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Ben is eating the tables and while I don't mind - really I don't, they are old and it's what puppies do, I don't want him to get ill. Is there something I can put on the wood to make it unpalatable to him that won't make him ill? Judy never chewed on wood or much else except her toys but Ben, well he's a very different pup to be sure!
OK bitter apple it is! Thanks! Judy ate my brothers glasses (twice, shame on my brother, LOL) and my shoes but that was it. She never chewed on wood so it wasn't an issue, but Ben is a very different puppy =)
Ben is eating the furniture because Ben has the opportunity to run around the house unsupervised. He is being permitted to teach himself bad habits. This is not a puppy issue, this is an owner issue.
Puppies should not have unfettered access to the house when they cannot be watched like a hawk.
That means they are gated into a safe area, use an exercise pen, etc. when they can't be watched.
Prevention works much better on puppy/ dog behavior that letting a fault develop and then trying to correct it. Better to put shoes, glasses, anything the puppy can grab away rather than letting the puppy destroy things and then saying how did that happen.
Just as we baby proof a house, we have to puppy proof a house. Puppy gets free reign of a room only while we are there to watch him. Then if he goes for the table, we can immediately correct him and then distract with something suitable to chew on.
Sophie killed the coffee table as a puppy. We tried bitter apple, all varieties of hot sauce, lime extract, cayenne powder, she was unstoppable. She finally outgrew it and I have a rustic coffee table.
Ben is eating the furniture because Ben has the opportunity to run around the house unsupervised. He is being permitted to teach himself bad habits. This is not a puppy issue, this is an owner issue.
Puppies should not have unfettered access to the house when they cannot be watched like a hawk.
That means they are gated into a safe area, use an exercise pen, etc. when they can't be watched.
Prevention works much better on puppy/ dog behavior that letting a fault develop and then trying to correct it. Better to put shoes, glasses, anything the puppy can grab away rather than letting the puppy destroy things and then saying how did that happen.
Just as we baby proof a house, we have to puppy proof a house. Puppy gets free reign of a room only while we are there to watch him. Then if he goes for the table, we can immediately correct him and then distract with something suitable to chew on.
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Give him some appropriates things to chew on, and praise him when he chews on them.
Plus exercise. A tired dog is not bored.
Teaching him to chew Gumabones then Nylabones (NOT EDIBLE BONES) will serve him his entire life when he needs to chew his energy out.
Most of my clients have no success with deterrents. Because they aren't addressing the root cause. Boredom, energy and natural puppy behaviors.
Ben is eating the furniture because Ben has the opportunity to run around the house unsupervised. He is being permitted to teach himself bad habits. This is not a puppy issue, this is an owner issue.
Puppies should not have unfettered access to the house when they cannot be watched like a hawk.
That means they are gated into a safe area, use an exercise pen, etc. when they can't be watched.
Prevention works much better on puppy/ dog behavior that letting a fault develop and then trying to correct it. Better to put shoes, glasses, anything the puppy can grab away rather than letting the puppy destroy things and then saying how did that happen.
Just as we baby proof a house, we have to puppy proof a house. Puppy gets free reign of a room only while we are there to watch him. Then if he goes for the table, we can immediately correct him and then distract with something suitable to chew on.
This is a puppy issue. You cannot watch a puppy every second of every day. I tried that earlier this year. I even tethered him to me during the day. IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. I began to feel like I had no life. For a few months, I felt imprisoned. Then I concluded it is impossible to see everything they do.
When Bitter Apple didn't work to keep our pup from gnawing on the furniture, I diluted some Tabasco and brushed that on. Once was all it took. He's 10 months now and last week I came out of the bathroom and found him chewing a hole in a rug. Is that an owner issue or a puppy issue? Can I not even use the bathroom in peace? So I put Tabasco on that part of the rug, he returned to that spot, and he got more than he bargained for and now leaves the rug alone.
