Chewing Maniac - Advice Needed

[webangel2b]

My Dixie was a very mellow pooch in all respects. She was great with her toys, almost everyone survived her.

We always monitored her toy playing time and if she seemed to want to tear it up we'd say EASY, you have to be EASY with the toy. She'd look at us for a while then go back to playing with it. We repeated if necessary and if all hope was lost it was put away.

Like I say, you could give her stuffed toys/animals and she would NOT tear them up. She had to be EASY with them.

[SaschasPet]

Originally Posted by webangel2b

Like I say, you could give her stuffed toys/animals and she would NOT tear them up. She had to be EASY with them.

That is so incredible to me and so great. Sascha has been thru 3 Pollies - this is a stuffed Polar Bear we bought for her when we first got her. I just thru the 3 and final Pollie away and have no intention on buying her another. LOL She does have a stuffed frog that she just loves and has yet to massacre this thing yet. Maybe she just didn't like that polar bear very much.

[SaschasPet]

Thanks everyone for the great words of advice. Obviously, I made a big mistake thinking it was a good thing I was doing by letting my girl sleep with me at night. Lesson learned - at the price of a comforter's life. Sascha will NO longer be allowed to sleep with momma - well maybe as a treat once in a while on the weekends. And I intend to put more time aside for her at night so we can work together and play. Thanks again! Here's to NO more comforter distuction!

[webangel2b]

LOL!

Monitoring is the key, especially with a puppy! Once Dixie got older and more mature she didn't even think about tearing them up.

Really funny? She was afraid of this "large" stuffed rottie that I bought for her. It was not long after Jesse had passed and she would not go near it. Seemed like she fixated on it. I gave it to my friends so their dogs could tear it up. It was too sad to watch her fear it :(

[SaschasPet]

Originally Posted by webangel2b

LOL!

Monitoring is the key, especially with a puppy! Once Dixie got older and more mature she didn't even think about tearing them up.

(

I'm finding now she needs more monitoring then when she was smaller! LOL Just like a child I guess. I have to keep reminding myself - even though she's a big old 72 lb mass of muscle - she's still just a baby!

[QuietDaze]

Wow, you get up at 4:45? Uh yeah, something would need to be worked out in the evenings. Do you let her out at all before you leave so she can stretch her legs? If she's anything like my dog, she'll look at you like you're crazy before 7. lol

She'll be just fine, you'll see.

[SaschasPet]

Originally Posted by QuietDaze

Wow, you get up at 4:45? Uh yeah, something would need to be worked out in the evenings. Do you let her out at all before you leave so she can stretch her legs? If she's anything like my dog, she'll look at you like you're crazy before 7. lol

She'll be just fine, you'll see.

Yes - crazy ain't it! And actually, on the weekends if I'm not up by 6 she's waking me up!!! LOL The first thing I do when I wake up is let her out - she goes out for about 10 mins or so then comes in to eat. Then back out again - on days when I find I have a little extra time - which are few & far between I'll go out with her and toss the ball or frisbee with her. I would say all toll she goes out a good 4 times before I leave the house and when my daughter wakes up she runs her around the house for a while.

Thanks for the words of encouragement!

[gendursgrrl]

Here's a suggestion. :) You could get a fresh femur bone (have it cut in half) from the grocery store or butcher. Throw one half in the freezer and give the other half to your little chew-machine. I've been giving Gendur a fresh femur 1/2 about every week or so. It gives him a great mental and physical work out. It's cool to watch him put his whole body into chewing at the bone, too. He can really go to town!

As for his "babies"... I monitor and watch him with them. He mostly tosses them around, rolls on them, and basically plays with himself with them. Very funny to watch him do this! He'll be running with a new baby (or piece of moss or twig - DORK! lol) and will drop it and act like "HEY! WHERE DID IT GO!?!?" Very cute. :)

Barrie - I used to let Gendur go to town on cardboard boxes, too! However, I got sick of picking up 80 trillion pieces of cardboard! lol Then he started to eat the cardboard.

[SaschasPet]

Originally Posted by gendursgrrl

Here's a suggestion. :) You could get a fresh femur bone (have it cut in half) from the grocery store or butcher. Throw one half in the freezer and give the other half to your little chew-machine. I've been giving Gendur a fresh femur 1/2 about every week or so. It gives him a great mental and physical work out. It's cool to watch him put his whole body into chewing at the bone, too. He can really go to town!

As for his "babies"... I monitor and watch him with them. He mostly tosses them around, rolls on them, and basically plays with himself with them. Very funny to watch him do this! He'll be running with a new baby (or piece of moss or twig - DORK! lol) and will drop it and act like "HEY! WHERE DID IT GO!?!?" Very cute. :)

Barrie - I used to let Gendur go to town on cardboard boxes, too! However, I got sick of picking up 80 trillion pieces of cardboard! lol Then he started to eat the cardboard.

Great idea - we have a butcher at the top of the street - will have to stop in there to see if they can help me out with this! Thanks!

I think we are done with cute little stuffed guys for right now. LOL We'll stick to the hard core chew toys for a bit. Thanks again for all the words of encouragement and adivce!

[TBeau262]

One of my favorite chewing toys is an empty cat litter container.(the bigger the better) Matilda loves it both in the house and outside. Quite funny to watch. I supervise and check often to make sure cover stays tightalso emply soda bottles are great too.

[SaschasPet]

Originally Posted by TBeau262

One of my favorite chewing toys is an empty cat litter container.(the bigger the better) Matilda loves it both in the house and outside. Quite funny to watch. I supervise and check often to make sure cover stays tightalso emply soda bottles are great too.

Sascha LOVED empty water bottles but we found they did not survive her long. LOL But it was funny to watch.

[aldelgreco]

Mine loves large plastic pitchers, like you would use for lemonade or something at a picnic.
Of course, we realized this by accident, as we found her outside chewing on one i had left out after marinating fajita meat in it the night before...

but since then, outside toys sure have been a lot cheaper.

[adam8065]

to give your dog a little more room to roam around without being free in the house you can attach an exercise pen to her crate so she won't be stuck in the crate all the day! It will give her some room to stretch her legs and a little play area.

That is exactly what I'm doing with my puppy and will do so until she is 18 months old, and only then she can be allowed to have free access of the house, as long as she obeys the rules.

[CLanger]

We got Chunk this hard plastic ball from Cabela's called a Paw-zzle. It's a large red hard plastic ball with holes in it. Within it has another smaller yellow ball. He is endlessly in love with this ball. He has chewed it many times, over the last two years at least and is unable to do any damage! And let me tell you, he is a destroyer of chew toys! He carries it from room to room, it is too cute to see. Maybe this would work for Sascha! I think you can order it online at Cabela's Official Website - Quality Hunting, Fishing, Camping and Outdoor Gear at competitive prices.

[enjaem1]

I had an Akita that chewed comforters. She loved the stuffing. I'd buy a new one and she'd be laying on the floor and very quietly would chew on the corner. In the morning I'd wake up with my carpet looking like it had been snowing. I couldn't cure him of it. That was the only thing he touched. You could leave anything out and he wouldn't touch it...but comforters. I would get very inexpensive everyday comforters and if company was coming I'd pop a nice one on and Zuka was not allowed in my room. FYI: Zuka was also 3 years old when I adopted him. And...I know that many of the people here that post do not allow their dogs to sleep on their bed. I'm one that does. It's very comforting to me. Growing up my dad died when I was 10 and I had a dog. She constantly slept with me until she died and that gave me so much comfort. To this day, I get in bed first, get nice and comfy and say "ok" and up they come. Everyone has their place and goes to sleep. It's wonderful.