Power cord chewer

[Frances S]

Hi Everyone, Bella (13 wks) spends her days in the family room with all her toys around her.  Besides the sofa we have a lampstand and a end table with a lamp on top.  Bella has taken up a new hobby to chew through the cords..We have had to fix the cords twice before. I have caught her several times starting to chew and distracted her with a toys which works, but today while I was making breakfast for the kids she manage to chew through it again!  All three times the lamps where not in use, but I'm afraid that she'll do it again when the lamp is turned on and get shocked..

[Melissa]

Do you have a play pen for her to play in?  It seems to me she just needs to be away from them all together.  Buddy would love to get into everything when he was very young but we kept him in a pen.  And even after he outgrew it we had to keep him close to us so we could watch him at all times.  Good luck!

[Frances S]

A play pen might work for a few more weeks, but Bella is a chewer and I'm not sure what she'll do when she out grows the pen. I'm hoping she is going through a teething stage and that she'll out grow this soon..Maybe Home Depot might have a power cord protector of some sorts..

[Melissa]

Buddy was a chewer...a big chewer.  We still have the spots on some furniture that he chewed and the wall.  When he was old enough we got him an antler and that helped a LOT!    Bitter apple worked for a short time.  He did outgrow the chewing and I am grateful.  Hopefully Bella will too!  Ice is good, but wrapping them in a panty hose worries me because if she could chew through that and choke or swallow it and have other problems.  Buddy still loves ice to this day...just give her cubes and she will probably love playing with them too!

[Adina P]

Not a baby play pen but an exercise pen.  They have them made out of metal like a giant metal crate with no top.  Unless she learns to climb out...she won't outgrow it (well unless it is a tiny one).  Personally with pups this age I give almost NO freedom outside of the crate if I'm not supervising...too risky.  I'm either watching them and in the same room or they are crated or attached to a leash close by and away from anything destructible or dangerous.  30 seconds of being out of sight is too much for some pups.

[Frances S]

Thanks I'll try it!!

[K and Racey]

Racey loved chewing on power cords when she was younger as well. I think the soft plastic feels good when they are teething. I agree with Melissa about the pen. Maybe you can look on craigslist for one? I know Racey got shocked by a power cord when she was a puppy bc it was the mac power cord which was plugged in and turned on. I count myself lucky that it didn't burn the house down or worse, kill her.

[K and Racey]

If she is a chewer, another option to give her while teething is ice cubes. I used my panty hose socks (clean ones of course) and wrapped an ice cube up in them and let Racey go to town on them. Give that a shot. When she was teething, she loved it more than any soft plastic.

[Frances S]

Funny you mentioned about the panty hose because over the weekend I did clear out my drawers and have a whole box full of old panty hose that I was going to throw out tomorrow on trash day.. Now I know what else I can try! Thanks.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Rolled up tea towels soaked in water then frozen worked wonders for Luna when she was teething.  I rolled them up and bent them into fun shapes (horseshoes, rings, twists) so she didn't get bored.

 

Also - I second the idea of using the ex-pen!  It gives a lot of peace of mind knowing that the pup can't get into much mischief. 

Ours looks something like this, but it's not quite as tall:

[Frances S]

I had a chance to spray apple bitter on the cords and so far she hasn't gone near the cords.  The frozen tea towel sounds like fun.  I'll try that later today.  Thanks

 

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

I wouldn't let your pup out of your sight until she is older and more trustworthy. Also, I have a silly idea. Could you possibly tape the cords or attach them in some other way to the walls or furniture so they aren't a dangling temptation? Barley Barker once went after my laptop cord, and I draped it behind a chair so it wasn't as tempting or available.

[Frances S]

We have the cords coming down the table and tucked under the sofa, but this morning she must have reached under the sofa to pull the cord out.  Funny thing is that she hasn't gone for the cord that dangles from the table but goes for the cord that is under the sofa.. I can try the apple bitter and tape down method.  Thanks