Puppy Chewing?

[Hound dog]

Evidently I have a nervous chewer.............or maybe a bored chewer (although I dunno how she's bored, she get exercise and lots of playtime).......or maybe teething has kicked into high gear finally.

Maggie has plenty of things to chew. She has rawhides, her kong (although I've yet to find something to work inside the darn thing) and a wide variety of toys. She does chew these and enjoys it.

But she is also seems to love wood.......sticks.........and now I've caught her chewing on the legs of the kitchen table. Now my table is nothing fancy, so I'm not upset about it except 1. I don't want her thinking it's ok and 2. I don't think a belly full of wood slivers is going to aide in digestion. She also has been chewing on the baby gate.

I can understand the baby gate sort of. If the little boys are having a grumpy fussy day......well, Maggie going near them sets them off, so she gets crated into the kitchen. That chewing is probably a combo boredom and frustration because she loves to play with the boys. Soon as Connor goes down for his nap she's got the run of the house again. (he's the one that mainly gets set off) I don't like it but letting her play in the yard is not yet an option because I need a new gate and she gets off the lead too often.

I do correct her when I see her and she stops. Problem is, I don't always see her because I'm busy watching the boys. This is something she mainly does when the boys are here because that is the only time she's gated.

Sticks are easy to deal with......I just do what I can to keep them picked up. It's the furniture thing. Other than the kitchen.......anything else in the house that is wood is antique.......and Momma would NOT be happy should she start chewing any of those.

I've never had a dog with the wood issue before. Paper, crayons.......toys........shoes.......but not wood and not furniture. Providing plenty of rawhide ect to chew instead seemed to deter it. So is there anything I can do other than correcting her when I spot her doing it? Or am I just going to have to watch her like a hawk until she gets through this stage?

 

[Star*]

Cheap Pnut butter inside those Kongs......

And when the jar is empty? Let her lick the pnut butter jar - then take away from her before she chews the jar to bits.

Go to the butcher and ask them for a hip socket it may cost you a few bucks (2 or three) but well worth it.......and ask them to cut you a few marrow bones in various lengths. There are a few schools of thought on boiling vs not. I do not. I just give them and watch------for splintering which - even with my largest most aggressive gnawer - he has yet to splinter a leg bone to bits------has splintered but what you have to watch out for is gum erosion - they will chew until THEIR gums are raw.

Tennis balls are good for jaw exercise. But be careful they love to eat the fuzz.

And last but not least - WM sells some holistic stuff - white bottle green lable that is probably the most NASTY tasting stuff I have EVER tasted - YUP you got it - I did. And it worked for LC (DINGUS) She is my notorious stick, furniture, BRICK......chewer.......When you tell her to go KICK rocks? That nincompppoooooooop eats them. So I have a bottle of it - but had to use it VERY LITTLE. Sad to say AFTER I found my dragon claw and ball dining room table and chairs demolished. BUT none the less? It works.
Bitter apple from the pet store did not - the walmart stuff DID.

 

[witzend]

Small sized Iams dog bone treats fit perfectly into a Kong.

We had the same problem with Bubba. You can buy cheap bags of rawhide strips, or even get them in bulk if you have a grocer that does lots of bulk food. Get them good and thick. It should take her a while if she isn't too big and strong.

If she's got jaws of thunder, try a buffalo bone. They last forever - cow bones break and they vomit - and if you put the tiniest amount of peanut butter in it she'll wear herself out.

And, of course, if it looks like something she likes to chew, it has to be put away. High heels in my house are fair game to Mandy if not in the closet where they belong.

 

[Hound dog]

I haven't done pbutter in the kong because Maggie has a sensitive tummy......it doesn't take much to loosen her bowels. Maybe I'll try her with a little bit at a time and watch for a reaction. But doesn't the pbutter get everywhere?

I will look for that bottle of stuff at WM though, just in case I need it. Thanks.

 

[Jody]

My dogs love pig ears. Never had a problem with either dog as long as we have pig ears around, I give them about two a week. One of Nyla's big teeth came out day before yesterday. Is she just losing her baby teeth hopefully? Love Kongs and Broady started to get too fat with the peanut butter. I didnt give him much but he really started gaining. Now he gets a little greek yogurt left in my cup instead. He loves that.

 

[Hound dog]

Going to try those butcher bones too.

Molly will chew a rawhide all day. Maggie gets bored with one after a little bit.

 

[InsaneCdn]

We did a 2-part approach.

First you have to watch very carefully, and stop them every time they chew something that is yours.
Then, every time you catch them, you give them one of THEIR chew-items instead.

"No! Mine! This is yours... " hand over (fill in the blank)

 

[susiestar]

Not sure what WM carries, but the area feed stores should have bitter apple. It is intensely bitter and nasty and most dogs will avoid it like the plague.

But a better solution is to combine the various things the others have said.

it is also very possible that she has a very strong need to 'work' and boredom is the problem. for that I recommend investing in a feeder toy or two. Then she gets a very small portion of food when you feed the others, and she has a special toy that you put most of her daily food into. She has to push it or turn it or move it to get a few bits of kibble. This will keep her busy and give her something more productive to do. This can be super helpful. You can find the toys on amazon or at pet stores.

The other issue, which may be more to the point, is that she is trying to get your attention on her and away from the boys. She knows if she chews then you will come scold her. Not sure the best way to handle that part of the issue, but maybe someone else here has ideas.

