Is Your Dog Chewing Too Much?
Chewing is usually a developmental phase that puppies pass through to relieve the itch and pain of cutting new teeth. The majority of dogs stop chewing everything in sight once their new teeth are fully erupted, at about 9 months old. The few dogs that do not cease chewing by age 1, either have acquired the habit of chewing from boredom, anxiety, and frustration, or have acquired an unusual gourmet appetite.
Regardless of the reason a dog chews, the behavior of chewing can be very expensive and very dangerous to the dog’s physical well being. Correcting chewing, or any other behavior problem, requires that someone be present to catch the dog in the act. Showing the dog a shoe that was chewed several hours earlier and yelling at him may make you feel better, but there is little chance that he will connect the correction with the idea that chewing shoes is wrong. An unsupervised puppy left to roam the house may develop a taste for dangerous chew toys such as electrical cords, cleaning supplies, and other toxic items. The landscaped yard filled with possibly toxic plants, or rocks and wood that can obstruct the dog’s intestines is a similarly dangerous environment for the unsupervised puppy. Dogs that chew and swallow rocks or other sharp objects often require costly and risky emergency surgery.
To avoid mishaps when you cannot keep a watchful eye on the dog, confine him in an area where only appropriate chew items such as dog toys, rawhides, or knuckle bones are available. You must exercise caution in which chew toys are left in the crate, because dogs have been reported to choke on some toys and rawhides. If you confine your dog to a crate during unsupervised periods, you don’t have to worry about him chewing up prized possessions and furniture, or doing himself harm. You may choose to dog proof the house by removing any prize possessions until the dog has passed through the chewing stage. Products such as Bitter Apple or Tabasco sauce may be sprayed on furniture and possessions to keep the dog from chewing, but check for staining before using them. Ninety-nine percent of the dogs find the taste of these products repulsive, but a few dogs think they are a gourmet delight.
One product that may not be attractive to any dog is ammonia. Be careful not to spray the ammonia when the dog is close by; it could damage his olfactory system and eyes. Read the instructions carefully to determine what is safe to spray on valuable possessions. Your dog should be well supplied with acceptable chew items such as old socks, safe dog toys, rawhides, chew hooves, and knuckle bones. Only knuckle bones are safe; other bones will splinter and get caught in the dog’s throat or intestines. If you are worried that your dog will not discriminate between an old chewable sock and a new sock, you may want to take time to play fetch with the dog and an old sock so the item will become his favorite toy. The old sock will carry the scent of the dog, whereas the new sock has your scent. The dog quickly learns the difference between the socks when you praise him for playing with and chewing the old sock and reprimand him for chewing on socks with your scent.
Laura B. said,
Wrote on January 31, 2007 @ 23:04
I know how it is to have an anxious and chewing dog. I adopted one from a rescue group. The poor dog had a severe case of separation anxiety but she would also go and chew on electrical cords in another room when I was on the computer or doing other things. She was also one of those dogs that didn’t mind the bitter apple or tobasco. She actually seemed to like very spicy things, to my consternation and the delight of my husband who, though he would never admit it, loves to spoil animals by dropping tidbits from the table or throwing them and encouraging the dog to catch them in midair. (That’s a great game but not with our dinner!!) Anyway, we finally found a product that worked. I think it was called Bitter End. Whatever was in that stuff was awful! Being insatiably curious, my husband and I had to take just the tiniest taste of it. Big mistake! Guess the dog thought so too. She never chewed our things again. Even the possibility of having that nasty stuff again must have been enough to make her decide that toys really were better to chew on than our phone cords and cords to our electrical appliances.
I think there is some controversy about the whole rawhide thing. I was told by my guide dog trainers that giving my dogs rawhide could cause diarrhea. But when a friend gave one of my dogs a rawhide chew as a Christmas gift one year, I decided to risk it. This particular dog had an iron stomach anyway, which is almost a prerequisite for any living creature in Texas. But I was wondering if others had had that trouble with diarrhea related to rawhide?
Thanks for reading. I wish the best for all of you and your dogs.
Laura
Lisa Pallardy said,
Wrote on January 31, 2007 @ 23:16
Great info, Justin!
Woof!
~Lisa
http://www.Barktalk.com
Lynette said,
Wrote on February 8, 2007 @ 21:00
My trainer suggested Deep Heat. It works a dream, my puppy now knows that the smell means a bad taste. The only difficulty is you need to reapply on a regular basis, every couple of days.
STEPHANIE TURNER said,
Wrote on February 25, 2007 @ 17:29
My friend has a German Shepherd. He was told not to give it any people food. The dog is around 8months old. Should he never give it people food such as pizza crust? Let me know.
I have a sheltie that is 8 yrs. old. She now has fat deposits. Is there anyway to help her from getting more? Thanks
Justin said,
Wrote on February 27, 2007 @ 22:53
Hi Stephanie,
I too have heard that you should never give dogs people food. Having said that though, everything in my dog treat & food recipe ebooks is able to be eaten by humans. There is no special dog mix that humans can’t eat.
However, everytime I open the dog’s tin food, I never once think that I would like to eat that.
No wonder dogs are always jumping up on the kitchen table. (down boy, down)
Now, I am not a Vet and I have heard that dogs don’t digest certain foods very well. But just like any animal, including humans, if you eat the wrong foods and don’t exercise you will put on fat. Although I have always found it hard to find cellulite under all that fur.
My recommendation Stephanie always is that you should speak to your Vet. However I personally feed my dog the pizza crusts. I always make sure that Fred’s deposits are normal and not too runny. And I always make sure he is getting lots of excercise.
Best of luck and keep on cooking up yummy dog food rather than that boring old tin food.
hannah said,
Wrote on July 7, 2007 @ 04:13
hello there i have 2 and black labs one will never come back when you call them even with bic when i finsh the walk my dog play fights all the time at the end when we whant them to go though the gate .the over dog is a puppy and she will chewing do u no why