Chewing!

[MrsMozart]

The blinking Rotties have started chewing things again

They've been good for months but all of a sudden they've started again. If they're left alone (together) for more than ten minutes then they're chewing.

So far it's been two paperbacks, a dvd, and this morning a dvd box set (the latter is very annoying as it was on its way to the charity shop).

No idea what's set them off. Feed and exercise haven't changed.

They'll have to be penned unless we're in the room. Argh! Thought we were getting to the stage where they could be out of the pens 24/7.

I'll talk with our trainer, but in the meantime if anyone has any suggestions? I've never had chewing dogs before, not once past puppy stage anyway, so am a bit stumped.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Ours hadn't got the the stage where we could reliably leave them for more than about 15 minutes by the age of 6 but the remaining one has given up her crate to the pups and she is absolutely fine by herself in the same room as the crate. She does sneakily climb on the furniture when every-one else has left the room

 

[skinnydipper]

The blinking Rotties have started chewing things again

They've been good for months but all of a sudden they've started again. If they're left alone (together) for more than ten minutes then they're chewing.

So far it's been two paperbacks, a dvd, and this morning a dvd box set (the latter is very annoying as it was on its way to the charity shop).

No idea what's set them off. Feed and exercise haven't changed.

They'll have to be penned unless we're in the room. Argh! Thought we were getting to the stage where they could be out of the pens 24/7.

I'll talk with our trainer, but in the meantime if anyone has any suggestions? I've never had chewing dogs before, not once past puppy stage anyway, so am a bit stumped.

I am not sure what you have tried them with to satisfy their instinctive need to chew.

You may already have tried things like pizzles, cow/pig ears, etc.

My dog's favourite is a daily piece of moon bone (cow shoulder cartilage)

Having had a dog with slab fractures of both upper carnassial teeth, I personally don't give things like antler, bone, horn, yak milk chews and such like.

I admit I have no experience of a dog who chews inappropriate items/destructive chewer so hopefully someone who does can offer better advice.

Good luck, Mrs M

ETA. Could you leave them with something to keep them occupied, perhaps some kibble in a Kong Wobbler or other food dispensing toy where they have to work for their food. I feed raw but she gets some kibble in toys like these, keeps her busy for a while. Snuffle mats and lickimats are good too.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Should have said, the one we lost, especially liked to chew different textures. She explored everything with her mouth which was very mobile. She could even take pegs off the washing whirligig (sitting on a round bale). We provided her with as many different things that she was allowed to chew as possible. The one that's still here never was such an enthusiastic chewer.

 

[MrsMozart]

Ours hadn't got the the stage where we could reliably leave them for more than about 15 minutes by the age of 6 but the remaining one has given up her crate to the pups and she is absolutely fine by herself in the same room as the crate. She does sneakily climb on the furniture when every-one else has left the room

I told D you said 6 years... He rolled his eyes. Good job he loves the blighters! One will get up on the sofa, though only on 'his' end and not mine. If I'm already on it he'll ask with his eyes to be allowed up, the other one just wants to sit on me, which at 40-odd kilos isn't happening!

 

[MrsMozart]

I am not sure what you have tried them with to satisfy their instinctive need to chew.

You may already have tried things like pizzles, cow/pig ears, etc.

My dog's favourite is a daily piece of moon bone (cow shoulder cartilage)

Having had a dog with slab fractures of both upper carnassial teeth, I personally don't give things like antler, bone, horn, yak milk chews and such like.

I admit I have no experience of a dog who chews inappropriate items/destructive chewer so hopefully someone who does can offer better advice.

Good luck, Mrs M

ETA. Could you leave them with something to keep them occupied, perhaps some kibble in a Kong Wobbler or other food dispensing toy where they have to work for their food. I feed raw but she gets some kibble in toys like these, keeps her busy for a while. Snuffle mats and lickimats are good too.

Thank you. They have the big nylabones (lots of them) and the horn things as one especially seems to like pointy things (or making them pointy!). One chews soft stuff, and one chews hard stuff, but equally will chew anything that's to mouth if he feels so inclined. Kongs and the like are destroyed in minutes - their jaws are so powerful and they seem to actually like gnawing bits off things (and usually swalling said bits!). They can't have beds of any sort, which means we have to put the Dyson heater thingy on to keep them warm at night, and it's very odd as they do like curling up in a nice bed, they just also like eating them Spent a fair fortune on them.

