# Chewing problem,,,Help!



## Olddog (Mar 24, 2009)

Sam is 9 mos old now. We got him when he was about 6 mos. Where he was before he was neglected, constantly crated, and somewhat abused. He is now a great dog but has a nasty chewing habit, but only when we aren't around. For the first time, just today, he started on a piece of furniture. They have plenty of chew toys out and Riley and him play constantly. How can I break him off this habit other than keeping him crated or watching him 24/7??


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## Jax's Mom (Oct 16, 2009)

Can you gate him off any furniture he can destroy? I keep my guys on the tiles area in my kitchen and hallways. There is the kitchen furniture, and until they learned not to chew on that, it got sprayed with bitter apple. Now they just find shoes and chew those up LOL I keep telling hubby to put those shoes up HIGH!


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## Olddog (Mar 24, 2009)

He has already destroyed two door mats, a couple shoes, and a few other small things. We have to keep ALL shoes in the closet. He chews on the steps of the patio, the posts, he just likes to chew. I don't know much else to do other than some obedience lessons which might be a must. Depending on the severity of what he chews on, he knows,,because if it's something real bad, he knows because before I even scold him, he is so scared he will pee on the floor and wince,,which I believe stems from some former abuse he may have received. It's really heart-breaking to see him like this.


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## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

If he's doing this only when you're not home, maybe its a symptom of separation anxiety. You can try giving him a special stuffed frozen kong. Not only will that keep him busy for awhile chewing on something appropriate, but he will also start to associate your leaving with a positive thing. When you start doing this, try leaving for maybe 30 minutes (just time enough for him to get through the kong) then come back and if all is well, give him a really special reward that he will get only when you come home and find he's been a good boy. Then you can gradually lengthen your time away and he should associate your leaving and coming back with positive things.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

1) YES crate him when you can't supervise. Otherwise the $ value of items will add up OR he will chew something that will hurt him.
2) DO NOT scold him. That is a great way to teach a dog to get into trouble when you aren't around!
3) Puppy proof your home.
4) Basic training is a great thing, but will most likely NOT solve this problem.
5) If at all possible, set up a video camera while you are gone, so that you and your vet can rule out separation distress.


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## wagondog (Aug 24, 2007)

Always funny when I read posts about chewing stuff. One of my rotties years ago could have changed the tv with the remote, answered my pager and must have had 20/20 vision with three pairs of glasses cause thats all the stuff he ate!


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## Olddog (Mar 24, 2009)

I guess I should clarify when I say "when we aren't around". What I mean here is when we can't see him. If he and Riley are outside playing, for the most, they are OK, but the odd time he will just stop whatever they are doing, whether it be wrestling or chasing each other and just start chewing the bottom of my red oak tree or on the corner of the deck. Inside, even when we are home, if he can sneak away if we forget the bedroom door open, he will sneak a sock out of the bathroom or start nibbling on the comforter or something. And whatever he chews, he eats, no matter what. I've seen some pretty interesting things when picking up poo in the yard. "That's where that went!!" LOL. So I don't think it's separation, because he does it when we are at home as well. Could it be for attention?


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

It just tastes good/feels good. I would still video while you are gone.

Use food dispensing toys and super exciting chew toys. 

And supervise.... otherwise you might get one of those great $1500+ vet bills and a super sick dog.


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## ebenjamin85 (Apr 13, 2008)

I would invest in some heavy duty bones... we like these kinds of bones and they were recommended by our vet. He said that they are safer for "big eaters/chewers" than rawhides because they are harder to chew pieces off of that the dog can choke on.










Samantha continued to chew until about two years old. The last thing that she ate was the contacts page of her dad's daytimer.  

I would crate your dog when you're not home and/or cannot supervise. I used to have to crate her while I showered to prevent chewing. Follow everyone else's advise of taking the item and re-directing your dog to an appropriate toy than reinforcing it when it chews on the bone/toy. With time and age things should improve!


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

He's entering the secondary teething phase. Chewing often gets worse around 8-9 months.

Supervision. Management. Lots of interesting, appropriate chew items. Don't feel badly about using crates, gates and x-pens when you can't watch him. It's not forever; just while he learns.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Ranger is a chewer, too. He has some "every day" items laying around like his nylabones so when he feels the need to chew, he can walk over and grab it. It took awhile for him to learn what was appropriate when he felt the urge to chew and what wasn't, so I'd replace whatever wasn't appropriate with the nylabone. I'd wave the nylabone around his head, play a little keep away, whatever it took to make the nylabone more exciting than the inappropriate item he'd been chewing on. If I just gave it to him, he'd look at me like "no thanks" then try to chew on the original object. Once I made the nylabone more "fun", he was all over it.

Once every few days, he gets a "special" chew treat. A stuffed kong, a raw marrow bone, or an old marrow bone with cheese and peanut butter, etc so he'll go to town chewing on the item for hours. He doesn't feel the need to chew for a few days after his "special" chew treat and then will start looking for his nylabone again. It's a pattern/routine with him and I know how far to push it before he _might_ start looking for an innapropriate chew item again. He can go about a 6 weeks without having a nylabone/special chew treat, then he starts getting mouthy on people's legs/arms, then he starts eating sticks, then he starts chewing on household items again, so I choose to be pro-active and keep to his routine/pattern of chewing.


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

We use to stuff kongs with bananas and bread and freeze them. Peanut butter just had too many calories. It took Subie a good long time to get the goodies out when frozen, plus a way to get rid of over ripe bananas. He loved bananas until the day he died.


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