DoodleKisses.com

Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum

Hi there. My wonderful ALD pup is almost 8 months old and has suddenly entered a crazy chewing phase. She used to be a very mellow chewer, nothing intense at all. I'm a first time dog owner so I'm sure this is all normal and such, I'm just wondering if others have good suggestions on what she should be chewing. She loves hard plastic (laundry baskets), wooden furniture, rolls of toilet paper, and tonight she shredded her dog bed. She has tons of toys and doesn't want to chew any of them, of course. I bought her a center bone and a yak chew and she will chew each for about 5 min and then ditch it in search of furniture or hard plastic. Is there some magic chewy thing I don't know about that might meet this need? She does like bully sticks, but it seems that giving those to her often becomes a lot of calories. We don't have a fenced yard yet so she does spend a lot of time indoors and on leash. I really can't leave her alone in the kitchen anymore, she finds too much to chew. Any great ideas? 

Views: 184

Replies to This Discussion

I don't have any answers, because my Truffle seems the same way (and she's only 5 months old!)

I have the same experience of her trying something for about 5 minutes & then abandoning it. She's actually gotten tired of bully sticks! There is another thread about this issue (https://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/chew-toys-3?xg_source=act...) and I have tried almost everything there. 

She did enjoy 2 rounds of giving her an esophagus - which reminds me I need to get another. She did always seem interested in that when I would hunt down where she had last used it & resurrect it.

How about the hard plastic Nylabones? They seem to have a range of firmness to choose from. I have a couple that have been around forever and really hurt when you kick them. The secret with my dogs is that new toys aren't always immediately exciting. It seems like they have to be around for a while before the dogs suddenly decide they're interested. I have no idea why. I also think that sometimes if I handle the toy a bit, get my scent on it, give it value, the dogs want it as much as they want the inappropriate things. 

Keep redirecting her away from the things she's not supposed to have. Eventually it does get better. Not necessarily perfect, but better. Most of the time Katie makes good choices. I just can't give her the opportunity to destroy underwear. And we can't really do stuffies. She kills them. But for the most part she picks one of her toys to gnaw on. It just took a while to get to that point.

"I also think that sometimes if I handle the toy a bit, get my scent on it, give it value, the dogs want it as much as they want the inappropriate things ... [what a GREAT idea, I'm going to try that!]

... I just can't give her the opportunity to destroy underwear. ...[I try really really hard not to give Truffle any opportunity to destroy things at all; and yes that is pretty tough & greatly restricts her in-house mobility]... And we can't really do stuffies. She kills them. ...[ But If you look at this page, https://www.chewy.com/outward-hound-invincibles-geckos/dp/113695?ut..., in the very first grouping, we have the little thing on the bottom left, and then in the 5th group, we have the alligator. Both were given to us as gifts & they are really nice. Truffle is not a very destructive puppy though (at 5 months), so YMMV.]... for the most part she picks one of her toys to gnaw on. It just took a while to get to that point."

Mine really loves the bacon flavored Benebone. Her and my brother's dog have ZERO interest in the wishbone shape but they LOVE the rocking dental shape. Here's a link to it on Chewy:

https://www.chewy.com/benebone-bacon-flavored-regular/dp/119505

Also these aren't for super chewing but my dog obsesses over what I call "bacon balls". They taste like bacon to the dog when their saliva gets on it. They actually are very durable. I haven't had to throw one away yet and I have a couple around my house in both the ball and bone shape. Might keep her occupied:

https://www.chewy.com/hartz-dura-play-ball-dog-toy-color/dp/110473

Those are the two favorites at my house! Good luck!

I'm going to look for these locally tomorrow & if I can't find them, will order online.

Have you tried the aversive sprays like bitter apple? These really work for many dogs. You do need to reapply. 

A couple thoughts - if your pup is done losing baby teeth I’d highly recommend deer antlers. Another thing you should definitely do is pick up all your pup’s toys and dole them out one at a time. Our pup only seems to be interested in his toys when we offer one he hasn’t seen in a bit. If we leave them out he doesn’t care about them. This is also good to show leadership - you control the toys.

Also, as you alluded to, sounds like she needs more time to run and play. Some things we did to help our high energy, crazy chewy dog: doggie daycare a couple days a week, doggie play dates, long lead running (my husband made a super long lead out of a carabiner and nylon boat rope), hiking, and mental games because sometimes it’s not the physical energy, but the mental energy they need to expend (I.e. puzzles, training, and “find the treat” where he hid smelly treats around and helped our pup kinda sniff around to find things).

Thanks, everyone, for jumping in with your ideas. I'll definitely try some of these. I forgot to mention that this aggressive chewing started after her spay surgery, when she's had to be kept "quiet" (ha!). Too much pent up energy is certainly the cause and hopefully it will decrease after she can run and play again early next week. Thanks again.

RSS

 

 Support Doodle Kisses 


 

DK - Amazon Search Widget

© 2024   Created by Adina P.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service