ESSlover Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 Hey guys! Ok, heres the dealio. Carson is a chewer. Of anything and everything. Shoes, shirts, hands, towels, pony tails, rubber toys, everything! But he prefers fabric things. What can we give him that will soothe his mouthing (we think he is a little under a year) that gave me a bruise this morning :( ! HELP! BTW- Yes we are looking for obedience classes (thanks R2) and are planning on starting asap. My dad is going by Petco today to pick up a rope bone thing, some rawhide type stuff, and a kong w/ treats. Any other ideas from people who have gone through this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESSlover Posted September 17, 2004 Author Share Posted September 17, 2004 *bump* lol, sorry to be pushy but *bump* lol :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileysmom Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 HI ESS - I think youre on the right track....... Im not an expert on dealing wiht chewing, Ive been lucky that none of mine have been huge chewers (though Bailey seems to love to bite arms and legs off my daughters polly pocket dolls! :wink: ) I think you should do the best you can to not have anything out that he can get (some things are impossible I know) and crate train him for when you are gone to keep him out of trouble.... does he do this all the time or when noone is home?? other than that when he chews something - offer him an appropriate chew toy - kongs and hard rubber things are probably best and will keep him busy with treats in them. becareful with the rawhide depending on the type as some kinds can come apart as they get softened and be a choke hazard. if he likes fabric things you may try a dog stuffed toy - I debated whether to get bailey one because i didnt want her to think that meant *all* stuffed toys were fair game - but its actaully worked really well - she LOVES her stuffed squeeky toys and surprisingly doesnt destroy them (some dogs definetely will) I think the trick there is to be sure to name it - so you can teach her that its HER "bear, frog, etc" I hope this helps! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3ofakind Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 You might also like to get some bitter apple to keep him from chewing your most important things. Good luck. I had 3 puppies in 18 mo and I am officially over puppyhood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileysmom Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 Thanks 3ofakind - I forgot I was goign to mention that too :wink: its supposed to be very effective, but personally I would only use it on the most "prized possesions" (an expensive couch maybe, etc) jsut because I prefer to try postive methods first - Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESSlover Posted September 17, 2004 Author Share Posted September 17, 2004 Thanks Baileysmom and 3! We just a big rope toy that will do as fabric, and a rubber kong, and a rubber squeeky toy that he loves to carry around and squeek. Where can you buy that bitter apple stuff and how do you use it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3ofakind Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 Any of the large chains should have it. There are other formulas with different names as well. Basically it tastes horrible to discourage them from chewing. So you spray it on your shoes and when he licks it, blech!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileysmom Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 petsmart has the bitter apple spray - about $5 -$8 depending on the size here - it says its to use for dogs that bite themselves, but it has other uses also...... jsut spray some on the item you dont want him chewing Id think..... I jsut started using it as a "reward" for barking :lol: as was suggested in a post the other day..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canis erectus Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 You can get it at most any pet or feed supply store. But be fore-warned: it doesn't work for every dog. I'm not an expert in behavioral training but I did go through an extensive chewing phase with Zoey. It started out with as an anxiety problem when we first got her from Animal Control but then turned into a fun hobby for her. Bitter apple spray didn't work for her, indeed I think she beleived it to be a nice 'seasoning' for wicker and wood items. We tried several different training tips to stop the problem but the two things that worked best for us us were, one: to keep anything of value out of reach. Secondly we used crate training to finally put more or less an end to the problem. When Zoey was caught chewing something she ought not to be she got a half hour 'time-out' in the crate. I know that's not proper training, nor is it the way crates should be used, but it worked, and it was the only thing that did. Oh yes, and patience, you'll need alot of that :) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFox Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 You could wet a rag and freeze it. Zeb likes to chew oh them when it's hot plus he likes the softness of the towel as the water melts. You can looks for these: [url]http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441780109&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302026216&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&bmUID=1095491530276[/url] There are a couple of sizes, small, medium, large. The large ones are usually in the shapes of a duck or pheasant. They are somewhat expensive at petsmart but sometimes petsmart puts them on sale for 3 or 4 bucks. They are the ONLY plush toy that has lasted longer then a couple of weeks. They don't have any stuffing, and you can put in a squeeker if you want, they have a velcro top. Zebra has 4 of them and he will rip a little hole in it but then once he relizes that there is no plush stuffing in it he won't rip it up any more. So no more stuffing to pick up! :lol: Can you tell I just LOVE these things?! :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairn6 Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 Were in the middle of this right now with Shadow he is the angel pictured below (putting wings on him was so sacrilegious cause he is anything but.) :lol: He is just about 6 months old right now and almost done getting all his big boy teeth. Anyway this is what worked for him we got him several toys and put them in a toy basket near where the action is and whenever we caught him chewing something he wasn't supposed to we used the word "wrong". It can be anything like enough or whatever. Then when we said wrong we went over and grabbed his toy and started to play with him to get him used to it. Then when he started playing with it we praise him. Now when we say wrong he runs over and grabs one of his toys and starts chewing on that. The only thing we can't seem to break him of no matter what is toilet paper. We have to keep the bathroom door closed because he will go in and take big chunks off the toilet paper. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 frozen rags or old frozen towels worked well for me. I used ice too, but yours seem to like things soft (Freebee likes soft chewies too) and this worked for the teething phase. When caught chewing on something wrong, I used "bad" and then handed her a frozen towel. (People would look in my freezer and go "WTF?") :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 Zaphod was a huge chewer, mouther, licker, eater etc. We used "drop it" this serves two purposes - 1. You correct the chewing. 2. If you ever need him to drop anything you have a working command. Whenever he has something he aught not to say "drop it" take the thing (even if you have to fish it out of the back of his throught - get those hands slimey) and then give him the good toy and if he touches it, mouths it etc praise him. I would also advocate crating while your not around to watch him - remember if you let him make a mistake it reinforces the negative behaviour and makes your job harder. As for mouthing people and in paticular mouthing them hard enough to bruise: I would give him a firm "NO" and then turn around or stand up and walk away from him and then ignore him for a bit - you know your dogs attention span best. This should teach him that if he does this thing you remove the thing he likes best - You. Works well on most dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 Oh I should mention that I have not cured Zaphod of licking - he was weened to young and I haven't been diligent enough - probably because it doesn't bother me [i]that[/i] much. So if someone has better suggestions go with them. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canis erectus Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 Hey, I taught 'drop it' to Zoey as well, she learned that command pretty quickly. It also serves well for when an item is too tempting for her to obey the 'leave it' command. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairn6 Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 I have taught my dogs drop it and leave it too but I use the command drop it in case they need to drop anything whether it's something they are supposed to have or not. I use wrong for things they are never supposed to have and they don't go near it again once they learn the command. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESSlover Posted September 19, 2004 Author Share Posted September 19, 2004 Thanks guys! I'll try the frozen towel idea, I think that might work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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