At our last house I covered the place in Cribbox as it was the only thing that stopped them - we have a 'rocking chair' where they ate part of a chair leg, they've had a good chunk out of my posh electric chair, and we tiled the floor because they'd started eating the floorboards... Finally gave up and penned them when we're not around when we came home to find one had half chewed / pulled a live plug out of a wall socket!

It's not drastic having them penned, other than I'd much prefer them to be out and about like the GSD is, just sleeping somewhere comfy, etc.

 

[skinnydipper]

Good grief, Mrs M. I hope you manage to get it sorted while you still have furniture.

I have a couple of toys from the Mighty Mutts range but I expect you will have already tried them and I don't know if they would be any good for your two. They are designed for aggressive chewers and have hollow bits to stuff food in.

 

[MrsMozart]

Good grief, Mrs M. I hope you manage to get it sorted while you still have furniture.

I have a couple of toys from the Mighty Mutts range but I expect you will have already tried them.

Thank you! It does get a big wearing. I'd love for them just to behave when we're not around as they do when we are, i.e. not eating every bloody thing! Harrumph. Wish I could figure out why they've suddenly changed back to chewing when they'd been so good for months, we'd actually thought we could start leaving them out overnight, but that's gone by the by again.

Can't remember if we've tried Mighty Mutts. Lost track of what we have and haven't tried. Will go looksee

 

[MrsMozart]

Can't remember if we've tried Mighty Mutts. Lost track of what we have and haven't tried. Will go looksee

Had a look at the reviews. Sadly the Grots would destroy them in minutes. They'd enjoy, but I can't afford it!

Back to the drawing board (and pens). Ho hum.

 

[skinnydipper]

Had a look at the reviews. Sadly the Grots would destroy them in minutes. They'd enjoy, but I can't afford it!

Back to the drawing board (and pens). Ho hum.

My breed of choice would be a GSD but I've a soft spot for Rotties so I am taking all this on board New dog is a mastiff X, not perfect but doesn't chew, thank goodness.

 

[HEM]

https://uk.redbrain.shop/search?q=D...sGXyRm_0z0lMqN5FwgMnJq4s6I_vfjCBoCeB0QAvD_BwE

Have you tried something like this, seems to keep them busy for a while and I think mine thinks he's destroying things so it keeps his attention.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

How old are they? I find mine have all gone through a secondary chewing stage at about 14 months. One ate the bottom step of my mum's new stair carpet. Mum was not impressed.

 

[CorvusCorax]

As well as being stimulating, chewing for dogs can also be like us using a stress ball. It makes them feel good/is calming for them.
So I'd eliminate things like stress as well as boredom (this isn't a criticism, it just 'is', dogs don't see the world the way we do, things that we think are calming or stimulating, may not be for them).
So any change at all, something as innocuous as a new floor or work being carried out, one more or less person in the household, a new smell...as well as maybe considering adding some brain training to their day, etc, with the stimulus being inteteraction with you rather than being given something static to go away and occupy themselves with.
Mine was 3 before I could leave him unattended but he still needs something in his gob on a walk as he will grab a can or bottle or whatever. 'Just' walking doesn't really do it for him. Bionic stuff isn't soft but it is pretty durable. His ball of choice would be the Starmark foam ball, but it's for carrying, not chewing to the point of destruction. You can see him really squeeze and flex his jaws on it, pressure and release, calming him down, it's a real primitive, satisfying prey movement, I find it fascinating to watch.
I also don't like the very hard stuff, he'd just break his teeth.

 

[twiggy2]

CorvusCorax my lurchers favourite chew of choice (certainly not mine) at times of both good and bad stress is a tennis ball, we call it nomnimg, she nomns it! I know that the furry surface is not great for the teeth but nothing else seems to give her the same sense of satisfaction and destressing-possibly all she had access to in rescue kennels for 2 yrs.
OP all the current dogs like blocks of wood to chew not sure if you could provide those in the pen to give a release/outlet for the chewing?

 

[CorvusCorax]

Mine can wreck a tennis ball in one chomp sadly! I bought a whole packet for the balldropper and they were destroyed after one session, by the time he'd run up to it, collected it and came back, they were in two pieces.

 

[twiggy2]

Mine can wreck a tennis ball in one chomp sadly! I bought a whole packet for the balldropper and they were destroyed after one session, by the time he'd run up to it, collected it and came back, they were in two pieces.

She rarely picks up a tennis ball these days bit when she did they all lasted at least a few days.
She prefers a towel, a bit of bed or sometimes a coat these days if she can get one as the young dogs will chase her for those and they can all rip them to bits and leave a wonderful mess!

