Dog Chewing

Weezy56

HI all,

I need some advice on our youngest pup. We have two pits, a 2 year girl and a 9 month old boy. Our oldest is very low maintenance as far as her behavior is concerend. She was very easy to potty train, teach basic commands, learned quickly to not chew on our stuff, we can let her come outside with us without a leash without her running away, etc. (We always take her on a leash though when we leave our property, we are just on a lot of land). 

 Everything I just said about our oldest dog, well, our youngest is the complete opposite. H and I saved up and had our whole backyard fenced in last week. It has been a lot easier on us, as our youngest still has to go use the bathroom about once every couple hours, and the dogs love it. 

Yesterday I let him out by himself for about an hour. When I came outside to get him, I caught him chewing up a cable wire that is exposed from the ground up to the cable box on the back of the house. I was so irritated. The cable company is coming to replace it though and H is going to secure it with pipe. Then we notice a few hours later he has been chewing on the back deck and part of the house. 

We're feeling really discouraged because we spent all this $$ to fence in the backyard and it's looking like we can't even let our younger pup utilize it. I'm hoping that this is something he grows out of since he's not even a year old yet. He stopped chewing on shoes/furniture/other indoor things a long time ago and we have plenty of chew toys for the both of them. I've also heard of furniture sprays you can use to make the furniture taste nasty to keep dogs from chewing, but I'm not sure if there is anything we can use outdoors on the corner of the house and the back deck. 

Anyone have any experience with this or can offer any advice??

Weezy56

Thanks Liatris! We have some of their chew toys outside with them but good idea on catching him in the act, we'll definitley be starting that asap. I will also go pick up some furniture spray this weekend and see if it works

kmbryant2413

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_dog-chewing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:f2be4606-ad76-4ca0-a6d6-65642c8f1f83Post:fc522568-1e99-4e8b-8908-fc1c2603ba62">Dog Chewing</a>:
[QUOTE]HI all, I need some advice on our youngest pup. We have two pits, a 2 year girl and a 9 month old boy. Our oldest is very low maintenance as far as her behavior is concerend. She was very easy to potty train, teach basic commands, learned quickly to not chew on our stuff, we can let her come outside with us without a leash without her running away, etc. (We always take her on a leash though when we leave our property, we are just on a lot of land).   Everything I just said about our oldest dog, well, our youngest is the complete opposite. H and I saved up and had our whole backyard fenced in last week. It has been a lot easier on us, as our youngest still has to go use the bathroom about once every couple hours, and the dogs love it.  Yesterday I let him out by himself for about an hour. When I came outside to get him, I caught him chewing up a cable wire that is exposed from the ground up to the cable box on the back of the house. I was so irritated. The cable company is coming to replace it though and H is going to secure it with pipe. Then we notice a few hours later he has been chewing on the back deck and part of the house.  We're feeling really discouraged because we spent all this $$ to fence in the backyard and it's looking like we can't even let our younger pup utilize it. I'm hoping that this is something he grows out of since he's not even a year old yet. He stopped chewing on shoes/furniture/other indoor things a long time ago and we have plenty of chew toys for the both of them. I've also heard of furniture sprays you can use to make the furniture taste nasty to keep dogs from chewing, but I'm not sure if there is anything we can use outdoors on the corner of the house and the back deck.  Anyone have any experience with this or can offer any advice??
Posted by Weezy56[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>I am not a vet, I worked at a vets office as a Tech for several years. My 2 cents: He's bored. Most dogs are destructive like that when they are bored. You need to mentally and physically wear him out every day. Puppies in general have a lot of energy, and you can take that about 5 fold with pit puppies. They, like boxers, are a high energy breed. You can't just throw some toys out in the backyard and hope he'll play with himself. Nope.</div><div>
</div><div>He needs to go on very long walks, be taught some tricks (to wear out his mind), every day, otherwise the destructive behavior won't stop. In my experience, that is what the problem is 98% of the time. I understand you wanting to keep your fence (hell, I would too!), and that's the way to do it. Hope I helped a little! I've been there, it sucks :/

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Knottie_22386653

Ok, you can take my advice with a grain of salt - I don't even have a dog! Yet. But I have been reading a lot of dog books getting ready to bring home a new puppy.

Anyway, I agree with the PP who said it was due to boredom. At 9 months he should be past most of the puppy mouthing stuff, but it may be different for higher energy breeds? (We're getting a couch potato). 

Try to keep lots of good, sturdy chew toys around and redirect the chewing behavior to the toys instead of the other stuff. Keep in mind that some of this has to come from you, too. If there are tempting wires around the yard, get some PVC pipe around them and coat the pipes with that no chew spray. It's just as important to make sure he's not surrounded by temptation.

Of course, you can't really do that with a fence or a deck, right?

I would just try to make sure that you watch him as much as possible. You might also find that the pup takes to all kinds of things differently than your older dog, so I wouldn't try to compare the two. It'll just drive you nuts!

ZiggyZos

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_dog-chewing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:f2be4606-ad76-4ca0-a6d6-65642c8f1f83Post:daa27115-b437-4ac1-9dbf-17a4f76f4cf0">Re:Dog Chewing</a>:
[QUOTE]I have to agree with km. Have you tried any of those dog puzzles where they have to solve it to get a treat out? My good friend raises pits and has a lot of success with those for her puppies because it keeps them occupied.

