# won't stop chewing up kids' toys



## nolefan

I have three children ranging in ages from 15 to 5. In the past 15 years we have raised 2 golden puppies and a collie puppy. Believe me I understand the trauma of a decapitated barbie doll. However, I am also personally aware that a dog eating the wrong toy will die if you don't catch it in time. I am going to tell you that Sadie probably can't be reliably taught at this point not to destroy toys. She's still a puppy. Some goldens outgrow this and some do not. Someone else may have an idea, I'll be interested to see.

In our house we use baby gates to manage our living spaces. Sadie should simply not have access to your entire house if she is still chewing/eating items she should not. Gate off the bedroom areas and she can't go back there. If you have a toy room/play room area, gate that off so the kids have a space to leave toys everywhere but Sadie can't have access. The main living area and kitchen will have to be toy free and the children will have to respect this. I guarantee that if you warn the older child not to leave toys in the living room or anything you find will go into the trash it will only take one or two 'trash can burial ceremonies' for him to remember the new rules. If you make this rule non-negotiable, your kids will obey. 

There will always be some mistakes made, but for the most part it is entirely possible to run a house this way. It is worth the effort, it could save your dog's life. If you are unhappy with the money wasted on items she has ruined, you will be even more unhappy if you have to spend thousands of dollars on surgery to save her life.


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## solinvictus

If I was Sadie why would I stop. I love chewing especially small action figures. It feels good in my mouth. (self rewarding)  And when my Mom sees me doing it I get rewarded with attention from her. I am a dog and just doing doggy type things.

This game is a win win game for Sadie. 

As long as the opportunity is there Sadie will continue to do it if it is rewarding to her.

There are no easy answers. Prevention and time. 
Maybe you can make new rules where the chldren can only play with these types of toys in a certain area of the house and Sadie does not get to have access to the area until you have inspected and either had the children put the toys away or you have put them away yourself. Instead of driving yourself crazy having to keep one eye on the floor every where the kids go in the house you will down size the problem area and manage it by not letting Sadie have access.


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## mylissyk

You could make it a game where she picks up the toy and brings it to you every time, that will take a lot of time and effort to teach her to do it. Keeping toys in a play area she doesn't have access to may be the best solution.


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## Max's Dad

We do not have young children anymore. However, we are on are third Golden Retriever over more than 25 years. We learned long ago that things that a Golden will put in their mouth need to not be on the floor or within dog reach. In our case, that is socks, towels, napkins, shoes and so on. Same with toys. The house must be organized in such a way that these hazardous items are not reachable by the dog.


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## MikaTallulah

What about baby gates at kids bedroom doors and playroom only for toys with baby gate?

Can't blame a puppy for being a puppy.


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## Vhuynh2

I don't have kids but I do have two bears in bed with me  Molly used to think they were her toys too, since she does have a stuffed bear from the breeder. What I actually did.. might sound so silly and ridiculous and I am a little embarrassed to admit, is that when Molly would grab one of them, I would yelp "ai!!" as if she just nipped me. She leaves them alone now. When my boyfriend witnessed this, he said, "seriously?" lol


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## BajaOklahoma

My three kids grew up with three large breed dogs, including puppies at various times.

Our rule was anything in the dog's reach, was the dog's. We started it with our oldest child as soon as he could understand. Actually, the toddlers were so proud of themselves for being a big guy and putting things away, it was easier with them. This carried over to school work, electronics and clothing. We do not replace what the dog destroys.


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## sameli102

I don't have kids but I do keep my 5 & 7 yr old grandchildren and have since birth. During this time I have had 2-4 goldens at any given time, they ALL have adored kids toys at some point, especially as puppies. There are a few things that have helped. Certain rooms are off limits to the dogs.....the living room and the grandkids bedroom. They have mostly been trained by having gates but in doing that they also know they are not permitted in those rooms so when a gate is accidentally left open they know not to go in there. Dogs can easily be trained to stay out of certain rooms. The rules for the kids are that they can have loose toys in those rooms and it is ok if they are left laying low, but if they leave them laying around in any other room and don't pick them up they are on there own if they get destroyed. If we leave the house I make sure gates are up or bedroom door is closed because they are smart enough to be sneaky.
My dogs especially love dolls and stuffed animals but why wouldn't they? I go to the store and buy them stuffed toys and other toys that resemble kids toys all the time.
Parker does know the difference and as excited as he gets to find a kids doll he always always brings it to me with his tail going hoping I will say it's ok....I just tell him he's a good good boy and act as though he did a great thing and take it away.
Many dogs do outgrow it. My daughters lab was horrible with the kids toys so she quit buying dog toys for him, it must have helped because he quit stealing theirs, I guess it helped the confusion. Now 1 of my 3 really doesn't care that much about the kids toys, just stuffed animals (but I still think that is my fault for buying them stuffed squeaky toys in the past. The other doesn't really bother much at all any more. I have two 3yr old and one 2yr old golden. It does get better with age, but I would at least recommend not buying stuffed dog toys to help them with the confusion there, it is a start. Maybe stick with balls and bones that are easy to differentiate?