 

[Jody]

Dogs are so different, Broady woulkd not get into stuff and if he did decide to go take something that he shouldn't I just said No and he would drop it and I gave him something he could chew. Other than socks he never went after that item again. NylaDemon dog, on the otherhand, will wait and watch to see if she can sneak that item and have her way with it. No matter how many times she has been told, she will do it over and over again. I don't think I am going to survive puppyhood. If she weren't so stinking cute, I don't know if she would have made it this long.

 

[InsaneCdn]

When she has to be separated from the boys, have a special food toy for her - I'd recommend Buster Cube, I think she's smart enough to use it. It's a dog puzzle - and YOU choose the level of difficulty. The dog has to figure out how to get the food out. If she likes it, and only gets it when separated from the boys, then it should remove the gate issue completely. (away from "my" boys? Oh No! Oh... that nice toy? OK)

 

[DammitJanet]

Like Star, I have a Jaws and even though Buddy shouldnt be a Jaws because he is little he is a Jaws too. They can both crunch through raw hides like potato chips. I got them a bag of those large green and white dental stick raw hide things and the only thing that did was to give them green poop. They ate them in about 5 minutes.

The only thing that works is real bones. Dont you have Family Dollar there? I get real bones at Family dollar for $2.50 a bone. Most grocery stores also sell them. I cant find a butcher yet that will sell me one fresh. However Tony just shot a deer this morning so the dogs are gonna be real happy now.

I have a toy that is like a kong but is by another maker. I had been putting peanut butter in it but you made me think about that with the stools. I think I am gonna change to cheese. With mine I can squirt the stuff up inside it so I will get canned cheese.

I have had wood chewers before. In fact, I had one that chewed entirely through the front door to get outside. Thankfully Abby only likes to chew her stuff and she digs in the couch cushions looking for leftovers the baby leaves but when she finds them she tends to tear the couch cushions up into pieces. Now the couches are just old junk so its not an awful problem but it gets messy.

 

[Hound dog]

What is a Buster Cube? Never heard of it.

Maggie isn't jealous of the boys or wanting MY attention.........much of the time I'm in the same room with her (the kitchen) as I'm having my coffee while the boys are watching morning cartoons. She's only in the kitchen alone maybe 2 hrs tops. And much of that time if she's awake I'm playing with her. I think it's boredom and wanting to play with the boys.

I'll try the dollar store and see if I can get a reg bone for her. I'll just only give it to her during times she has to be crated when I'm not in the room so it stays a special treat. If that doesn't work I guess I'll have to look for this Buster cube deal thing. I hope it's not expensive, I can't do expensive right now with having to get her fixed soon.

 

[DammitJanet]

You can put flavor back on a regular bone that she has chewed on if she looks like she is getting tired of it. We soak ours in gravy leftover from soup or steaks or such so it takes on new goodness and they love it.

Have to tell you a funny. I told you Tony killed a deer this morning and has been out there field dressing it. Well, he came in to tell me that Abby may have been fixed but she was still all girl. I asked what he meant and he said she just grabbed a penis and set of balls in her mouth and ran under the house!

 

[Hound dog]

omg too funny Janet!!

 

[DammitJanet]

I thought you would appreciate it...lol

 

[witzend]

I hate to even tell you guys how quickly my dogs can go through rawhide. We buy 80 packs six at a time. They last about a month or so.

If Mags has a squiffy tummy, I'd bypass the peanut butter. At best it will make her fart, and at worst, well... And yes, it does get all over. You don't have to fill it to the brim, though. Just spread a little on the inside and she'll wear her chewer out trying to get at it. I found that milk-bones are too narrow for a kong, but the small Iams were perfect. If I shoved two in there, Bubba would toss it in the air with his mouth and it would bounce around and eventually break up and come out. It took him months to figure THAT trick out!

 

[flutterby]

I've scanned the replies, but haven't read them all.

In the Kong, put in canned dog food and stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours. It takes longer to get the food out and will keep her occupied a bit longer. Kong also makes toys that look more like actual dog toys (like bone shaped or hoop shaped toys, and you don't put food inside of these), but are much more durable and seems to encourage dogs to chew on them because of it. When she chews on something she isn't supposed to, treat it as you would a toddler playing with something she shouldn't - tell her no and replace it with something she is allowed to chew on.

 

[AnnieO]

All great replies... Bubbles likes hard plastic. He shouldn't be alive - the first year we lived here he dug up and ate ANT STAKES.

Janet, be careful with that canned cheese, the sodium in it is horrendous... And... it gave my old dog Rainbow the WORST gas. Uggghhh. This was the dog who liked to eat tin cans...

 

[DammitJanet]

Well right now the canned cheese is the only way I am getting her pain medications in her. She wont even touch liverwurst and I have never met a dog who wouldnt eat that! Nor will she eat the peanut butter but she loves this new canned cheese. She has also developed a new behavior...she thinks her kennel is a litter box. Tony had put it outside and left it there for the last couple of weeks with her pillow in it and them brought it in for this healing period but she hasnt been sleeping in it at all. I just caught her sneaking in it to pee. I think she thinks the white pillow is a puppy pad which I have all over the house for her in case she has to go when I am not around. I think we need to put the crate back outside because she will come get me and bug me to take her outside. She isnt good about barking at the door or scratching at it but she will sit and stare at me. I have finally realized that means she needs to go out.

 

[AnnieO]

LOL well for medications? We do whatever we can!!! And I have a cat that won't eat liverwurst. Odd eh?!