Stopping a chewer

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poiuytrewq

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Before I have no house left!!
Little lab is coming up for 2 (we have a few dogs but am 99% certain it's this one!) and is destroying everything.
We used to leave them in the utility room to sleep as nothing to damage but he started on the skirting and door frames, well anything wooden or reachable.
We tried giving more space- the kitchen, he ate a shelve unit. The sitting room has lost several remotes (our fault for not hiding them) shoes, toilet rolls, magazines anything is fair game!
Our sofa has strategically been covered with throws and has very few cushions left but is now totally past it and just waiting to be taken to the dump.
Any ideas?
 
I've considered caging him but the younger lab will not be caged and tears round like a lunatic if this one is shut in so it seems a bit mean?!
 
I think I would choose a room and accept it will look a bit trashed. Make it as bare and safe as possible.

I presume you have tried leaving them with raw meaty bones etc.

Its certainly worth trying crating, you may be pleasantly surprised. We have two that choose to be in their crates overnight in my daughters bedrooms. They do not appear to act as though they are shut in - in fact I believe the doors are left open!
 
We have tried bones yes and to be fair it works but since new dogs arrival it also causes fights.
Amymay he is out and about a lot. Comes to work during the day with me and gets lots of playtime with other dogs and us.
We had his uncle who was also a chewer but grew out of it at about 18 mths... I was hoping this would be the same!
 
dogs can still suffer from separation anxiety even if other dogs are present, could it be that?

does he get plenty of mental and physical excercise?

I would crate train him and the one that runs about and treat as separation anxiety personally.
 
Separation from me/humans?
It's strange in the way that I can 99% of the time during the day I can leave him completely trust him. Ie- If I take the other dog out or to the vet or whatever he's happy to sleep on the sofa and chill til we return. It's overnight when the three of them are together.
I may have to try the crate or a trash room I guess. We are at the point of needing a new sofa and I'll cry if he eats it!
 
It does sound like it is stress related, maybe one of the other dogs is the point of stress? I would want to work out why he is doing it and remove/deal with the source of the stress, often stress and associated behaviours will increase if not dealt with.
 
Ahhh welcome to my world! I posted last year about junior GSD who at 3 was still destroying stuff, including all the corners of the dining room table. I was at wit's end because I couldn't exercise him enough to make him tired. Got lots of great advice on here especially from Corvus Corax, and he is now pretty much perfect!

Here's my suggestions:

1. You need to train the brain. 10 minutes of good obedience training is worth more than an hour of free running flat out. Teach him tricks, have a look at attention heel (as this is really hard work for a dog). I take EVERY opportunity to train mine so he has to do a trick for anything and everything (dinner, walks, getting a toy etc) or just because. I make him work when I see he's a bit hyper.

2. Stuff a kong xtreme with treats of whatever kind and use peanut butter to seal the small end. Freeze, hand to dog before you leave house. This takes ages to get through, mine has a sleep when it's done. We go through one kong xtreme about every 8 weeks.

3. Take every opportunity to present a puzzle. I got mine a puzzle bowl from Pets at Home - it takes him about 15 minutes to eat his dinner (as opposed to 30 seconds previously) and he really has to think about it. A Nina Ottosson dog game can be used at night when you're feeling too tired/it's too wet to train outside.

4. Crating mine wasn't an option as I'm out too long, so I made a very large pen out of indoor washing hangers to contain him in part of the dining room, where he could still see out but damage was reduced as he couldn't get at anything, including the table!

I bet your lab is working lines like my GSD. CC once mentioned that a working dog with high energy, intellect and a good drive is rare and those that train them for jobs would be THRILLED to have one. It is true that mine is an absolute treat to train, and he is incredibly focussed. When he was chewing everything, I got really cross, but when we'd done about a month's training and I realised how brilliant he was at it, I realised that I actually had a gift, not a curse!

Good luck!
 
I agree with SadKen very good advice. And they need to move around so I never crate and never had a problem. Kongs are fantastic I have tried other snack toys and nothing compares to them.
 
Aw, glad to hear your boy is doing well SadKen.

I crated mine when I couldn't watch him and he's in a secure run during the day.
It's hard to teach a dog not to do something if you're not in the same room as it.

It is, or was, safer than him choking on soft furnishings, he's genetically inclined to want to hold things in his mouth.
He certainly gets to move around too, but still sleeps in his crate.
I am happy to leave him alone in the house for short periods now but it took a long time.
This is with an extensive exercise and training programme also, he's been quite slow to mature.
I'm sure that if he was bored or frustrated, he'd revert to type.
 
