Puppy Love !

[Kingsmills]

We have a recently aquired Labrador puppy. She's 12 weeks old and quite a delight. The good news is that she's just about house trained.

The bad news is that when left on her own, especially overnight, her tendancy to cause damage rivals that of a Rangers fan on a day trip to Manchester.

We've made sure that she has plenty of food and water together with a variety of toys for distraction. We've taken to leaving the radio on for "company" when she's on her own but still she chews everything she can reach including the fabric of the house.

Does anyone have any suggestions, short of removing her teeth, for preventing a puppy from chewing ?

[RednBlackComeback]

Have you tried the spray? I don't know how successful it is but you're supposed to spray it on anything that the dug's likely to chew and the spray makes it taste so bad that the dog stops chewing!

Either that or try an indoor pen to keep the dog in when you're out the house.

As I say, I don't know how successful thses things are. Our dog never chewed the furniture etc but made up for it by chewing every toy he's ever been given to destruction within a matter of seconds !!!

[Kingsmills]

Yes, I've tried the spray, she seems quite attracted by it ! Don't inform the SSPCA but I've also tried smearing surfaces with Tabasco sauce which she also seems to quite enjoy.

An indoor pen is a thought but I'd rather not restrict her movement too much if possible.

[CaleyD]

I think it's one of those "facts of life" that they will chew things until they get familiar with surroundings.

[SMEE]

Neither of the two puppies i have had ever chewed or destroyed anything. I sugeest beating the sh!t out of the dog wi a big stick. that should do the trick

[Scotty]

Ours (also a Lab [or lab x Newfoundland cross to be exact]) would rip open cushions, tear up newspapers, plastic bags etc ... anything she could reach or that we had left within reach by mistake. She grew out of it by about age 2 !!

We were told it was likely "separation anxiety" because Labs are so sociable and our particular one had been abandoned by her former family and ended up at the Humane Society where we got her.

We went and bought a big cage/crate but she didnt like that so we tied her out in the back yard on a 30' leash but she always ended up tangled up in the shrubs after chasing squirrels. In the end, she just stopped doing it. Not sure if it was because we give her lots of attention when we are in the house, because she gets frequent walks as a 'treat' for behaving, because we learned not to make a big fuss over her as we left the house, or simply because she learned for herself that although we were leaving the house, we would be back soon .....

[HumbersideDude]

Hi we had a similar problem with our older Staffordshire bull terrier, she had a Rangers away day everytime she was left alone in house. Shoes, chair legs, books ,mail everything. We got her a cage and she didn,t like it but hey, we got the mail in one piece.

We got another Staffie 6 months ago and there has been no problems when leaving them in the house. We leave the telly on and hide some treats for them to find and also leave some rawhide for them to chew on instead.

[Kingsmills]

Thanks guys, We've had puppies before but none quite as destructive as this one. Looks like, unless we resort to a cage or pen as a last resort, we're simply in for months, if not years, of mayhem.

[The Mantis]

Ach as long as it doesnae mount your leg when you've got visitors, I wouldn't worry too much.

[CaleyP]

i had the same problem with my puppy lab, unfortunately i dont think there's anything you can do to stop this from happening. they do grow out of it though. but after a couple of thousand pound damage...

[Kingsmills]

I'm well over half way there already. The last Lab we had wasn't a chewer but did frequently indulge in the conduct alluded to by Mantis !

[Guest couchpotato]

Over the years i've had a few dogs who liked to bite and chew.

Can't say i really complained about it much , WOOF WOOF !!!

[Charles Bannerman]

Ach as long as it doesnae mount your leg when you've got visitors, I wouldn't worry too much.

Do girl dogs do that?

[Guest couchpotato]

Ach as long as it doesnae mount your leg when you've got visitors, I wouldn't worry too much.

Do girl dogs do that?

They might if you give them a biscuit Charles.

[CaleyD]

Talk about setting yourself up

[broomie boy]

put a muzzle on the dog

or

find something it has chewed.....show the dog it....then give the dog a drop kick

[Alex MacLeod]

We have a Lab who's now eight months and can destroy the most indestructable chew toys.

We were advised to use a cage, which was duly purchased, and he loves it. The cage has his bed in it along with toys and water bowl. We've covered it over with a big blanket so its like a den and he has no problem going in to it. We shut him in during the night and in the day if we have to leave him. At other times he has freedom of the house and the fabric and furniture is all intact.

At first it seemed a bit cruel but he's happy to go in there so I would recommend it. Go through e-bay and you'll find cages for under ?50 whereas the same cage in Pets at Home is around ?100

Edited September 19, 2008 by Alex MacLeod

[Kingsmills]

Thanks Alex, despite my reservations, I'm increasingly tempted by the idea of some nocturnal cage or pen.

[RednBlackComeback]

We have a Lab who's now eight months and can destroy the most indestructable chew toys.

We were advised to use a cage, which was duly purchased, and he loves it. The cage has his bed in it along with toys and water bowl. We've covered it over with a big blanket so its like a den and he has no problem going in to it. We shut him in during the night and in the day if we have to leave him. At other times he has freedom of the house and the fabric and furniture is all intact.

At first it seemed a bit cruel but he's happy to go in there so I would recommend it. Go through e-bay and you'll find cages for under ?50 whereas the same cage in Pets at Home is around ?100

I can vouch for that. We used a cage for our boxer till he was too big for it. Kept it under the kitchen table and was really his bed as much as anything. It only seems cruel to us but to the dog it's a den, like Alex says. The only thing we made sure of was not to put the dog in the cage as a punishment. Had no ill effect on our dog.

[caley100]

We have a Lab who's now eight months and can destroy the most indestructable chew toys.

We were advised to use a cage, which was duly purchased, and he loves it. The cage has his bed in it along with toys and water bowl. We've covered it over with a big blanket so its like a den and he has no problem going in to it. We shut him in during the night and in the day if we have to leave him. At other times he has freedom of the house and the fabric and furniture is all intact.

At first it seemed a bit cruel but he's happy to go in there so I would recommend it. Go through e-bay and you'll find cages for under ?50 whereas the same cage in Pets at Home is around ?100

Fiona has organised a large cage for you in the Heathmount for saturday night Alex!! she says it will do ya good.