Help - my puppy is eating his bed!!

]font=Verdana]My 9 month old staffy boy is getting worse.  He had ripped up his blankets in his crate and eaten bits of them.  He now has a tough crate pad, and has ripped that up as well this morning for the second time.  He goes in the garden and eats plants, grasses, anything he can get in his mouth that he shouldn't.  Why is he doing this?  I have never had a boy staffie before nor have I had a staffie with his behaviour - is it a boy thing?  He has chews and even has a nylabone in his crate to chew on.  His sister isn't doing it - neither of them are very obident at the moment either  

I have thought about seeing a dog trainer, but they are so expensive for an hour - if I knew it would stop him, it would be worth it.[/font]

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thank you

I think chewing their bed is quite common but not something I've had to deal with, have you taught him a leave command? Not sure if that would help with the bed but should do with things in the garden

Moo chewed up her beds so I gave up lol! Has he got toys as a distraction

Bane used to do this as a pup but I think he realised that if he destroys it, he can no longer snug in it so just stopped. 

How much exercise does he get?
Maybe you could get his bed out and try to do training with it? See if he goes to rip it up, tell him no or to leave and when he does treat him?

Are there no dog training courses near you? They are usually cheaper if you book a course rather than per hour and could be good for general obedience too?

My 11 mth old does this too, BBQ knobs his fave and has been thru 3 beds now. I have resorted to him having a trampoline bed outside with a cheap fleecy blanket on it, he sleeps inside with us tho and wouldnt dare touch our bed with his toothy pegs lol

Oh and as for having a garden nope I gave that up 9 months ago lol

Thanks everyone. He chewed up all his toys so doesn't have any now that is chewable. I have tried not giving him any bed in his cage but its a bit cold - maybe I need to be hard to be kind. He has had cheap blankets and throws in their and they have all had the same treatment. We have used bitter apple on everything, but he ignores it now. I'm worried he will get seriously ill if he continues ripping up and eating his bed. He gets walks, but probably not long enough at the moment.

I am going to look around for some classes - he and his sister went to one when they were young, but it was such a busy class, they lost interest in the treats for doing well, and couldnt hear us most of the time because of the noise.

If you can allow longer and varied play in the house and longer walks. A kong is good too . Keep the bed if possible in your view and a strong leave command .

Lula does it, we don`t buy her expensive dog beds because of it just get her the big dog pillows for £4. there big enough to fill her crate and she loves snuggling into them

More exercise sounds like it would help; definitely needs more to engage him, training at home can be just as useful if you stick to it and reward him by treats and play. They do need a lot of interaction at this age.

I got 2 bits of advice when I first got Harrie

1. Dont panic to much with what they eat you will be amazed what they can pass.

2. Kiss your yard good bye they love to landscape garden.

I would start with more exercise ball games ect keep him exhausted so sleep time is sleep time not chew everything time.


Cheers

Thanks all

I will certainly take these on board. the chewing of his bed is only at night time and when we go out, so might start taking up stairs and see how he gets on

Suki went through that phase as well. We used old blankets until she could be trusted. Extra exercise should help. Also what are you feeding?