@#&^!ing Dog!

[Murph]

I have been without internet for the week, because the new puppy- remember her?- chewed the cable off the house that leads to the modem. Its working right now with a hack splice, but I get about 10 minutes before it dies. Time Warner is coming tomorrow morning to fix it, but the darn dog is eating my house! She chewed the internet cable, she chewed the metal down spout, she has chewed the hardy plank on the house, she chewed the hose in two, she ate the rake, and she is only five months old!

Is there anything I can put on the cable to prevent the dog from chewing it? I have tried Sirache sauce, Tobasco, caulk, nothing seems to work. HELP!!!!!

[toverman]

This is normal for puppies.

The dog we have now chewed up a corner off one of the kitchen cabinets, ate part of our kitchen table and part of a chair. The good news is that most pups will outgrow this once their final teeth are cut. It's an impulse that I've never been able to cure with chemical means (or spicy means).

When left alone, confine the dog where there's nothing of value nearby. Introduce a rawhide bone or chew toy, because the chewing has to be done somehow. And if you are committed to keeping the dog to adulthood, try to be patient. That's the hardest part! We nearly found another home for our dog, but now that he's grown he is the best dog I've ever had. Good luck!

[Shane]

Instead of trying to make it taste bad, get her a good quality chew bone and dip it in chicken broth or soup . . . by making it taste good, our pup chewed on it more than anything else!

[Jessica Merritt]

Our cats have chewed their way through camera transfer cords, keyboard cords, plants (even fake ones), mini blinds, and more headphones than I can count. They're not growing out of it.

We can't spray everything, but we've found that spraying cords with Bitter Apple deters them for a bit. They sell it at pet stores.

[alamoshutterbug]

I have some habanero peppers ripening Murph, you wanna give 200,000 scoville units a shot?

[Breezy]

I agree with Bitter Apple. ours chewed the hoses and plugs to the pull and the insullation off of the AC pipe.
The bitter apple helped a lot. It didn't stop her but it cut it back. I guess we were pretty lucky she NEVER chewed anything in the house except 2 pair of my shoes, which was no biggie cause I HATE shoes lol.

[Howard Barlow]

Awww, ain't that precious?

[SGPhoto]

Murph,
You may want to try getting one of those bones that are hollow and put a little bit of Peanut Butter in it to discourage some of the chewing plus its funny as HE DOUBLE HOCKEY sticks watching them lick the roof of their mouths, other than that, Nylabones, chew toys, nothing with stuffing in them cause you'll come home with stuffing all over the place and PATIENCE.. Luckily with our Golden's never chewed a whole lot and scorning or yelling and things of that nature doesn't do the dog a whole lot of good cause it will be afraid of you sometimes.

Bitter apple does seem to work sometimes but they get used to the taste eventually.

But I found the Peanut Butter does work wonders most of the time, but only in small doses, NOT THE WHOLE JAR

Try it our let me know how it goes.

Stephen Gibson

[RightAngle]

yeah I feel your pain... I have been through 2 $80 MacBook Pro power supplies with mine... little *(&%%^$#%^*&*%%&

[Murph]

Great idea, she's a wonderful, albeit slightly hyper dog, and everyone just loves her. Other than the chewing, she is a good dog.

Originally Posted by Shane

Instead of trying to make it taste bad, get her a good quality chew bone and dip it in chicken broth or soup . . . by making it taste good, our pup chewed on it more than anything else!

[Wes]

I totally agree with all of the advice given with regards to giving her something of her own to chew on (soup bones, Nyla Bones, etc.). You also might want to consider a Kong. VERY strong rubber, and you fill it with treats (Milk Bones, cheese, peanut butter, etc.). Your dog will spend hours trying to get at the stuff inside.

Of course, for any corrective method to be effective you have to catch the dog in the act. In that case I recommend a training collar. Yes, it's one of those that allows you to shock the animal when it misbehaves. It works on the same principle as invisible fencing. Very effective tool when used correctly. We trained our dog with one of these a few years ago. It worked extremely well, and to this day if we just put the collar on him he becomes a different animal in that he KNOWS that he better behave. Contrary to popular belief this is a very humane training tool. I don't know a single vet or obedience trainer that discourages the correct use of this method.

[Roadrnr]

I agree Wes, training collars are a great training tool. I use one with my lab. The important thing with those is that they are used to reinforce commands already known and to deter unwanted behavior. I would not however use it on a puppy. At that stage, ecollars should not be used.

The suggestions given are good, chew toys and rawhide bones (or marrow bones). The main reason the dog is chewing is out of boredom. So introducing good bones and chews will help with this. The other thing I would highly recommend is walking the dog. If you are already walking the dog, you may want to go for longer walks, or more walks (ie if you are doing it once a day, go to twice a day) A tired puppy is a good puppy!

[shamrock]

A tired dog is a good dog. Play with her and take her for walks, at least 45 minutes a day. When you can't supervise her, put her in a crate. It's not cruel, dogs like to have a safe place that is theirs. Approved chew toys, as many have suggested - mine love Kongs that can be stuffed with all sorts of things. You can even put her meals in there - make her work for the food.

[sandy_ruotolo]

My ideas are simple. Puppies like small children will get into anything they can. Do you have a crate? A crate can be a den for small puppies, and once properly introduced to it, she will use it for her lifetime. Put her in the crate with a favorite chew toy. Close the door, If possible if she is not carrying on, leave the room for a little while. Let her out, tell her she's a good puppy, play, repeat. Eventually you will build up the time when she can be left in the crate for longer periods of time. Do Not let her out if she is crying. It only teaches her to be a brat to get what she wants.

[DeannaD]

Hang in there.. ours chewed everything in sight for the first 6-9 months, but now only chews stuff that belongs to him! Unless of course my kids leave food out... then he steals it and runs to hide!