chewing up things in the yard

[Dorothy Chan]

my male pup is 10 months old and loves to stay out in the back yard for hours, he has many toys, balls and plastic bottles to play with in the yard. I play with him out there and don't see him chewing up/on things but when i go back out, i notice he has chewed up/on things.....ex- bbq cover, wood door frame some garden items and chairs legs. I check on him every half and hour or so through the window and see him just running around or playing ball himself, rolling on the grass/laying on the grass. How and what can I do to get him stop chewing up things? I don't really want to selection him off as he has lots of energy to wear off and enjoys the yard.

Thanks,

[Dave Kersh]

At some point, your pup needs to understand the difference between the things that are OK to chew and those that aren't. For awhile, you'll need to be outside whenever he is and when he tries to chew something he shouldn't, give him a gentle no and a toy. When he chews the toy, throw a big "dog party" with praise and maybe a treat. It shouldn't take long for him to figure it out...

[Eric Vecc]

Dorothy, my pup is 8 months old and he also loves the outdoors. We have a nice fenced in backyard and leave him out there even while we are at work. He will occasionally chew on our wicker furniture or dig a hole and we are working on that with him. I would take away all items that are fun for him to chew on. We solved the hole digging problem by placing his own fesces in the holes and he does not go back to them. As for the chewing on the wicker furniture, I considered buying some of the green apple spray (I have never had to use that stuff, even in the house). I also give him large knuckle bones to chew on and lots of toys. He is apparently chewing out of boredom, so you need to increase his activities outside. Look into larger or more enjoyable toys. I have noticed that my dog loves balls when I am out there to throw them but he can't exactly throw them for himself - so he doesn't play with them. I give him a plastic bottle with food and treats inside. I also throw his ball (what seems like 100 times) to try and tire him out before I leave for the day. I sometimes come home and sneak up into the backyard and catch him sound asleep in the sun - very cool! Good luck.

[Dorothy Chan]

Eric,

Thanks for the great advise, he also dig holes in the same spot and i will defently try to put his stool in them. ( this sounds great ).
Bittle apple doesn't work as he licks it.

[Jill Ramsey]

Dorothy,
The fresher the stool, the better. Finnegan (18 months) has hopefully outgrown both the chewing and digging, I think. Now I can look forward to Fischer starting. :smack:

[Chris Smith]

My puppy was (still is?) a big chewer. He is 9 months old now. After having him eat through my backyard sprinkler system valves and the timer wires for all of it, all of my soft light lamps that surrounded the yard (that was about 10 lights) and the wire system for that, an entire side of bamboo fencing, digging up all of my colorful plants and chewing through lots and lots of sticks and branches, I have learned a few things.

Puppy proof the yard!! (I obviously didn't do that). Now my sprinkler system valves all have covers that he can't get to and the wires to the timer are completely hidden. I removed all of the lighting - no wait - HE removed all of the lighting - I just cleaned up the chewed up messes. There are no more wired border lights around the yard. The list goes...

Give the pup TONS of exercise before you leave him alone. That is probably the easiest and best solution.

Use tobasco sauce (unless your dog responds to bitter apple) on the stuff you really can't (or don't want to) remove.

Monitor your dog in the yard. It sounds like when you're out there you are playing with him so he doesn't chew. They usually chew when they are bored, lonely, and have too much energy. Stay in the yard doing your own thing and not playing with him for awhile and then you will probably see him go to chew on something. Immediately stop him while he is chewing it - tell him no, replace it with a chew toy, and put tobasco on the object.

I now have solar lights (covered in bitter apple), the sprinkler system is fully protected, and I am giving up on the vegetable garden and flower beds until he is older.

[Eric Vecc]

Wow Chris, you seem to have put up with a mess. And that stuff is not cheap to repair/replace. Good thought on the tobasco sauce. I am going to try that or the bitter apple on our wicker furniture. WE tried stuff called Indoor No and it is for our cat. He can't stand it but the dog loves it. The poop in the hole works very well from my experience. And once you are ready to fill in the hole, you can just bury the poop. Course it's best to place a fresh on where the hole WAS so he doesn't start a new one. After reading about Ginger in the Dog Chat forum, everyone should double check their fencing situation to make sure there are not holes to slip out or under. Especially if you have a digger and he is smart enough to dig near the fence. My dog is not that smart. He digs along the house thinking maybe he can dig himself back inside!

[Chris Smith]

Yes, I've learned a few things, but I also figure most of it was my fault since my yard was set up for ME when I first got him. Now the yard is mostly set up for him and a little bit for me :)

I'm hoping as he gets older, I will slowly be able to bring the yard back to how I want it, but since he's out there a lot more than me and he pees and poops in one area only (trained him to do that), I can't complain too much now.

Nalu will sometimes lick the bitter apple so I eventually tried the tobasco sauce. Nalu just sniffs it and pulls away - he has never even tried to lick. I think the smell is strong enough to tell him to stay away.

[Jill Ramsey]

Finnegan always liked the bitter apple,too. I tried the tabasco, cayanne pepper, etc. Sometimes it worked. I have found that he hates the taste of Binaca breath spray. Someone recommended that to me, so you may want to try that to keep from chewing.