Fenway is chewing is way through my house and I need tips! Just this weekend alone he has chewed his way through two baseball caps, a baseball belt, a little jar of carmex, a pair of nail clippers, a pair of swimming goggles and a corner of one of my kitchen chairs! It is almost impossible to catch the little bugger in the act, which makes correcting the behavior very difficult. We THOUGHT we were doing a good job of putting everything out of his reach....but he is getting bigger and craftier and I guess he is reaching some spots he couldn't get to before. We have TONS of toys out and he chews those, too...but seems to like the human things (that he shouldn't chew) even better! I keep thinking he will "grow" out of it...but I am not so sure anymore. I saw someone's profile on here listing all the things her doodle had destroyed....I think I need a list like that, lol. He is so damn cute that it is impossible to be mad at him for longer than a minute...but I worry about the day he gets his paws on something really valuable. He is about 8-9 months old or so (hard to say). Can I still hope for him to grow out of it? Tips please on ways I can correct him if I didn't catch him in the act....Mostly it doesn't happen if we remember to close bedroom and bathroom doors.....we are all pretty good about keeping the kitchen and living room fenway-proof and he doesn't get into much in those rooms.....but accidently forget to close a bedroom door and BAM....he finds SOMETHING to mess up! Poor Shiloh....watches him with a look on his face "dude, you are SOOO gonna be in trouble for that"
I am so with you on this one but that does not help you now, does it? We have done well so far--I bet I just jinxed myself!--with keeping things out of her reach but I cannot hide my kitchen set nor my molding. She has tons of chew toys and bones--some which we put away and take out only once in a while to keep her interest--but she LOVES my kitchen chairs (which are completely ruined) and my woodwork. I thought we had passed this stage after teething but I suppose I was wrong! HA I have tried keeping a lead on to correct her, putting her in her ex-pen for a time out and tons and tons of exercise. It is driving us nuts and shows no signs of abating. Thank heaven she is so adorable or we would not make it through the day! Good luck!
I think this should be a new group owners of the "Destroying-Doodles"! Mine is 8 months and a chewing terror. He has gone through 5 boxes of Kleenex in the last two weeks. I did not realize his paws actually function as human hands, and he has a secret opposible thumb that must come out while I am gone. I know this because he knows how to open tupperware in order to get at thier contents. He has now eaten one pair of Stuart Weitzmans, two pair of Crocs, one pair of flip flops, two pair of heels, hair brush, ds game, spatula, three water bottles, countless socks and underwear as well as my laptop cord, a cord for a fan and tupperware containers are a few of the things that come to mind. Currently he has no interest in anything he is supposed to chew on. Only human's objects interest him currently. Teething was a cake walk compared to his behavior now. He can reach all of our the counter space in our house he is so tall. If we need to keep it out of reach, we have to put it up over 4 feet...... and he hasn't stopped growing yet. He knows he is not supposed to counter surf, but when the cats away........
Absolutely....I didn't even mention the counters.....ours have NOTHING on them because if Fenway can reach it....he believes it is his! He totally knows he shouldn't do it.....he sees you coming and he gets down immediately.....he also knows when he is chewing something he shouldn't have......he'll drop it and just wait for me to come and take it from him.
Is he crated at all? When I hear about destruction, my first thought is it's time for a reduction in privileges like "no more unsupervised freedom." It's not like he'll understand that as a consequence, it's only for managing it and preventing it and stifling the habit for a while.
We do crate....always at night....sometimes during the day if we can catch him in the act....but we also can block off our kitchen/dining area with a baby gate and the two of them stay in there (their crates are in the dining room also) but we sometimes put them in the "kitchen area" with their crate doors open, so they can access the crate or their food/water and have more room to play. When we are home, we let them come and go all around us in the living room, kitchen, dining room and sometimes the bedrooms (if we feel everything is put away) We do have to shut the bedroom and bathroom doors....otherwise he gets something he shouldn't have. The bathroom trash is a favorite as are all the goodies to be found in my teenagers rooms. Last night DH left his croc flip flops on the bedroom floor and forgot to shut the door....we were watching a movie in the living room....and Fenway comes trotting into the living room with one of the shoes....like he had a great prize.... looks up at DH and drops it at his feet as if to say "ok, I didn't really think I would get away with it, here's your shoe" He totally "gets" that he shouldn't do it, but he loves human items....just like Chris said in her post.
You can try spraying your stuff with Bitter Apple or Tabasco Sauce (Furniture), try Tethering him to you to keep an eye on him. If he is counter sufering you can do one of two things...get two way tape...he will stick to the tape and not like the feeling, or you can put mouse traps set upside down near the edges of your counter, cover them with a light dish towel so if they go off, they do not get his paws, that should scare the tar out of him not to do it again, and also lets you catch him in the act, works just as good in the kitchen as in a bathroom, or even on bedroom dressers. Shiloh needs to bark when Fenway is getting himself in trouble. Hannah will usually bark her buns off if Honey get's into something and I'm not paying attention, she is good at watching Honey and puppy sitting...lol.
Gee, I'm starting to think my dogs are angels. Of late the puppy only chewed up one rather old shoe and a croc and some inconsequential stuff. My older dog did go thru 2 cords for the adjustable bed though when he was young. But I give them food in their crates if need be and the "day" crates have Lixit water bottles attached
(these are really very good and I don't have to worry about them not having access to water). I always put them in the crates if I'm going out for more than a minute or two. My trainer recommended throwing stainless bowls or something noisy near, not at them) if they are counter surfing. Also glad my mediums can't reach everything.
He will eventually grow out of it. Mine did. That being said, you need to keep trying to keep those little things away from his curious mouth. Perhaps more restrictions and closed doors. We tried the doggy sprays but they didn't repel. We ended up using red pepper and tobasco sauce on chair legs etc. It worked for us. I also think chewing a cord while plugged in stopped the cord chewing. I feel we were lucky on that one - a friend was using his laptop while dog sitting for us.
I just posted some new toy info on the other forum that might help.
Neely loves the plastic water bottles. PReferably the gatoraide ones as they have a good shape. Put a few kibble in and see how it goes.
When I adopted Seamus he was 9 mo old, and he quickly became a chewing terror when we were both at work, even when he had another dog companion and the whole fenced in backyard, he ate the gas grill and plastic patio chair, my husband's norelco razor! I had plenty of chew toys for him to play with.
His chewing seemed to stop when I took him for obedience training, and then started walking him for about an hour each day, 1/2 before and again after work. I then had him trained to become a therapy dog, and he started accompanying me to the nursing home (acting like an angel when he was there). He is now 2 1/2 yrs old. For the past month I've been recuperating from knee surgery, and he hasn't been walked, or gone to "work". And his old destructive ways have reared their ugly head, he has been "shopping" in my husband's bedside table, and ate 2 large boxes of good and plenty candy!! I've learned these doodles need mental stimulation, like having a "job" really helps them. And exercise is integral to having a happy doodle, a tired doodle is a good doodle. Going to an off-leash dog park is a wonderful way for them to burn off their energy.