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## penparson

I agree, a puppy is a puppy. Goldens love to retrieve (which includes stealing as well). Wakefield is pretty much through the destructive phase at 21 months BUT he loves to steal things. I laid out my tennis clothes on the bed last week, went to the kitchen to get coffee, and was greeted by Wakefield flying through the kitchen with my tennis shirt. We traded, he headed off to the bedroom and returned with the tennis skirt. He's the sneakiest and quickest golden that I've had. So, for me that means closet doors closed, clothing out of reach. He doesn't damage the clothes but loves to parade around the house with stuff.


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## Suni52

Thanks everyone for your input. At the moment, Sadie really doesn't go upstairs, but she does spend most of her time with us in the family room, and my kids spend most of thier time there too, hence all the action figures. I have a big cubicle bin with all of thier toys in the family room. I think I may just need to start making them keep small stuff in the playroom upstairs now. They don't play up there that much though. 
It's so weird, my son gets so mad at my daughter for taking his toys, but Sadie can take a toy, decapitate it and amputate an arm, and he doesn't get mad at her. He has a special tolerance for her. But you are right, its dangerous for Sadie.


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## Tucker's mommy

We have a rule in our house. Our three kids (ages 3, 7 and 8) know that only one room in the house is their room for toy-trashing. And it has a big gate that they can access but our 15 month old Tucker cannot get through. This way, if they slip up on the clean up rules around here, it's in that one room, not the whole house, and it's much less stressful for us worrying about what Tucker might get into. They do forget sometimes, but it definitely helps to manage things. Perhaps you can create a playroom for your kids that's off limits for the dog? Our kids still have to clean up that room at the end of the day, but at least it's not a constant concern because of the gate. Our Tucker also stays out of our upstairs level, which helps immensely - he has access to our main level and the basement level. He doesn't seem to care - he's quite the happy pup. Good luck - I know the stress of what you're dealing with.


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## Sally's Mom

I pretty much did things like Nolefan. I used a lot of baby gates. And my kids learned very quickly that if they cherished something, keep it off the floor. My second golden came to us as a pup when the kids were 2 years 9 months and 9 months old.


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## Goldenmom18

I’m in the same boat. I have 3 kids 3.5 and 1.5 twins and he is destroying everything (not anything in the house just the kids toys) we have tried gates and he jumps them. Have to keep door open to keep an eye on the kids. We’ve done training sessions and he’s a sweet heart and very protective of his family but people don’t even want to visit because he constantly barks in excitement jumps and paws the entire time people are here. We’re trying everything! my other golden before him who passed at 14 (stroke) was the complete opposite of this guy. Budderball (air buddies) is giving me a compete run for our money Lol


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## cwag

Goldenmom18 said:


> I’m in the same boat. I have 3 kids 3.5 and 1.5 twins and he is destroying everything (not anything in the house just the kids toys) we have tried gates and he jumps them. Have to keep door open to keep an eye on the kids. We’ve done training sessions and he’s a sweet heart and very protective of his family but people don’t even want to visit because he constantly barks in excitement jumps and paws the entire time people are here. We’re trying everything! my other golden before him who passed at 14 (stroke) was the complete opposite of this guy. Budderball (air buddies) is giving me a compete run for our money Lol


Wow, sounds like you have your hands full! I'm sure it's hard to find any time but are you doing some training? One thing that helped with Rukie was designating a place (his is a dog cot in the family room) which we call "your spot". We trained him to go there and lie down by luring with treats, then trained him to go there on command and then worked on staying there for lengthening periods of time. Now whenever we eat in the family room (which is pretty much always) he goes and lies in his spot waiting for a treat. We need to work on it more, but in theory, he will go there and lie down when people come in the house. Good luck with Budderball:smile2:


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