 

[skinnydipper]

Mine can wreck a tennis ball in one chomp sadly! I bought a whole packet for the balldropper and they were destroyed after one session, by the time he'd run up to it, collected it and came back, they were in two pieces.

Have you tried Westpaw Zogoflex Boz. I found they stood up well for a GSD who liked to squeeze his balls

 

[MrsMozart]

As well as being stimulating, chewing for dogs can also be like us using a stress ball. It makes them feel good/is calming for them.
So I'd eliminate things like stress as well as boredom (this isn't a criticism, it just 'is', dogs don't see the world the way we do, things that we think are calming or stimulating, may not be for them).
So any change at all, something as innocuous as a new floor or work being carried out, one more or less person in the household, a new smell...as well as maybe considering adding some brain training to their day, etc, with the stimulus being inteteraction with you rather than being given something static to go away and occupy themselves with.
Mine was 3 before I could leave him unattended but he still needs something in his gob on a walk as he will grab a can or bottle or whatever. 'Just' walking doesn't really do it for him. Bionic stuff isn't soft but it is pretty durable. His ball of choice would be the Starmark foam ball, but it's for carrying, not chewing to the point of destruction. You can see him really squeeze and flex his jaws on it, pressure and release, calming him down, it's a real primitive, satisfying prey movement, I find it fascinating to watch.
I also don't like the very hard stuff, he'd just break his teeth.

Just flying in and out (back properly later), but given me food for thought, thank you. Brain bit fogged thanks to The Cold, but will rattle it around and see if I can think of any changes. I'm guessing that if there are it's down to something I've done. D is Mr. Steady whereas I'm more varied in what I'm doing, so maybe I've done something different in the last couple of weeks. They definitely prefer to be with us than not.

Quick one: they tend to just sleep when in their pens, but always have a nylabone chew. One gives it a good munch, the other not so bothered (though he's the 'hard things chewer' when out of the pen). He's also the one who loves to run and play with a ball - he'll throw it for himself! They're usually only penned at night, with a pretty set routine, although we do occasionally leave them for an hour or two as a 'just in case' if nothing else.

Must dash. Back to try and make more sense later!

 

[MrsMozart]

Should have said, the one we lost, especially liked to chew different textures. She explored everything with her mouth which was very mobile. She could even take pegs off the washing whirligig (sitting on a round bale). We provided her with as many different things that she was allowed to chew as possible. The one that's still here never was such an enthusiastic chewer.

Would love to give different textures, and have tried a few, which they've greatly enjoyed, for about five minutes before it's a mangled wreck. They look so happy chewing the things! They'll then happily come up for a cuddle and I can take things from both of them, other than something small in one of their mouth's - he won't give it up. We're working on a 'Swap' command, trying to convince him it's not a "quickly swallow whatever it is in your gob so you can have the treat" command...

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I told D you said 6 years... He rolled his eyes. Good job he loves the blighters! One will get up on the sofa, though only on 'his' end and not mine. If I'm already on it he'll ask with his eyes to be allowed up, the other one just wants to sit on me, which at 40-odd kilos isn't happening!

No we taught ours when they were tiny that dogs stay on the floor, 40 kg is too much to have sitting on you. they were very good about it tbf. We are having more trouble with the Lab pups who think that rule doesn't apply to them - one is particularly persistent. The Rotter only sits on the furniture when there are no humans about. She is a very good girl, it's just a pity that we have had 2 short-lived ones, so no more! I can't cope with it.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Have you tried Westpaw Zogoflex Boz. I found they stood up well for a GSD who liked to squeeze his balls

Lol! He's retired now so it's not so much of an issue for training, I have an abundance of Starmark stuff, but I had to be careful because of his propensity to chew something until it was completely destroyed or just flat out swallow things. Balls that were small enough to fit in the balldropper were usually dangerously small and I envied people who were able to stick small items under their arms for heeling.
XL Kongs were just split in two and the Kong bones in two bites
I know of two GSDs who have died from choking on balls in the last two years, it's why a lot of us opt to have balls on ropes so at least if they go down, you can pull them out. He did chew off and swallow a rope with a magnet sewn into it, in the couple of seconds it took for me to have a chat with a trainer, that was a nice expensive 10pm trip to the vet. It didn't belong to me, so I brought it back when he hoiked it back up and offered to return it

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Would love to give different textures, and have tried a few, which they've greatly enjoyed, for about five minutes before it's a mangled wreck. They look so happy chewing the things! They'll then happily come up for a cuddle and I can take things from both of them, other than something small in one of their mouth's - he won't give it up. We're working on a 'Swap' command, trying to convince him it's not a "quickly swallow whatever it is in your gob so you can have the treat" command...

