Teething

[Tara aka Harry & Wally's Mom]

Our 12 week old puppy is in full fledge teething mode. He is chewing everything and anything, including my fingers and toes if he gets ahold of them. Any tips on getting him to stop chewing things besides his toys? He got to the leg of our cofffee table the other day and chewed it up. I have heard try hot sauce, and/or pepper to stop him from chewing.

We bought the bitter apple spray and he likes it, he licks it off.

Any suugestions/tips are appreciated!!

[Debbie and Thomas]

Unfortunately-this happens-our GD never chewed anything except us!! But furniture is expensive-so take him away from it-give him a toy to chew on or a treat or a Kong stuffed really full with kibble, peanut butter. You will probably have to do this 100 times before he gets the point. Or, we tethered our dog on a long leash so we had control of him and could pull him away. We tied it to a door knob .You can even freeze a few Kongs-when they are frozen it takes them longer to get the goodies out and the cold rubber makes their gums feel good. 12 weeks was the roughest time for us-he emerged from the cute puppydom into a biting devil. We started puppy obedience class at 12 weeks and that was a godsend. Without it, I think we would have gone nuts. They learn commands very quickly at this early age-so if he is not enrolled-run, don't walk to puppy class. Ours is 8 1/2 mths old now-he still uses his mouth on us once in a while-but it does not hurt like those puppy razor blade teeth did. Hang in there-this will end soon. Keep trying the bitter apple or try another brand-it shud work-or Lemon jiuce-someone told we it works.

[Adina P]

I agree with Debbie. You're not going to get him to stop...not any time soon. So you'll have to rely on "Prevention" and "Management" ... and yes you'll have to repeat 100 times...so don't give up when he doesn't stop right away.

Keep both eyes glued to him and stop him the moment he starts toward something inappropriate and replace it with a toy...play with him, distract him, etc. And make sure he has LOTS Of appropriate chew toys like kongs, treat balls, nylabones, sterilized real bones, frozen wash cloths, etc.

[Kyoko]

May be you can use the play yard for him to prevent him from chewing inappropriate things, especially when you can't keep an eye on him. Becasue puppies are going to chew....Not only we don't want them to chew certain things, but also we have to make sure to keep them safe by preventing them from chewing wrong things...
My trainer said that by focusing on prevention and management, we can keep the bad habit from developing.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Teething is very painful for some puppies, just like some babies. You need to help him relieve the pressure and pain of the adult teeth cutting through the gums.
Take a washcloth (or cut an old towels into pieces), wet it thoroughly, wring it out good, tie it in a knot, and freeze it. Let him chew that.
Also, give him toys and chew bones that are firm and have a lot of texture to them...little bumps sticking out, that kind of thing, that will help massage his gums. Booda Bones makes one that comes in flavors and has little bumps all over it. Any time you catch him chewing something inappropriate, trade him a toy or chew bone for it.
If you can't keep a close eye on him, don't give him access to coffee tables, etc. while he is unsupervised. He'll learn what is okay to chew & what is not.

[Lorraine Bromley]

Eye balls!!!! Even then even while you think your watching them intently they will chew something. Ours has been a great puppy but while raising them indoors they can't carry around a chew toy for every urge they feel to releive their teething pain. Just replace any urge with an appropriate chew toy. It does go by very fast. OUr 5 month old dood has just lost his two last baby molars. He went to the dog park and went to play with one dog but then just stayed beside our sons girlfriend the rest of the time. Strange since he is usually the wall mart greeter of the park. When he got home he was very quiet, I went to rub his muzzle and he pulled away and sure enough his one molar was so loose the sharp edge was rubbing his open gum when it was touched so I pulled it and when I checked the next one it was close to the same state so I pulled it too. He is back to normal today.
Freeze a chew toy like a kong with ice and let them eat it. I gave ours ice chips and he would like them then chew them. Hopefully they will go to that toy that gave them the most releif last time. Instead of the dry wall or chair leg

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am in the same position - Lady Peri is 10 weeks old and is a major chewer. Thanks to recommendations from others (this site and coworkers), my husband and I have started saying "LEAVE IT" in a very stern voice. We gently pull her away pysically from what she is chewing and immediately give her a toy to chew. When she starts chewing it we say "good girl, good girl" in a nice voice. I must say she is sort of getting the hang of it. She has improved during our first week. Good luck - please let me know if you find a better option!

[Lorraine Bromley]

I heard some where about cold carrots. Neely is getting his molars and I gave him some very cold almost frozen carrots to knaw on and he really liked it. He did leave a trail of grated carrot aftr him though as he wanted the big part not the little scraps. I think the cold was the trick though.

[Lynne B]

You might try a marrow bone (without the marrow in it) or a kong - fill it with plain yogurt & freeze it, it's very soothing and dogs seem to like the taste. You might also try keeping him occupied with bullysticks (if you have a Costco near you check for them there, they are about 25% the cost of other stores) If he nips at you, yelp really, really loud like a puppy would.

Also, I think that being loose in the house is a privilege, not a right- so I tether puppies to the area where i am going to be in the house until they can be trusted not to destroy the house. It's not mean- I use a 12' tether that my husband made out of climbing rope, and we can shorten it to 8 or 10 feet when needed, you can hook it under a leg of the sofa, or heavy table, or even screw an eye hook into the baseboard in the rooms you will be using it.

[Kyoko]

Charlie was on a drag leash for a long time. She went room to room wherever I was, so I can keep an eye on her. Frozen Yogurt Kong worked for her, and she still loves it, and both of my doggs loves filled Hoof. They are filled with some sort of cheese or peanut butter stuff. When they are chewing on them, it smells a little, but last for a long time.....