# Help With Jack Tearing up His Bed



## Jack's Dad (Nov 6, 2009)

Hey Everybody,

In the past week Jack has begun tearing up his stuffed toys, his bed, and puppy blanket. He has destroyed two hot dog style stuffed puppies, a stuffed star and now has moved on to his bed (which he had once loved). I don’t care about the toys but the bed is an issue. 

He will be 8 months on 12/16 and has not been neutered yet. Would it help to have him fixed or does anyone have suggestions as to how to curb this behavior? I was hoping to hold off neutering him until at least he is a year old.

I would love to get him a new bed but not if he is going to destroy it. 

Thanks for any suggestions.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

That's very common behavior for young goldens. Neutering will make no difference and has nothing to do with it. Tucker is 16 months old and he still can't have stuffed toys because he tears them apart within a day or two. He also couldn't have a bed or any blankets in his crate until he was about a year old since he would chew those up as well. I would hold off on getting him a bed or any stuffed toys. Just stick with durable toys like Kongs and Nylabones for now and wait until he is older to get him a bed. It's also a very good idea to hold off on neutering him until he's around 18 months old so that he has a chance to fully develop and mature.


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## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

Mine STILL tear up stuffies at five and three. I got to the place where I left no liner in the crate when they were still crated. Some of them just have a really strong chew instinct. Mine get the strongest Nylabones only. And word to the wise: pick up your socks and underwear .


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Rookie was two before he could have a bed that he didn't chew. Until he was two, I just let him sleep on the floor.

And even then, I recently had a problem with him chewing on his bed after months of him not chewing it. He still can't have stuffed animals unless I'm playing with him and can supervise him. I recently bought a new Kong chew-resistant bed. The covering is nylon rather than plush, so it's less like a stuffed animal and so far he hasn't chewed on it. We'll see!!


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Bender stopped unstuffing toys two years ago, when she turned 10. Well ok I'm sure she'd still do it if I let her, but most of the toys she picks up are kid's toys, which she gets to trade for cookies, so she's not as into her toys because I don't care if she has them or not. Murphy's law I guess.

What you can do is just get a fleece blanket, no stuffing, and use that, or a towel, until he's past the destroy the bed stage. I used to get stuffies at the thrift shop for Bender, she likes to make a tiny hole and pull the stuffing out shred by shred, till the carcass is left empty and lifeless... other goldens I know like to remove limbs and heads, so their owners do the same thing, get a bag of them for a few bucks and toss out the remains...

Lana


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## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

Bender said:


> Bender stopped unstuffing toys two years ago, when she turned 10. Well ok I'm sure she'd still do it if I let her, but most of the toys she picks up are kid's toys, which she gets to trade for cookies, so she's not as into her toys because I don't care if she has them or not. Murphy's law I guess.
> 
> What you can do is just get a fleece blanket, no stuffing, and use that, or a towel, until he's past the destroy the bed stage. I used to get stuffies at the thrift shop for Bender, she likes to make a tiny hole and pull the stuffing out shred by shred, till the carcass is left empty and lifeless... other goldens I know like to remove limbs and heads, so their owners do the same thing, get a bag of them for a few bucks and toss out the remains...
> 
> Lana


LOL, I'm waiting for ten, hope we make it!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

No more stuffies, no more bedding. He'll be fine on a plastic crate floor with something tough to chew until he passes through this second teething stage (8-10 months, they go through a real chewing phase as the adult teeth set in the jaw). Hopefully, he'll mellow out after that.

Neutering will do nothing for this problem, though 8 months is well past the minimum vet-recommended age.


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## Jack's Dad (Nov 6, 2009)

jwemt81 said:


> That's very common behavior for young goldens. Neutering will make no difference and has nothing to do with it. Tucker is 16 months old and he still can't have stuffed toys because he tears them apart within a day or two. He also couldn't have a bed or any blankets in his crate until he was about a year old since he would chew those up as well. I would hold off on getting him a bed or any stuffed toys. Just stick with durable toys like Kongs and Nylabones for now and wait until he is older to get him a bed. It's also a very good idea to hold off on neutering him until he's around 18 months old so that he has a chance to fully develop and mature.


 
18 months old? Wow that seems a little bit older. Our vet recommended that we have it done between 6-9 months old. We heard that it can tramatize (sp) the dog to have it done at a later date. Have you done this (waiting until 18 months to neuter your dog) with your goldens in the past? Has it helped?


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

Jack's Dad said:


> 18 months old? Wow that seems a little bit older. Our vet recommended that we have it done between 6-9 months old. We heard that it can tramatize (sp) the dog to have it done at a later date. Have you done this (waiting until 18 months to neuter your dog) with your goldens in the past? Has it helped?


18 months is ideal as that is around the time when the growth plates close. Most vets recommend neutering much earlier to prevent any accidental breedings. A good vet will support an owner's decision to wait until the dog is older. Dogs that are neutered around 6 months are usually easily identified by their narrower heads and taller, lankier build. Both of our boys will not be neutered until they are 18 months old. Tucker is having it done towards the end February. We have had absolutely no problems keeping him intact this long.


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

A lot of folks on this forum have waited until 18 months or later to neuter their dogs. Rookie was done at 19 months and it wasn't traumatic for him at all. I think it was actually more traumatic for ME when he underwent surgery.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Jack's Dad said:


> 18 months old? Wow that seems a little bit older. Our vet recommended that we have it done between 6-9 months old. We heard that it can tramatize (sp) the dog to have it done at a later date. Have you done this (waiting until 18 months to neuter your dog) with your goldens in the past? Has it helped?


There's an ongoing debate on this issue. Most vets still recommend that 6-9 month range, but there's been some emerging science that suggests there might be some protective effects in waiting until around 18 months old for male dogs. There are some cancers that may be reduced in dogs who are neutered later, and there may be a few other conditions (like hypothyroid) that might be less common in dogs neutered later.

Some people also think it has a significant effect on a dog's look, with male dogs neutered later developing a blockier build and a squarer head. I'm skeptical about that one.

Still, none of this science is conclusive enough to ride on as an absolute certainty. 8 months is a responsible age, though neutering won't help with a chewing issue. 18 months is also a responsible age, given the emerging science.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

We had Austin and Lincoln neutered at 10 months and 8 months respectively. Like the other posters....it hasn't helped with the ripping and shredding. I cannot find anything that Lincoln can't destroy. He has pretty much eaten one of the doggy beds, a comforter (he was so cute doing it though..he was covered in fluff when I caught him), he has ripped the legs off of every stuffed toy we have. Right now as I'm writing this, he is destroying a bone that is "indestructible"!!! Oh yeah, this afternoon, he chewed his kong in half...I have kong remnants all over the place.


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## Jack's Dad (Nov 6, 2009)

Thank you all for tour help.

We will take everyone's advice into account.

I am so glad we found this website. 

Thanks.

Jack's Dad


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