Our first one was a rescue who loved eating coal, amongst other things. We taught her to 'give' whatever she had in her mouth, in exchange for a treat. One day, I noticed she had something in her mouth, said 'give', she carried on chomping, so I automatically put my fingers in her mouth, she locked her mouth shut, exactly where it was, not on my fingers, but I couldn't get them back. Then I realised that I had nothing to give her, couldn't reach anything and I was at home on my own. I ended up tickling the roof of her mouth, she looked horrified and spat my fingers out rapidly.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Would love to give different textures, and have tried a few, which they've greatly enjoyed, for about five minutes before it's a mangled wreck. They look so happy chewing the things! They'll then happily come up for a cuddle and I can take things from both of them, other than something small in one of their mouth's - he won't give it up. We're working on a 'Swap' command, trying to convince him it's not a "quickly swallow whatever it is in your gob so you can have the treat" command...

That's another good point, my rule of thumb is, that if my hand is on it, it belongs to me, which is why all the items I have for my own dogs are large enough for me to be able to put my hand on it while it is still in their mouth and they cannot lock down on it. So if they don't out when I tell them to at a distance, if I go over and put my hand on it, I can definitely get it back

PAS I am not adverse to sticking a thumb or finger into the back of my own dog's mouths if they are being bold. I then forget and do it with other people's dogs and this is why I am not a piano player

 

[skinnydipper]

Lol! He's retired now so it's not so much of an issue for training, I have an abundance of Starmark stuff, but I had to be careful because of his propensity to chew something until it was completely destroyed or just flat out swallow things. Balls that were small enough to fit in the balldropper were usually dangerously small and I envied people who were able to stick small items under their arms for heeling.
XL Kongs were just split in two and the Kong bones in two bites
I know of two GSDs who have died from choking on balls in the last two years, it's why a lot of us opt to have balls on ropes so at least if they go down, you can pull them out. He did chew off and swallow a rope with a magnet sewn into it, in the couple of seconds it took for me to have a chat with a trainer, that was a nice expensive 10pm trip to the vet. It didn't belong to me, so I brought it back when he hoiked it back up and offered to return it

Luckily I've never come close to a dog swallowing a ball though I know it can be a problem. I've used balls on ropes in the past but I had never had a dog like him who used to pick them up by the knot and trip over the dangling ball! I used to use planet dog orbee balls (they have a hole in each end) but it became expensive as he used to split them chewing on them. Once I got into the higher price range ball I became quite obsessive about not losing them.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Yep, it certainly sharpens the mind
He did use to grab them by the rope and then chase the ball to infinity, a la carrot on a stick

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Dunno if this would just encourage them to chew more chairs or not!
https://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Antos-O...HIz7ePTkdDKSmbPAeRHiSQ4-deWqQSghoCTNAQAvD_BwE

 

[MrsMozart]

My breed of choice would be a GSD but I've a soft spot for Rotties so I am taking all this on board New dog is a mastiff X, not perfect but doesn't chew, thank goodness.

New dog sounds lovely

I have two Rotts and one GSD. It's an interesting mis for sure

 

[MrsMozart]

https://uk.redbrain.shop/search?q=D...sGXyRm_0z0lMqN5FwgMnJq4s6I_vfjCBoCeB0QAvD_BwE

Have you tried something like this, seems to keep them busy for a while and I think mine thinks he's destroying things so it keeps his attention.

Thank you. They'd destroy them in minutes. They'd enjoy it, but the tempatation to chew the ropes would just be too great.

 

[MrsMozart]

How old are they? I find mine have all gone through a secondary chewing stage at about 14 months. One ate the bottom step of my mum's new stair carpet. Mum was not impressed.

Ouch to the carpet!

They're just over 2.5 years.

 

[MrsMozart]

CorvusCorax my lurchers favourite chew of choice (certainly not mine) at times of both good and bad stress is a tennis ball, we call it nomnimg, she nomns it! I know that the furry surface is not great for the teeth but nothing else seems to give her the same sense of satisfaction and destressing-possibly all she had access to in rescue kennels for 2 yrs.
OP all the current dogs like blocks of wood to chew not sure if you could provide those in the pen to give a release/outlet for the chewing?

They had the big 'tennis balls' in the big launcher things. They loved them. They lasted about three walks or so. One likes to throw it and play with it, then chew it; the other likes to carry it around, and then chew it. Can't find just the balls. Wary of using normal tennis balls as worried they'll get stuk in their throats.

Probably a really stupid question, but would the wood be safe for them? I have visions of splinters...