Exercising any animal's mind is just as important as their bodies in preventing boredom. They need to get plenty of attention and stimulation daily.
Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]



All of this, exactly.

Going for long walks is great: dogs can use that physical exercise. But it often won't be enough. Walking around a neighborhood (or even going for a long walk) is not mentally stimulating to most dogs. It's a meaningless task. It's literally just walking.

Find something to engage his mind. Spend twenty minutes working sits, downs, recalls, etc. make his MIND work and you'll have a more tired and much less destructive pet.

Knottie_22386653

Oh! And I forgot to mention, when it gets a little warmer, you can also freeze toys in blocks of ice. Keeps them occupied trying to get them out and bonus: hydrates! I've had a bunch of friends told me they do this and it works wonders.

Jessa617

Do you have any friends with pups? Try getting together a "play-date" that will tire him out for sure. Lia and KM both gave great advice (I too was a vet tech).

lyndausvi

Maybe I'm helicopter fur-parent, but I think an hour outside alone for a 9 month old is too long.  They get board and are looking for something to do.  They are outside, new smells and such.  Digging, chewing is how some dogs like to play.  I assume you did not give him free rein in your house right away.  Same thing for the outside.   You can't expect  him to know it's wrong to chew on the cable if you are not around to teach him. 

Just like people, each dog has different personalities.  I have a 16-month English Bulldog who do not have the fat, lazy gene that EB's are known for.  He has a ton of energy.   So much so we have to take him to day care a few times a week.  On non-daycare days I have to take him on 2-3 mile walks to tire him out.   When we return from those walks he still wants to play tug-of-war and fetch.   

I suggest not leaving him out there for that long for now.  As he gets older it should be fine.  In the mean time, play fetch, run around, give him toys and puzzles, Kongs, bones, take walks and do some training secessions to tire him out.

Weezy56

Thanks for all the tips y'all. I was not aware of the doggie puzzles or think f making the ice pop toys, we will be doing that as well. We are just so frustrated because we try to mentally exercise him everyday by teaching tricks, basic commands, etc, but he's just so... distracted, I guess for lack of a better word. So we all just end up playing on the floor together without really teaching him much of anything. They get plenty of love and attention, but how is he supposed to stay focused if we don't, ya know? Do y'all think we would have better success training him and teaching him things if it were one on one and not with our other dog? I always thought having our older dog around would set an example for him when she does her tricks and what not but Im thinking we may have been way off base on that.

kmbryant2413

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_dog-chewing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:f2be4606-ad76-4ca0-a6d6-65642c8f1f83Post:1b746c0e-9955-401a-842f-eea89f801a67">Re:Dog Chewing</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks for all the tips y'all. I was not aware of the doggie puzzles or think f making the ice pop toys, we will be doing that as well. We are just so frustrated because we try to mentally exercise him everyday by teaching tricks, basic commands, etc, but he's just so... distracted, I guess for lack of a better word. So we all just end up playing on the floor together without really teaching him much of anything. They get plenty of love and attention, but how is he supposed to stay focused if we don't, ya know? Do y'all think we would have better success training him and teaching him things<strong> if it were one on one and not with our other dog?</strong> I always thought having our older dog around would set an example for him when she does her tricks and what not but Im thinking we may have been way off base on that.
Posted by Weezy56[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>I feel like with him being so young, he might *barely* comprehend 'Older dog does things and gets treats!' but he can't really learn just by being around her. :/ I think to start training, it needs to be in a quiet environment, by himself, and you just keep doing it until he gets it. When he has basic commands, then you can add in distractions to further reinforce his training and make him a better listener whenever things are going on around him (TV, car driving by, dog barking, squirrel, whatever). </div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Dogs and ice blocks man. It's really the way to go. They'll go balistic over that, especially when it starts melting and they roll it in the dirt and get it nasty. That's their favorite part.</div><div>

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Weezy56

Good point. I am definitely going to try everything suggested. I hope we don't look like horrible dog owners, we love our fur babies to pieces and want them to be the happiest they can be while not destroying our stuff either, haha. We are going to start intensely working with him one on one, we are determined to make a change.

kmbryant2413

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_dog-chewing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:f2be4606-ad76-4ca0-a6d6-65642c8f1f83Post:f9b9c15c-b8d5-4adf-9e9a-3caa9250eee0">Re:Dog Chewing</a>:
[QUOTE]Good point. I am definitely going to try everything suggested.<strong> I hope we don't look like horrible dog owners</strong>, we love our fur babies to pieces and want them to be the happiest they can be while not destroying our stuff either, haha. We are going to start intensely working with him one on one, we are determined to make a change.
Posted by Weezy56[/QUOTE]

<div>Absolutely not! Now that I am on my second dog, and after working at the vets, I have learned a TON. I am always seeking advice on how to make my dogs better and love to share what I've learned to help others. I hope everything works out! Please give us updates, you know we all love the fur babies!</div>

mcda04

I have a 4 year old boxer and he would chew on everything as a puppy but mainly the water hose. I had to buy a $50 hose from Sears because they have free replacements

On a regular checkup at the Vets, we mentioned he was kind of a trouble maker and he said he probably needed more exercise. Longer walks / runs, or interaction with us but he also recommended this repellent

http://www.natures-miracle.com/products/dog-cat-small-pet-training-aids/pet-block-repellent-spray-deter-dogs-cats.aspx

It really worked. We also started to give him raw bones and natural foods.