Chewing

[JennyK 0]

I'm so glad I found this board again after several months. My old computer crashed with the bookmark!

My dog's name is "Chewey." Big mistake! He's over a year old now but hasn't given up chewing on everything - mostly wood, but also dry wall, electronic remotes, etc. Chewey has eaten table legs, chair legs, wooden trim, cabinet corners, dressers....and the list goes on. I tried pouring white vinegar on the dining room chair legs but it didn't work. I never know what he'll chew next.

There's enough experienced Shih Tzu owners on here. Surely someone has a solution. Maybe I should have named him "Sir Poops Outside" to see if that would work! ^_^

[kcsheperd 13]

Hi Jenny! haha! Your post made me laugh..let me start off by saying, Chewey is adorable! Surely He's not the naughty chew boy your speak of..with that sweet face! Naaaaw!

Okay, back to the chewing..My pups are 10 months old, and they have put bizarre stuff into their mouth for chewing. When they have something that I dont want them to have, I ask them to give it to me, and then I give them back something more acceptable. Lately Pays has been wanting to chew on the rug in the living room, so I have to go in and give her something else, so she will leave the rug alone. I also love these little tendon chews that I get at the dog store called "Bulls Eyes".. they last forever and they really seem to tap into their chewing needs. I also use flossies..Have you tried those? It might help..Sometimes mine are just not intrested in chewing on toys..they want something with flavor and texture..Hope that helps! :D

[Stacey 7]

All 3 of my dogs havnt chewed on anything they are not suppose to around the house because they have TONS of toys to keep them occupied. They have cow hooves for their chewing pleasure. They also run each other ragged playing so they are tired from play....

a tired dog is a good dog.... so without further info from your post heres what I suggest.

Play

Excercise (walks or off leash in a fenced in area clear of debris etc)

Chew toys - cow hooves, bully sticks, deer antlers, kongs etc.... anything that is safely chewable.

Crate train for those times you cannot keep an eye on him.

or

Another puppy!

[Luna 8,676]

The only thing Gus ever chewed up that he shouldn't have was my brand-new prescription glasses...and that was my fault, because I left them where he could get to them. Katy as well has been good, but a while back she decided that the legs of the office desk would make dandy treats! I mixed a nice dose of cayenne pepper into a smidge of vegetable oil and lightly coated the legs from the floor up for about 9". She tried each leg ONCE, and has never chewed anything since.

Unfortunately, all of them can tell the difference between a red-ripe hot chile and a tomato of whatever size or color. I kind of hoped that planting some of the chiles in with the tomato plants would give them pause but it didn't work (they've been checking the tomatoes daily for the last few weeks and ignoring the chiles), so once again we are doing little makeshift fences to keep them out of the tomatoes!

[JennyK 0]

These are all great ideas -- even getting another pup, but I'm running out of furniture! I can try the cayenne pepper, getting Chewey more exercise, and more chew toys. He destroys cloth toys and cheap latex ones. The dogs love the hooves, so I'll have to get more. Those at least last awhile.

Thanks for all your suggestions. We love our Chewey when he's not misbehavin'.

[debo 1]

Although Oliver is mostly happy to chew on his stuff, he started chewing on the leg of the chair I sit on at the computer. I bought this stuff called "Fooey" at Petsmart and sprayed in on and one lick took care of that! It's made from grapefruit skin extract and some kind of herb and you can spray in on anything. I went ahead and sprayed all the electrical cords and anything else I thought might be dangerous just in case. I actually squirted some on my finger and licked it and I believe the claim on the bottle that it's the 'bitterest stuff on earth'!!! It was horrible! It took brushing my teeth and chewing several pieces of gum to get the taste out of my mouth. I feel bad for Oliver because I know how bad it is and he can't get the taste out like I can. He drinks a lot of water whenever he gets taste of it though! Nasty, but it works!

[MisterMom 11]

I didn't see that you said you were home with him or not. IF not, confine him, if so say NO. They are pretty smart little critters. I have put HOT sauce on the few places mine have ever chewed, they don't anymore. I have 5 baskets of various chews, toys, bones, etc. No such thing as too many !!

[JennyK 0]

When no one is home, Chewey is crated. He sleeps on our bed at night and may roam around at night. Not sure. He wakes me up every morning like an alarm clock. I don't even set the alarm anymore.

I will be near a Petsmart on Friday. I'm going to stock up on chew toys, hooves and FOOEY!

Thanks, everyone. I'll let you know what works. It may end up being a combo of things.

[Bubsie 0]

Supervision really is key, remember that every time the dog gets a chew in he is being rewarded. Use gates, doors, leashes, etc. to keep him in your line of vision at all times until he really gets in the habit of using his own toys. remember that plush toys, while fun, do not soothe teething like rubber or edible chew toys would. Try bully sticks, dogs love them (but don't ask what they are made of, it's healthy, just gross). And rotate your toys, have one set of toys out for a week or two, then put them away and bring out the next set. Three sets should do it. I think with things like chewing people really forget to reward the dog too, when the dog chews on bad stuff people really pay attention but when he chews on his stuff, nothing! So when he is using his stuff, tell him how good he is, start playing with him using the toy, pet him, rub some peanut butter on the toy or anything else the dog likes but that keeps the toy involved (sometimes if you just give a treat the dog will stop chewing to see if he can get you to give him more treats). Of course if the dog is bothered by any of those things don't do them, not all dogs like to be touched when they are chewing something. not all dogs would appreciate you grabbing the toy even if you do intend to play fetch or tug with it.

You can also do set ups. Go in the room with objects that are off limits but that he likes to chew and also have chew toys. If he walks by a forbidden object or sniffs it and walks away reward him heavily and start playing with him with a toy. If he totally ignores the objects and goes for a toy reward him like I stated above. if he is ABOUT to chew the forbidden object distract him with a toy. If you are too late and he starts chewing (try not to let this happen) leash him and walk him away from the object to where he cannot reach any of the forbidden objects but does have his appropriate toys in reach. Once he starts using his toys or lies down/relaxes let him off leash and initiate a game with one of his toys.

It'll take time but he'll get it.

[GizmoHappyKitty 1]

I too used the cayenne pepper with my dogs when they were puppies but i mixed it with a little water and made it into a paste and just applied it to whatever they were chewing that they weren't allowed to chew on. I also gave them lots of chew toys and Bully Sticks (I like the ones made by Aaron since they don't make their faces smelly like some of the other brands do). I even used the cayenne pepper paste when Kitty has pups and they chew on stuff they shouldn't. I first told them no and gave them a chew toy instead and put some cayenne pepper paste on the object, if they went back to try to chew on it again they got a funny look on their little face, shook their heads and went over to the water dish. They would then go back and give the item a sniff and back away from it. They learned very quickly what they could chew on and what was off limits.

Michele and the pups

[luvinpreciousntoby 0]

Sorry I'm no help.. Precious and Toby don't chew on anything other than their toys and bully sticks... But they do have TONS!! so never bored.. always a different texture to chew on when they get bored with one.. Good luck.. and Chewy is adorable!

[JennyK 0]

I've never heard of a bully stick. Is that something I can find at Petsmart? The hooves don't smell too good but the dogs love them. We'll have to start keeping a closer eye on Chewey to break him of this habit. Thanks for all the great advise.