The fact that a dog is misbehaving in any way does not mean the dog has unfettered access to anything. They get into stuff while you're watching them. They're good at that. I leash our two when we go out in the dark and am very very careful they don't snarf up a piece of wood mulch (or worse) when they come in the house -- but sometimes, they sneak some contraband in. I can't put Tabasco on the entire garden, so I've taught them the SPIT command.
im WITH willow wind on this one.
puppies should NOT be allowed to chew on things as an "its what puppies do" issue.
crate or tether when you cant watch 100%...goig to the bathroom, take em with you or crate...going out shopping crate, its not that big a deal and no different form having a child...
EXPECT a puppy to get into trouble, PREVENT it from happening (reward the good and dong give an opportunity to fail) and if your not ready for that commitment then mabe rethinking the whole puppy thing should be done.
its NOT "what puppies do"
its what lazy people let puppies get away with doing...
you wouldn't LET your 2 yr old stick his fingers in a plug socket because "its what kids do" so don't let your puppy get away with unacceptable behavior either. its not just bad foryour furniture and pocketbook its DANGEROUS for the dog and BAD for mental development, dogs NEED rules and boundries.
ive raised MANY puppies over the years and never once had an issue with inappropriate chewing, NOT because im a good trainer, NOT because I had "good" puppies, and not because I was "lucky" but because I simple didn't give them a chance to screw up., if I couldn't watch them they were confined to a puppy safe area...when they were teething (from 8 weeks to a year) I made sure t provide them with things they could chew on...see them eyeing the table leg a firm NO and replace with an allowed chewable...
when not teething inappropriate chewing is boredome, its a "busy" activity see a dog starting to chew give it something to do, go for a walk, go out and play, give it a rectrational bone or a puzzle toy like a kong filled with treats, REDIRECT the engative, be a pro-active doggy parent and NEVER resign yourself ot a "its what puppies do" mind set.
YES puppies chew...but they chew your furniture because YOU haven't taught them aproproate behavior. plain and simple...just like play biting people, umping up, begging for food, all inappropriate behavior LEARNT by a puppy because eyou don't teach them otherwise.
puppies pee and poop, so we teach them where they should...you don't let them poop on your rug simply because "its what puppies do"
puppies bark...so we teach them to refrain or be quiet on command, we don't let thme bark for 24 hours aday because "its what puppies do"
puppies bite...we don't let them knaw our hands to bloody stumps simeply because "its what puppies do"
So WHY should chewing furniture be ANY different.
a dog that chews inappropriately is lacking direction (and often stimulation)
Chewing not associated with teething it typically BOREDOM. so entertain by giving a big recreational bone or something else to focus on!
bitter apple and tobacco ect are great until the dog realized your not reapplying every day...if you plan on using taste deterants plan to ALWAYS have to use them...because there will be that one time you forget and becuas eyou haven't actually TAUGHT the dog its inappropriate, that 1 time you forget and they decide to try again your back at square 1....
I mean what happens if puppy gets a taste for couch cushions...you gonna spray down your entire couch with tobacco sauce? and what if he gets a taste for couch cushions when your in the shower and by the time you get out theres cushion foam everywhere including his stomach...impaction is frequently deadly...
personally id rather TRAIN the dog to chew on appropriate tings and protect them until they can be trusted than simply stick a bandaid on it and hope for the best.
and yes the leave it, spit it out/give it to me type commands are great, but they don't help when your not there to give them...
SIDE NOTE:
Ive got 2 dogs who actually LIKE bitter apple (the got into a bottle I was using for a cat with compulsion issues) and 1 who LOVES tobacco (he STOLE a packet of tobacco sauce once and now I cant have the bottle out without him begging just at the smell...he also loves spicy foods, curry paste, pepper (ground, pickled and raw...)
jalapenos are one of his fave snacks, thankfully I DONT do spicey and other than spices kept up high and bell pepper those thigns arnt kept around the house. (im sensitive to capsasin)
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