Help! My Pup is Chewing My Stuff!

[Joe Lesnick]

Hello all:

I adopted my pup, a 10 month old lab mix two months ago. I adopted her from a rescue organization, and she arrived already housebroken. She is a sweetheart and a real joy...and gets along really well with my other dog who is 14 years old.

Last week, out of the blue, she began chewing. Yes, I know that she is still a pup, and pups chew. I play with her to tire her out. We go for walks. There are chew toys all over the house so that she does not get bored. She really likes cloth. She chewed a hole in the throw cover on the chair. She chewed a hole in the doggie bed. She chewed a hole (a massive one at that) in the back of my robe that I had laying on the bed. Yesterday, she chewed a hole in the bedspread...and that really upset me, as the bedspread is part of a set, and the most expensive item that she has eaten.

She is my third dog over the years, and I have never experienced anything like this. I have put gates up, and thought that I had done a decent job of "puppy proofing" the house before she arrived. I just can't figure out why after two months of no destruction, she has started this.

I am concerned that I won't be able to trust her.

I was wondering if anyone might have any ideas as to how to deal with this behavior, and I appreciate any and all advice that you have to offer.

Thanks loads,

Joe

[Melissa Brunoehler]

Hi Joe~

Thank you for adopting!

I just can't figure out why after two months of no destruction, she has started this.

Some rescues go through a "honeymoon period" when they first go to a new home. During this time they lay low & inhibit a lot of their natural doggie behaviors until they are comfortable in their new home.
I am concerned that I won't be able to trust her.

When is she doing the chewing? If it's when you are not home you might want to look into crate training her or leaving her gated in a small puppy proofed room (laundry room, bathroom) If she's chewing when you're home continue to puppy proof, close doors to bedrooms, keep her tethered to you if need be. There is no reason for her to have the run of the house. At this point you need to keep a close eye on her & restrict her access from things you don't want her chewing.
I was wondering if anyone might have any ideas as to how to deal with this behavior, and I appreciate any and all advice that you have to offer.

Thanks loads,

Joe[/QUOTE]

[Jill Ramsey]

Joe, I can sympathize with you. Our almost 18 month lab still has to be confined due to chewing. Since you've only had your pup for 2 months, she was probably in what they call the "honeymoon" period for that time. She was getting adjusted to the new house, new family, etc. and didn't have time to chew. Now, she probably feels much more comfortable! Although, I've heard the adjustment period can take longer. If I had any good ideas for you other than confinement, I would surely pass them along. We've tried everything we can think of. We are now slowly leaving our lab for longer periods gated in the kitchen with everything out of reach. He's up to 2 hours with no mishaps :) We also make sure he has a treat ball to roll around and get the kibbles out of and nylabones to chew on.
He didn't even have a pad or towel or anything in his crate until he was about a year old because he just chewed them up!! He hasn't chewed anything in a while, but has chewed up dishtowels, athletic shoes, my husband's $150 leather work boots, the doggie door to the shed that his pen is attched to. He's also chewed on the shed!! WE have a small fence around the tree in his pen, as he was chewing the bark off it the tree and eating it?

I probably wasn't much help, so good luck! Just be consistant in whatever you decide to do.

[Lauren Frisbie]

Wow, my dog has never chewed anything he's not suppsed to(well, he doesn't have free run, but I've never caught him trying to chew anything bad.) Does chewing have something to do with size? Do smaller dogs not chew on that much stuff? Whiskey will chew on his toys some, but he mostly like greenies and nylabones, anything edible lol. Good luck,

[heathea]

Back in the day my 10 month old puppy (now 2 1/2) ate the ARM OFF THE COUCH. The whole dang thing. It was HORRIBLE, I was freaking out. Now, we have a new house and a new couch and a GREAT basement hallway where the destructive beasties get to tear up old blankets all day. I love that my dogs have their own place, I highly recommend you get your dog a kennel or even better a place to lock them up while your gone (I assume this happened while you were gone) or at the very least, close the bedroom door.
I am sorry you are going through this, on the bright side, I am laughing about it a year and a half later, so it gets better. :)

[Joe Lesnick]

I do kennel her when I am out. I guess that I was so happy with her behavior during the "honeymoon" stage (never heard about that...but then my other dogs were really young when I adopted them) that I have given her a little too much free rein while I am here. As for the chewing of the bedspread and robe...so often, she would head over and curl up for a nap on the bed. That is why I didn't check on her while she was silently chewing away.

This is so new to me, as neither of my other two dogs ever chewed what didn't belong to them.

I sure hope that she grows out of this stage.

Thanks for your words of advice!

Joe

[Marsha]

To answer Lauren, small dogs can be chewers. They might not have the strength to be as destructive although my 23 lb. terrier mix is a voracious chewer. He chews the stuffing out of all his stuffed animals in a short amount of time. He's never (knock on wood) 'chewed' on anything that he wasn't supposed to such as furniture and clothing, except socks!! However, he has been destructive with his mouth. He loves to grab paper and shred it.....toilet paper, paper towels, newspapers.....anyth ing. And he can reach things that we don't think he can. My son left his homework on the kitchen table too close to the edge, and he got to go in with the 'dog ate the homework' story. Fortunately, his teacher's a dog-lover. In fact, she brings her beagle to school with her once in awhile. She just laughed and said her beagle had done that before. Also, ours likes to grab CD's if they're left on the desk too close to the edge. He hopes it will encourage a game of chase. Of course, by the time he's got it in his mouth, it's already scratched. We are trying to figure out how to discourage him grabbing things in hopes of a chase game. We don't chase, and we do trade with him with treats. I wonder if we're teaching him to grab things to get a treat, too. I'm not sure how to discourage it, and I keep working on all the humans to put stuff up better....hoping Spanky will outgrow the thievery if he just doesn't get access to objects to steal during his puppyhood.