

My dog Maggie will leave a new fluffy toy alone for about a week and then, when she is bored or my boyfriend and I are debating something, she will tear off the eyes/ears, pull off an arm and then proceed to destuff the animal from the top of the head down. It's like she is a vacuum! Stuffing everywhere! She does this quicker to the toys she doesn't like and will drag the ones she does like around the house a few weeks and then it's poor emaciated rag doll meets white fluffy hail storm in the living room (which she will quickly mix with redwood branches from beside the fireplace. She loves to de-bark them)

 

She always takes off the eyes and ears first (I only get stuffed animals with cloth eyes and ears) and takes the stuffing through the head. I am so, so, so,so very happy she hasn't realized that couches and pillows contain the same amount of stuffing goodness (we have 4 couches in this house!)

[Carol Brand]

Do you only re-direct her when she chews?  Have you tried correcting her?

[Ozzy Bob and Leanna]

My dog, Ozzy, shreds stuffed toys too.  Luckily, he has never chewed on our furniture though!  He's 11 months old now and has maybe 2 more stuffed toys to destroy before he's down to only balls and kong toys.  I honestly don't know what I'd do if he ever started  chewing on our furniture!  For sure....discipline would be consistant or he'd become an outdoor dog fast! ha

[Jessica & Lucie]

It sounds like it could be attention seeking behavior as well, if you have made it clear to her that it is not ok. I think stuffed animals don't last very long for most doodles once they get their adult teeth, probably best to stick with less destructible toys. From a dogs perspective (not that I really know but guessing) defluffing a stuffed animal is very entertaining and rewarding, it sounds like she may need another mentally stimulating activity. An afternoon walk or playtime would probably help a lot. I think when there energy level gets high and they are bored it is very hard for them to be well behaved (just like children), its easiest to prevent this state of mind from happening with exercise and playtime.