Bitter lick helps you put it on furniture and anything else you don't want your dogs chewing it's nothing nasty and will not harm your dog just they don't like the taste you can get it from most pet stores or a cheaper alternative is to use something the dog does not like the smell of to teach them to keep their distance lemon juice usually works citrus is bad for dogs if injested though my dog hates the smell and backs well off from it so no chance of him trying to eat anything that smells of citrus dogs chew when teathing or through boredom if they are teathing I would suggest buying toys that will sooth the gums pet stages toys are brilliant for younger dogs as they hold interest and some of them you can freeze to cool down aching gums for dogs who chew through boredom the best way to address the issue is plenty of exercise and mental stimulation be that through training or toys there are a lot of toys around these days that challenge your dog mentally and help to occupy their mind as for the cage issue I find leaving the cage open at first try put some treats or a fravorate toy in there to encourage them to step inside even just half in to begin with then praise and reward as soon as they do this do this often and eventually they build up confidence to step right in at first leave the door open so they don't feel trapped or threatened in anyway you'll probably find then they go in all alone and will stay there when you get to this stage close the door gently behind them leave closed for a few seconds praise and reward do this often but leaving the door closed a little longer each time remember to praise and reward every time he/she behaves the way you want eventually the dog will associate the cage with positive things and go in freely and feel comfortable and safe when in there you can then add a word like cage or create so they know what your asking of them never force them in as that will have the oppersit affect good look 😊
 
Thanks for all the advice. He's a real little monkey! Thinking about it recently my O/H and I realised he's pretty much been a carbon copy of his uncle, our beloved old lab but 6 months behind. Even little things like teething etc he's done later than our other dogs so perhaps he will yet outgrow it. In all fairness he's improved, I put some cookery books on the bottom shelf in our kitchen a few weeks ago to hid the chew marks and they would have been wrecked not so long back so perhaps I'm being a bit harsh!
The other thing I maybe should have mentioned is that he has deformed legs so although he dashes around like a lunatic he maybe cant be as worn out as a totally sound dog.
Can anyone give any more idea's to mentally stimulate him? He loves catching stuff and chasing toys and we do lots of this. I also put toys slightly out of reach which keeps him occupied for ages trying to work out how to get them! (he always gets it in the end, but it makes his brain tick!)
There was a suggestion as a pup from a vet that he was a little bit retarded which I admit at the time insulted me!!! but maybe?
Love him, he's a really wonderful character and one of my many problem/unwanted pets I seem to attract!
 
Aww he sounds so much like my boy Mac he's a 3 year old Chocolate lab with hip dysphasia he was born without a ball joint at all on the left hip but this has never gotten him down or even slowed him down I admit he only can have half an hour walk a day but he tears about the house and garden like a madman when he comes home he even lifts up his hind legs and bunny hops gently of the couch to make his landing as soft as possible 😊 he's a very clever boy I trick train him to spin,weave through my legs, back up, river dance, pray, and bow etc this helps with boredom and you end up with a very happy intelligent lovable dog that will do anything you ask of him as you build up a lot of love and trust also he is a lot less stress when visiting my vet as he does exactly what is told I also do a lot of training in the water as it's very good for exercising dogs without putting too much pressure on the joints and helps to build muscle dog hydrotherapy classes are a thing but can be very expensive even a pool or paddling pool in your garden can help the dog should love it (most labs love water and are excellent swimmers) I started by throwing his toys ones that float to begin with in a paddling pool he pawed at the water then stuck his head in and grabbed them I made a big thing of it by fussing over him and he got a lot more confident so we progressed to toys that sank so he had to duck under the water to get them he done brilliantly so I encouraged him to step into the water shallow at first then added more when he was comfortable I got him to move round and found he really enjoy this so I booked him into k9 hydrotherapy pool where he goes to meet his doggy friends socialise and exercise in a way that won't further damage his legs 😀 another thing labs are brilliant at is search and retrieve we play this game everyday labs are bred for the field to go find and bring back game birds and rabbits extra once shot this may be why he feels a need to carry and chew things start simple with a toy rub some sort of food smell onto it present it to your dog and say smell point to it as you say it to encourage the behaviour your asking for then say Good dog then lock your dog out the room or in the house if you choose to do it in the garden rub the toy along the floor as you walk then hide it let your dog out and say go find 9 out of 10 times labs are spot on with this and progress fast to the point where you can hide things completely out of sight up high or even without leaving the sent trail just remember to switch hiding places each time or the game becomes boring to them my boy still picks up my nieces dolls shoes and the remote and will follow me around the house and garden with them until I say to him "oh good boy you found that thank you" and he drops it at my feet it's not often he does this anymore but it does happen from time to time I use the words Thank you instead of scolding him and chasing after him as thank you to him means good job you found something that is out of place now if you give it to me nicely you get love and attention for the right reasons apposed to attention like shouting and chasing him which he thinks is a game this leads him to believe I really want what he has (which I may do but try not to show it 😒 easier said than done I know) and then he will be unwilling to give it up and more likely run away and chew it eventually he becomes uninterested in the things he used to pick up and finds he gets more positive and fun reactions from carrying about his toys rather than someone else's your dog is in no way retarted he's just a little confused at the moment he will calm down pretty soon I'm sure of it I just finished an animal Management health and Welfare course I specialised in training and train dogs in my spare time if you ever need help or advice you can message me on my email lauraj_myerscough@hotmail.com I'm happy to help you with anything dog related 😊
 
OMG! your dog was born with no ball joint? Kind of so was mine! However with mine its his front end effected. Ive never spoken to anyone with anything even vaguely similar. Have you seen x-rays of the area? is there just no joint at all?
Definitely very interested to email you. Will do so when I have a little more time.
 
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