Bad mommy?

[Jesse Cruz]

hi, i have a big chewer, Bailey. he just loves to get into everything and its driving me nuts, Chloe was never that bad. so someone told me to spray some bitter apple on the snout. at first i was like "no, i can't do that". but last night he had me crazy, so i got the bitter apple and sprayed his snout. well he went off and was wiping his snout and not liking it. i felt sooo bad afterwards. how bad is it to do this?

[heathea]

Its not great, but there are worse things you could have done. If you ever feel the need to do that again (don't recommend it) definately dilute it, it is harmful to the eyes and quite bad on the nose, etc. It should be used on the things your dog is chewing, not really the dogs.
Take care,
Heather

[Melissa Brunoehler]

Hi Jesse~ No it's not a great idea. I'm not sure what it would teach Bailey except that you sometimes spray him with really icky stuff :sad: And bitter apple contains Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) which is toxic. If you want to tell me what he's doing I can offer some suggestions.

hi, i have a big chewer, Bailey. he just loves to get into everything and its driving me nuts, Chloe was never that bad. so someone told me to spray some bitter apple on the snout. at first i was like "no, i can't do that". but last night he had me crazy, so i got the bitter apple and sprayed his snout. well he went off and was wiping his snout and not liking it. i felt sooo bad afterwards. how bad is it to do this?

[Jesse Cruz]

i feel so bad! ok, never again, i'll just go with my gut. its just puppy behavior that i have to deal with and deter with toys. which mind you we do! he has tons of toys and he has chloe as well. i usually tell him no and then pick him up and take him away from the area he was being naughty. i guess last night i was at my wits end with such a long day. i just wanted to sit and relax for one hour and he was being a pain in my butt.
thanks for the info.

[Melissa Brunoehler]

Hey Jesse~ Don't feel too bad. You just received some bad info from someone. I think listening to your gut when working with dogs is so important. If someone is telling you to do something that doesn't feel right, don't do it! Do you have an ex-pen for your dogs? I'm just curious if people with little dogs use them a lot. It's seems like they would be a good alternative to a crate; a nice little area where the pups could play but not get into too much trouble.




i feel so bad! ok, never again, i'll just go with my gut. its just puppy behavior that i have to deal with and deter with toys. which mind you we do! he has tons of toys and he has chloe as well. i usually tell him no and then pick him up and take him away from the area he was being naughty. i guess last night i was at my wits end with such a long day. i just wanted to sit and relax for one hour and he was being a pain in my butt.
thanks for the info.

[Jesse Cruz]

hi melissa, actually i just purchased an Xpen about 2 weeks ago so that i can have my babies out in the sunshine w/me when i'm in my yard. i didn't think of using it in the house because i like them to have free running when i'm home. especially since when i'm at work bailey is crated and chloe is gated.

[Susan Medlin]

I have a playpen? I guess that's what yall are referring to! I ordered it off ebay under children's stuff. It's hard plastic mesh that you can configure into different shapes, and it's a lifesaver! We have it setup between the kitchen and family room so he's a part of everything, but is such a help when I can't play--whether at home or work! He has lots of toys and his crate in there, although he usually sleeps on the floor, because it's tile. I would definitely recommend to all puppy owners.
Susan

[Chris Smith]

Hi Jesse,

As others have mentioned, I would avoid spraying the dog with Bitter Apple. Does Bailey still chew up things that have been sprayed with Bitter Apple? If not, than buy a large bottle and start spraying what you don't want chewed. If he ignores it, you can try a couple drops of tobasco sauce. Not on the dog (it may burn them) but on the object.

Nalu is huge and constant chewer and he licked the Bitter Apple spray. But he just sniffs at the tobasco and walks away. He doesn't even lick it.

Also, is Bailey getting enough exercise? Maybe he needs a lot more exercise than Chloe and if he is crated most of the day, he may just have lots of pent up energy that he needs to let out and he is taking it out with chewing. Can you take him out separately from Chloe and have him run in the yard or go up and down stairs a bunch of times? Or take him on an extra walk when he gets out of the crate?

The more tired Nalu is, the less he chews.

[Jesse Cruz]

hi chris, thnx for the advice.

bailey is getting better, he no longer chews the end of my tables. THANK GOODNESS! i have noticed once in a while that he'll chew the corner molding, but i spray the bitter apple spray and the he leaves it. i do agree with the pent up energy since he's crated during the day. i feel so bad because chloe is not but i really need him fully trained. i just remodeled my kitchen and i do not need him leaving cute teeth marks on my new cabinets. i will be fencing my yard, hopefully by summer and that will give them a lot more exercise than just the walks we take around the block.

[Jill Ramsey]

We have tooth marks on our shed (which is attached to the dog pen) from last year when Finn was chewing so bad. He seems to have mellowed out some this year. :wave2: I must be nuts. He's just growing out of it, and I'm getting another puppy. :help2: What was I thinking!!!

[Jesse Cruz]

LOLOLOL

jill as soon as little fisher comes through those doors you won't care in there are new decorative teeth marks in your home.

[Maria Juliano]

I agree with Chris... some dogs even ours have pent up energy...my shih tzu are not crated during the day, I leave them in the gated kitchen with all their toys, water and some dog biscuits, nylabones, etc. Giotto was and still is chewing off parts of my bamboo stools. I too spray my furniture and wood work with Bitter Apple 2x a day. The chewing is not as bad as it was a month ago. I tried to walk them for an hour each day to release some of their frustration. They are much calmer and mellow after they get a good walk.

Hang in there... you are a great mommy!! It sounds like Bailey is going thru a face.