At Wits End with Destructive Chewing

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Gibbs is almost 13 months old and has become very destructive with his chewing. He has destroyed molding in the house in 5 places. Has taken one of the rugs and turned the corner back and destroyed the back and eaten 4 holes in the rug. I'm at a total loss as to why he is doing these things. He has a tub full of squeaky toys, balls, rubber bones, chew sticks, and on and on. I need some advice as I'm about to lose it with him and this chewing. He is in his crate, I don't use the crate as punishment but I am right now.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Our ALD was a real chewer also and very mouthy.  He chewed up the molding in the laundry room and ate holes in the deck.  He also had plenty of toys and a larger goldendoodle for a companion.  My husband discovered that he really did not like tabasco sauce so he purchased several large bottles and a dauber and daubed it onto every surface that Harpo was chewing.  I don't know if that was it, but he did stop the chewing.  He really seemed to have a two-year puppyhood, and then calmed down after that.  Exercise?  We really need to do it every day and if we are not going out somewhere, we take him for walks in the neighborhood.  I walk one dog at a time, but my husband takes them both out at the same time on a split leash.  Another chew that they love is the bullysticks.  They are stinky so I have them chew them outside on their beds and put the timer on the oven.  They get 20 minutes a day and then I have them bring them back to me and I put them away in a ziplock bag.  Each bullystick is good for three chews.  They definitely know the routine.  My husband is a biker and sometimes they run with him on his bike (dirt trails) or I take them on the bike tow leash.  They also love swimming and go for a self-swim at the local canine therapy pool.  Lots and lots of walks.  He (Gibbs) is probably not as destructive as he is bored.  These dogs are high energy dogs and you need to adjust your schedule to keep up with him.

[Debbie & Gibbs]

We have tried the apple bitters and that is worthless for him, maybe we need to give tabasco a try. We do exercise, outside ball chasing and playing with the 3 other dogs that we have and walks. If he needs more exercise I'll walk him more. The weather is getting cooler and he could walk longer. Gibbs is chocolate and we live in Texas and he gets really hot and wants back in the house. We haven't tried bullysticks, we were thinking about getting him an antler to see if he really liked those. Thanks for the help, I'm sure we will get through this and he may just need to mature.

[Linda And Loo]

I think you are doing the right things but I think adding a LONG walk will help! Walks wears a dog out more than just playing with other dogs! We have 2 dogs and on rainy or stormy days when they do not get their walks they have so much more energy than on walk days? Hang in there! I am sure it will get better, just hope your house will still be standing! Good luck! :)

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Thanks, we are going to add some additional walks in now that it is cooling off.

[Gail and Bailey]

Debbie...I just thought of something else.  Can you put the three Westies up and play "find it" with Gibbs alone for about 15 or 20 minutes?  If he is alone with you it would take all his attention and tire him out mentally.  To play "find it" you use really high value treats that have a strong odor...like a salmon flavor treat or very small pieces of hot dog.  Have Gibbs "sit" and give a very small treat so he knows the smell of what you are going to hide.  Give him the "stay" command and quickly go to an adjacent room where he can't see you for a second and hide a treat ....then stay there and call him to you and tell him to "find it".  Start out with hiding the treat in a very obvious & close to you location, in plain sight, and when he finds it, make a big deal with "good find"!!  Have him "sit, stay" again and go to another room and repeat.   Eventually you can hide the treats in hard to find places and let him really use his nose to "find it".

My Bailey loves to play this game and she has gotten really good at finding treats that I put in hard to find places.  It is really good for rainy days or days when it is too hot to play outside.   It is a good bonding time for you and Gibbs.  Have fun with it!!

[Debbie & Gibbs]

We have not played find it in a long time, he likes playing that game.

[Donna K & Quincy]

I found Bitter Lime worked much better than Bitter Apple. When you actually catch him chewing the moulding give him a tiny squirt right in his mouth, it won't take long to associate the bad taste with the inappropriate chewing. It only takes a tiny little bit to do the job. This is the stuff I used but I just got it at the reg pet store. I probably used less than an ounce out of the bottle Quincy hated it that much.

http://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Lime-Pump-Spray-fl/dp/B00063KI6M

[Debbie & Gibbs]

I'll check locally and see if we have it. Thanks for the advice, the Bitter Apple does zero the deter Gibbs.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Does he only do this when you are gone?  If so, it could be anxiety. If not, . . . . .

My Springer Spaniel, Gordie, was the most destructive puppy I have ever known!  I feel your pain. I really do.  Personally, I feel that Gordie is lucky to be alive and in our home!  He chewed every rug and carpet, destroyed 2 couches and a chair cushion by cushion, chewed chair legs, scratched doors til they needed replacing.  His was due to separation anxiety.  We consulted a trainer who told us to leave him outside for two years until he outgrew it!  HUH????!!!!  Problem for us is that we didn't recognize his destruction as separation anxiety until years passed.  Now, for the good news.  Gordie simply outgrew all the destructive behavior.  He doesn't get into ANYTHING.  The bad news, he still cannot be left alone.  He had a companion dog for years who nurtured him and Gordie learned to be fine when with this dog.  Our other dog passed away and Gordie's anxiety has slowly increased, even with our two doodles accompanying him.  He has NOT reverted to destroying anything, but he pathetically howls  in our RV when we leave him for more than a short time and more recently begun to bark when left at home.  He is ALWAYS WITH ANOTHER OF OUR DOGS. 

PS, bitter apple did not work for us.  I have more recently learned about making a solution of red pepper and 'painting' it on appropriate things - like wood, plastic, etc.

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Oh my, sounds like you had a Marley and Me dog. And I agree leaving a dog outside with anxiety issues, isn't going to help but reinforce anxiety.

Fortunately, Gibbs is not interested in sofa's or chairs. He's more of a termite kind of guy, things that are wood. Ha ha!! Thank goodness the rug he has been working on is not one of the expensive ones, I would be sick if he had destroyed one of those. Gibbs does not have any type of separation anxiety, we can tell him to go to his crate when we get ready to leave and he just walks right in and settles down. He doesn't bark, pant or have any stress at all. Most of the time he is a really good dog, and we have really enjoyed him. This will pass, we just have to be patient and let him mature and watch him like a hawk when he is roaming the house. Thanks for the info and hopefully Gordie won't revert back to being stressed over separation.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Late to this discussion, but I recently took care of a goldendoodle for 15 days.  His master told me he was a counter-surfer and chews on wood, flowers, etc - always something in his mouth so I better beware!).  When he arrived here he quickly realized there was lots to do here.  He tried to chew up one of Beau's toys and I gave him an antler and from then on it was his go to for chewing.  The rest of the time, he was so busy following my two doodles he did not have a chance to be bored.  He was either playing or sleeping!  I did not even have to walk them - playing ball in the yard with Beau and then playing mind games and training one on one with me for 10 minutes every afternoon and he was exhausted.  We really enjoyed our little visitor.   Hang in there, he will outgrow this.  Just keep reinforcing what he should be chewing on as Joanne mentioned.

[Debbie & Gibbs]

Gibbs is also a counter-surfer, I love that term. Gibbs doesn't pull anything off the counter any longer, he just gets up there and looks around -- total crack up. I think I will take Gibbs shopping tomorrow and pick up an antler for him. Also that chuck toy as Gibbs love to chase balls, he is all about chasing tat ball and returning it.