Destructive 1 year old!

[Debivw]

Can anyone give me some advice on a very naughty 1 year old female I have.
She chews everything - wooden doors (inside and out), wooden TV units, underwear, shoes and the bandage of my Great Dane's leg! She did have a fetish for power cables at one stage but I gave her a whack with the last one she chewed and she has stopped that - for now!
I am at my wits end with her - she is being trained at the moment and has plenty of toys to play with plus 2 other dogs, whom she adores and plays with. She has a very short attention span and gets bored very easily and want to play all the time.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Weltterr]

This sounds like she is not properly supervised, and she is not properly trained. Giving a dog a whack is not the way to train her. She needs more attention to show her what to do, instead of just what not to do. And when she does the right thing - by your redirection, she has to be rewarded. If you don't make it worthwhile for her to chew on toys instead of doors, why should she choose to do that?

Many dogs who appear to have a poor attention span are really just confused over what is expected of them. Start reading up on positive training and start implimenting consistency in your actions, your words, ect. More consistency from you should result in better attention from her. Think about what you can do to make her training fun, since you say all she wants to do is play.

Until you have trained her properly, she should be confined when not being supervised. If she is not crate trained, then that is where you should start. Everything in a dog's life is good or bad - brings pleasure or pain. It is your responsibility to make good behavior pleasurable for your dog.

Since she is in obedience now, talk to your trainer about what you should be doing. (don't do anything that is punitive, however, and explain to your trainer that you want to use positive training methods.) Your dog's behavior can change, but it is up to you to show her how. And if you want a good relationship with your dog, you have to use positive methods for training.

[GypsysMom]

Im lucky my dogs are not chewers "BUT" when they are downstairs not supervised they turn into chewers, I believe Cash starts it and Gypsy joins in, they both tore up the old couch down there and a boxspring.. but when they are upstairs they NEVER chew anything and dont even attempt it I have lots of things upstairs I collect porcelin dolls that are large and sit on stools on the floor and they dont bother them and a brand new dinette set that has never seen a tooth mark..

IMO some dogs no matter how much you supervise them they may never get out of chewing objects that are a no-no, but I think supervising and reinforcing her bad behavior is a start..

Good Luck

[Shelby427]

Is she crated when you can't watch her? How much exercise is she getting? At 1 year old, she's still very much a puppy. It sounds to me like she's bored out of her wits and needs some physical and mental stimulation. Does she know what you want from her?

If you can't actively watch her, get a crate and put her in there with a kong or something to keep her busy. It's not her fault she's chewing up your house, it's yours.

If she's confined, she won't be able to get to your socks, the cable wires or anything. Aren't you terrified that she'll ingest something and cause a blockage? Please do NOT "whack" your dog! She doesn't know what's ok to chew on what's not! Positive reinforcement please, not bullying.

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by Debivw

Can anyone give me some advice on a very naughty 1 year old female I have.
She chews everything - wooden doors (inside and out), wooden TV units, underwear, shoes and the bandage of my Great Dane's leg! She did have a fetish for power cables at one stage but I gave her a whack with the last one she chewed and she has stopped that - for now!
I am at my wits end with her - she is being trained at the moment and has plenty of toys to play with plus 2 other dogs, whom she adores and plays with. She has a very short attention span and gets bored very easily and want to play all the time.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If a dog has no access to things it can destroy, there is no issue. Dogs mature at different rates, and depending upon the genetic makeup of your dog, she may someday, or may never be able to be trusted loose in the house. I had an import that would have fit into the second category. So much drive she HAD to be confined when not supervised.

In the meantime, each and everytime she destroys something, she is gaining satisfaction; i.e. REWARD, for doing it. Not only is your dog being trained during training sessions, but she's learning the ropes 24/7 when she's awake and conscious.

At minimum, keep her leashed and under 100% supervision. Probably best to research crates and/or kennel set ups and go that route, as I suspect you need to sleep 8 hours a day, and if you're like most of us, I'm sure you have a job as well. That's 16 or so hours of unsupervised dog heaven.

Dogs simply do what dogs do, it's up to us to keep our belongings and our animals safe from harm.

[RottieGirl86]

I read this title and immediately thought: Bored 1 year old!

A tired dog is a satisfied dog and owner.

walks+ walks+ more walks +training +plus a bone or peanut butter filled kong = happy dog!

simple math

[Weily4Life]

Wow, was that bandage still on your Great Dane when she chewed it? I agree with the others, she is bored and needs stimulation. She is such a puppy and needs training, walks, play time chasing a ball or other toy. Could she be chewing on everything to find that special something that will feel just right and satisfy her. Get her a knuckle bone to chew on during supervision. Our girls only have one toy at a time. Our youngest loves to bat a tennis ball around the room with her feet.

[harleychik66]

She is not being naughty she is being a pup. She has no idea what is right or wrong. It is up to you to teach her this.

I agree with all the other posters, more exercise and crate your girl when you can't watch her.

And please, please don't whack your girl. You want to bond with her and be her leader, not someone she's scared of.

[haralw]

Just wanted to reinforce Never Whack Your Pup! If you have ever been "Whacked" then you are very well aware that your instinct was to fight!
Your puppy wants your love and adoration. Not your hand whacking her!

[cerulean]

How on earth should the puppy know the difference between "nice door" and "nice stick for chewing on" ??? She's a dog, she isn't the "naughty" one in this scenario.

For our pup, it seems to help to have A LOT of different toys. She does get distracted easily....but if there is another interesting toy right nearby, it is easy to redirect her. I mean, she has about a dozen toys in the main room right now, but many of them were free or very cheap.

[lgslgs]

Oops - I should have read your first post a little better, and my comments were sort of off base so I'm deleting them. Blame it on too much coffee and too many tax forms! :)


The other folks who were mentioning doing more crate work are much more on target than what I was blathering about.

Lynda :)