He Chews EVERYTHING!

[AlliKat]

Argh, the little devil wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth - and I keep reading conflicting material on how to get him to stop! We are trying to train him to 'leave it', we are trying replacing whatever he is chewing on with one of HIS chew toys, we are trying to ignore the behaviour in case it is just for attention (but I don't think it is - he is teething quite obviously). We've put bitter apple on everything and it hasn't slowed him down at all.

ARGH! I can't puppy proof EVERYTHING - he wants to chew on baseboards, the wooden coffee table, our California shutters, the corner of the dishwasher, the stairs, anything and everything!

Any ideas? Please? :)

[imogene]

lots of bitter apple and pockets full of stuff he can chew. Every time he goes to chew something bad distract him with something he can chew. And then spray everything he has been chewing with bitter apple. Belzie got doors, baseboards, our coffeetable; she even had a go at our leather sofa - the bitter apple work great:) she stopped chewing and started licking - licking doesn't cause damage so we didn't mind so much and now she has out grown it :D

[marycas]

What I have read about bitter apple is that it is to be sprayed directly into the dogs mouth twice a day for three days and THEN applied to the items the dog isnt to chew

Maybe thats on the bottle? I dont know as I have never personally used this item(no puppies for a longggg time) but wondered if this was standard directions or a possible suggestion that helped with its effectiveness

[imogene]

Bitter apple is used as a training tool to deter certain behaviors. I have come across a few trainers that recommend using it sprayed directly in the mouth as a correction for very mouthy puppies. I have seen it work, but I also know people that have used water in a squirt bottle, with mouth aggressive resource guarders and it worked just as well - I personally have not used it that way. The stuff we have is actually called bitter yuck and it is for application on objects. It stopped Belzie from chewing right away, but whenever I caught her with a new object I would give her a nylabone or a bullystick or toy that she could chew now she only chew those things.

As to the mouth application - you would have to check the bottle because every type is different.

[marycas]

Mouth spraying sounded a little extreme to me too-thats why I was asking if that was standard procedure-it also seems like it would cause fear of the spray bottle, not the taste!

But then this was on a German Shepherd site so the issues may have been more extreme-we had to chicken wire around all our trees when our Shepherd was younger as she literally ate off every branch she could reach(new subdivision-baby trees-that was like ALL of them)

I personally would keep the OP's pup in a small pen unless I was directly supervising

I think you either barrier them in or barrier them out until they mature-along with all the suggestions given, of course. But maturity sure helps!

[AlliKat]

JMO but I think it's cruel to put bitter apple in a dogs mouth. Offer your pup a variety of SAFE chew toys, go on walks and have several play times and I promise you you're pup will be too tired to chew things he's not suppose too. He sounds bored to me. Though chewing is a normal part of a growing pup, chewing things otherthan his own toys is a no no.

Judy

I wouldn't feel comfortable spraying the bitter stuff right in his mouth - but I don't think it's being bored that is the problem. He has a number of chew toys, I am always redirecting him to them - and he has a LOT of playtimes per day and we are always walking him (or trying to - he does the opposite of the typical puppy-pulling-ahead trick; instead he plants his behind and won't move!).

We'll be in the middle of playing with him (throwing his ball, running around the backyard, etc) and he'll stop and start chewing on the lawn chair. Very frustrating.

[imogene]

I forgot to ask how old is your puppy. Puppies get pretty chewy when they are teething - 4-6 months was really bad for us. We gave her raw beef bones - sometimes even frozen - and ice cubes - it really seemed to help. By 6 month all of her baby teeth were gone and her adult teeth were fully presented.

[AlliKat]

He is 4 months... so approximately 2 more months of this hmm?? Wonderful! :rolleyes:

We've given him a frozen chewy bone, and a frozen washcloth... I like the ice cubes idea though, thanks! I'll try ANYTHING! appicon

[imogene]

Judy is right Belzie was totally miserable (hyperactive and destructive) until I realized she needed to have a regimented schedule - I started crating her for 3 hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon - and she settled right down. I am sure you can find my confused and panicked posts from December :) This fourm was a lifesaver:D. I have started Sam on the same schedule. He is a crate training nightmare - he loves his crate but if things are not just right for him he will pee:eek: It has been a fun few weeks, but we finally got him solid on 3 hours appicon

[Carolyn]

Allison....Abby was never a problem but Ferris was a chewer extraordinaire! evilicon Thought I would cry when I noticed that he had chewed on our antique dinning room table. :( When I noticed a couple of teeth marks on our new bedroom set :eek: I decided he could never be trusted to roam the house unattended. I never tried bitter apple....this boy was on a mission and I suspect it wouldn't have detered him. Fortunately, like Tracy said, he got better after about age 6 months. He is still a chewer but he loves kongs and is content to chew on them.

[Susan-n-Bijou]

I can relate to what Judy said.

One of our dogs (Lab) was like a tired, fussy toddler who needed a nap but didn't have the good sense to take one of her own accord. She didn't know what to do with herself and that mouth would look for trouble when she was tuckered out.

I tried to duplicate certain textures in the toys that I chose. If she was mouthing fingers, I'd hand her a rubber kong, kinda like a flesh substitute. If she was going for upholstery or clothing, a stuffed animal or rope boodah bone (supervised due to strings). If she went for the coffee table leg, something harder like a nylabone.

Don't forget to praise when they are engrossed in an approved toy!

Do be careful that you aren't being played. This same Lab would get ticked if I zoned out watching TV. She learned to go out in the kitchen and remove the plastic cover over the phone jack. The second I heard the clack of the plastic in her teeth, I'd snap to attention and run out there after her. It took me a while to figure out I was being manipulated.:rolleyes:

[el scrubbo]

Ice cubes are great, we have been using them a lot lately.

They love them as a toy and can chase the ice cubes around in addition to getting the chewing enjoyment out of them.

[gravy]

Everytime I go to the fridge, franc will watch
and jumps at the in door ice dispenser when
I touch the trigger. Its really cute until he
loses it under the stove. unfortunately I have
to retrieve it every time due to hardwood floors.:rolleyes: