CHEWING! CHEWING! CHEWING!!!!

[Kodimom]

HELP! My 7-1/2 mo. old Kodi is chewing up the house! I thought we had this behavior curbed with nylabones and her toys! She knows she is not supposed to chew on stuff other than her own things! She has done really well for the last few months. Even though she picked up things in her mouth, she would come to me and lay them down without chewing on them. I would reward her with a "good dog" and a pat. In the last three days, she has chewed up one of my stuffed animals, a stuffed rabbit basket out of my son's room that was on his bookshelves, and this morning (THE LAST STRAW!) when I was in the shower, my husband caught her chewing the corner off one of the couch cushions! Not only was she chewing on it, but she had actually dragged it off the couch and pulled it to the center of the livingroom floor where she could lay down and relax and enjoy herself while she proceeded to destroy the corner! Needless to say, this is one of the times where restraint is hard to come by! I wanted to beat her to death! Instead, I grabbed her by the collar, gave a sharp "no! - bad dog!" (finger point at the snout for emphasis) and took her outside to her kennel. We live in an old farm and have spent a small fortune remodeling and buying furniture. I will NOT have a dog (no matter how much I love her) chewing my furniture! Is this a Rottweiler specific habbit? I have never had a dog chew on the furniture, shoes - yes, clothes - yes, trash - yes, even plug in flashlights off the wall, but never my couch cushion!!! What can I do to deter this spurt of chewing??? Do you think she might be trying to tell me that she is upset about something? Help! Help! I don't want to have to confine her in her kennel outside all time and I don't want to have to crate her when she is inside all the time. Suggestions would be welcome!

[karenm]

Hi! I have a 4 1/2 month old male that likes to chew on my couch as well. Not just the cushions but the actual frame as well. I notice he does this when he is all wound up, usually after about an hour game of fetch. I was told that they don't like the smell of white vinegar (neither do I!) but I put some in a spray bottle and sprayed some on the couch and he's left it alone. I'm not sure if it was actually the cure but he's stopped chewing (so far). It's worth a try if you don't mind the smell of it. I think they have sprays in the pet stores as well that are suppose to repel your dog from certain areas but that may just be for potty training. Good luck!

[bearkat]

I'll probably catch heck for my solution, but it works... Clyde decided to eat the mudflap off my husband's brand new pickup... I took the mudflap off the pickup, inserted it in Clyde's mouth, gently clamping his mouth shut, and yelled "NO!!! BAD DOG!!!" He ate the rubber moulding from the edge of the garage door, again, he got to "eat it". I started this method years ago with a St. Bernard/Mastiff cross, and it really works. Whatever the infraction has been: rugs, shoes, wood, furniture, garbage. Good luck!!

[MJ22LAM]

We are using "Bitter Apple Spray", you can get it at Pet Smart, I think RC Steele has it. Our pup is 11 weeks, and destroyed an expensive antique cherry table, that he decided tasted better than Booda bones, He has also tore up a seam in the wall to wall carpeting we had installed in our home 3 weeks ago. I started the spray 10 days ago, and he hates it, I put it on the furniture, and If I catch him spray a bit on his nose,
its natural, so it doesnt hurt them just tastes bad. It is worth a shot, seems to be working for me.(right now)


MJ

[Rottie Mom]

I agree. I had success with Bitter Apple - it worked wonders. The chewing is a puppy phase and it is not exclusive to Rotties. My cousin's GOlden Retriever puppy chewed 8 bicycle helmets and took an antique doll off the shelve and demolished it!! You are not alone. Spray your furniture with Bitter Apple and continue with the reprimands and make sure she has her toybox filled with her toys and she will learn the difference. Good luck!

Jodi and Rosco from Portland, OR.

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[DNeff]

Chewing can sometimes be a manifestation of excess energy. The more exercise your dog gets the better. I will say that a dog that age should probably not be left alone in the house without someone watching him. My dog is a year and a half and I am just now starting to leave him alone in the house for an hour or two at a time. Rotties have very strong jaws and I know mine will chew through anything if he is allowed to. He chewed through the dry wall in the bathroom. My recommendation would be lots and lots of exercise for him, keep him good and tired, that really seems to curb chewing. Gets lots of tough chew toys, like kongs, booda bones, and sterlized bones. And I would crate him anytime someone can not be there checking on him. The recommendations of using bitter apple are very good, I hosed down practically everything in the house with it. It did seem to stop his chewing. Good Luck!
Dawn Neff
dawn.neff@jcnordt.com
dplantier@aol.com

[trojanmpa]

I tried the Bitter Apple and I think Mathilda thought of it as a condiment! She liked it (as the old Life cereal commercial goes..)! My husband and I continue with sharp "NOs!", redirection and frustration. I don't agree with it but my husband will hold her muzzle closed, while saying "NO!", for about five seconds. He does this for bites to the body and inappropriate chewing.

I don't know how much truth there is to this statement but here goes...A young lady we met while walking Mathilda stated that her dog chewed through three of her couches. Her advice was to take a toy away from a puppy when it gets to the "stuffing" portion. She rationalized that once the pup gets a feel for the stuff she will search out similar items which means chewing on the couch and cushions. Just to be clear, we haven't experienced this problem [yet] and continue reprimanding and redirecting her bites and chews.

Either way, this is definately a puppy phase and I can hear echoes of experienced condolences regarding similarly destroyed items. **Have you ever noticed they won't chew the stuff you don't care about? ?**

By the way, watch out for your housing siding and door jams. This happens to be Mathilda's chew du jour

[timeeb]

I use a baby gate and Apple Bitter with my 2 1/2 year old. Another thing that helps is moving things out reach. It's like having a toddler. That may be an easy way out but work for me.

[rottie_mama]

A friend of mine has a young Rottie who loved to chew up things - The couch, the curtains, etc. But he was afraid of cow bells. So she started placing cow bells strategically around the house on things that he liked to chew on. Now he's stopped, but she has the world's largest collection of cow bells.


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Rachel aka rottie_mama
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/7900