Chewing

[Deb & Pete]

I am just wondering if anyone else has had problems with chewing on walls and woodwork? Pete will chew and scratch the walls and sometimes the trim around the doorway. he has only done it when we are gone and I know its probably from boredom, but I don't know what to do to get him to stop. When we are gone we make sure he has plenty of toys and I give him rawhide chews and toys with treats, anything to keep him busy. I have run out of ideas. I can't have him chew up the house when we are gone. he doesn't have the run of the whole house, just one room.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Our Springer did this as a puppy only when we were gone.  We consulted a trainer and got bad information.  Now that he is 8, we know that this behavior was not boredom but anxiety and while he outgrew all destructiveness, he howls and is in utter desperation if left home alone or even in our RV with other dogs.  There are some things you can do to address this, especially while he is still a puppy.  One of the things that I suggest is to consult a trainer  that you  have confidence in.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My Oliver chewed the wood work around my kitchen entrance and bit the corner of the couch once while I was looking right at him - I screamed and he never did it again, I guess I scared him - LOL.  All the wood work needs to be replaced around the kitchen entrance.  This happened when he was about 10 - 11 months old.  He does not chew anymore.  You may want to crate you doodle.  Crates are not a bad thing, they are a safe place for a dog.  Warning about rawhide, I had a Shih Tzu that got a long piece of rawhide caught in her throat, it swelled up, I did not know what was wrong with her, she kept panting and pacing back and forth.  I opened her mouth and pulled out a piece of raw hide that was about 8 inches long.  If I was not hope she probably would have sufficated because the part that was in her throat was all wet and expanding.