The adventures of Bella!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Just when I thought we were getting a handle on the chewing and poop eating, I come home to living room carpet strewn all over the room and about 2 inches wide by 18 inches long chewed carpet. Luckily it was right where the tile and carpet meet, so we were able to call a carpet man in to stretch the carpet and cover the tacking that was sticking up very dangerously for little baby feet to find.

That was Monday, call the carpet guy tues and he is coming Wed. Great. Go to the grocery store tues and she decides that one side of the carpet is just too delicious to stop there, and proceeds to the next. Again, so glad this guy is coming Wed.

Wed afternoon, carpet is getting stretched, doodles in the bedroom so they stay out of the way and I pay the carpet guy, let out the doodles and what do I find in the bedroom?????  Yup, she has pulled up the bedroom carpet and began chewing on it!!!!

None of this occurs while I can see her, so no use scolding. Out comes the Bitter Apple, the Cayene Pepper and another throw rug. So far since Wed we have had no more chewing on carpet, so maybe this combination is working.

As for the poop eating, it's gotten better we think, but we are removing it almost immediatly so it's hard to tell for sure until we leave her outside alone with it and see what she does.

 

Darn, I was getting so sure she was doing so much better with chewing and now this. GEEEZZZZ!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I'm seeing some improvement with Bella in the past 5 months. She has gotten older as she is almost 18 months old, and we have been doing more training with her to leave things. So age and training seem to make it better. This is all new to is because Murphy was never a problem and just got even more perfect with age, so he makes Bella seem like the she -devil dog, although she is more the norm, not him. He was a hard act to follow as a pup.

[Sharee & "Hope" Peterson]

All of the sudden I do not feel like I have the only doodle imp on the planet . . . 

[Sharee & "Hope" Peterson]

Oh my goodness-I just read all the comments on 'what the little imps chew up- well, my Hope almost seems behaved...then again, no she pulls the stuffing out her toys & chews their heads off-pulls the squeakers out of the ones that have no stuffing, digs holes in the yard-it does not seem to end and she is 9mos old=will I make it with a sane mind until she becomes an adult or are they 'adult imps' too  ?;/

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Traci, I guess anything is possible! She just keeps wanting him to come back ya think? I'm not sure he's her type, being a princess and all. But I've been wrong before about Bella's likes and dislikes.

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

I just thought of something...Maybe Bella has a crush on the carpet guy!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

@Traci, it seems it would've been smarter to wait for the new carpeting, but sometimes those things just can't wait. The chew toys will hopefully stop Bexter, as long as he can grab it easily. I think Bella has to move her chew toys out of the way to chew the carpet!!!

@Jennifer, Like our Murphy, your Jack is probably the exception to what is normal for puppies as so many have stories of chewing destruction. I think you're right about crating her, but I don't have one, never have past about 3 months old. I could put her in the laundry room or a bathroom, but I feel she would find something in there too, drywall, door, cabinets.... It really is a hard call about a crate now 9 months without one.

@Kerri, I guess it could be a potassium issue, and a banana is not a big deal, considering she eats everything, but it seems her food would have all she needs. Our breeder feels it's a habit she learned watching her mother for 10 weeks and she is trying to keep us safe from predators. So thoughtful of her isn't it?

@Jane, so good that you could fix the areas. So far we have stretched and saved it but she started on a new area this morning., I don't know how much more we can have it stretched, plus that's not cheap either. DH said we will pull up the carpet and stain the cement and put shellac over it until she gets a little older. Could be an interesting look.

@Bonnie, sure....she also does clothing, so if you want a new wardrobe, you can leave some unwanted garments in her reach. Luckily she doesn't have an appetite for shoes.

 

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

I'm sorry to hear about this!  We got brand new carpet too THE DAY AFTER Bexter came home (stupid I know)...Anyway, he has not chewed it at all, BUT one day his frizbee toy was on the floor and he could not grab it with his mouth.  He kept trying & getting frustrated, so he finally resorted to scratching to get it off the floor.  When I stopped him from doing that & gave him the stupid frizbee, I noticed he had scratched a whole in our brand new carpet!  I am still waiting for the carpet installer guy to come out & fix it!  I went today & bought a bunch more chew toys/bones, etc.  I sure hope the puppy stuff gets better!  We all need to hold on!

[Jennifer and Jack]

Oh my goodness... Jack never once put his mouth on anything that he was not supposed to, really, I could leave my shoes down on the floor and he instinctively knew not to touch them. He is very soft so I only had to tell him no once and he listened..

 

IN walks Molly.. Molly not only will take your shoes she will not come back with it, she will run away and hide it and could care less how you talk to her.... She will gladly chew on a coffee table, a foot, a finger, Jack or anything.. I have a feeling this one will be in the crate much longer then Jack was..

 

I am sorry Bella is chewing up your carpet, I don't think she is quite ready for all the freedom she has bestowed on her her just yet.. I would do crates and play pens unless she can be corded to you....

 

Sorry about your rugs...

[Kerri B. & Zoey]

With regards to the poop eating.  I happened to watch The Dog Whisper the other night and there was a dog on there that was 2yrs old and would eat everything in sight, including her poop.  Caesar says that there a 2 reasons a dog will eat it's poop - 1) out of boredom, 2) because they are lacking something in their diet.  In this instance it turned out to be potassium.  He began using bananas to deter the pup from being interested in the poop.  Don't know, but it might be worth a shot.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Wow.  So glad that Sedona's not a furniture/carpet chewer (knock on wood).  My daughter's rescued Yorkie, on the other hand, was so bad that they finally just gave up and tiled the whole house.