distruction in the home

Hi all my friend recommended this site to me in hope i will get some help. i have a 11 month old bitch who is adorable as they all are, but i could kill her, have any of you any tips on the below, please take into account she is walked 4 times a day.... my husband works nites so is home during the day, i work day so am home of an evening, but we do like to go out as a family at weekends (but cant), she has toys galour?? and we have a 7 year old boxer too who she plays with
1. she constantly rips her bed to pieces have gone through loads now, she knows its wrong as if shes done it and i come home she wont come out to me LOL, so she must know?
2. will eat anything and everything that she finds on the floor indoors and out... to the point i could be sick (if u get my meaning), sick, poo, concrete, sticks, furniture, shoes, tables, etc i could go on but think you get my meaning ;-((((((

Hope you kind caring staff lovers can give me some advise

Hi & welcome to the forum.

Well, the bed ripping can be a problem - I know, my Dempsey has ripped up about 7 or 8 beds! I use a crate for him, and got fed up with having to replace the foam beds I put in there every couple of weeks or so, so I bought a large square of Vetbed (a fleecy, tough material - a bit expensive, but hard wearing & easy to clean), and put that in the bottom of the crate. Then I bought 2 old army blankets (german, but that's beside the point!), I folded one into four & put that on top of the vetbed - he hasn't chewed it yet. I bought 2 so I can put one in the wash, cause he's a dirty dog!


With eating everything, again I can sympathise - Dempsey could eat for england in the olympics! I would teach her the 'leave' command, and try to watch her whenever you can. If it's a real problem outside, why not try a muzzle until you've got the 'leave' really strong? I know it doesn't look good, but it's better than eating everything she shouldn't!

The good new is that most dogs do grow out of both these problems by the time they're 2 years old - some much earlier. They seem to gain a measure of common sense as they mature!

Do you have any pics of your two? We always love to see pics!

Sounds like you have a "chewer", some dogs just really love to chew and rip things to pieces. It can of course be very helpful to train her a "leave it" command and make sure books, shoes and other easily destroyed things are never within reach. It is a pain to put everything away, but it's less trouble than having everything destroyed all the time. Putting some sort of bitter substance on things like table legs, cables and other things you can't remove can be a good thing. You get stuff like "bitter apple" sprays, but I've had best luck with deodorant. I'd also avoid dogs beds that can be torn to shreds until she's old enough to leave it alone (if ever). I have some beautiful dog beds in the attic for now, as I have a 3 month old puppy so nothing is safe. A metal crate with some blankets is a good idea and the blankets are cheap to replace if she shreds them.

Also - with a dog that really, really loves to chew and tear I would make sure she has lots of appropriate ways to do so. Slightly untwisting rope toys and sticking treats into the spaces, then letting it twist back is one way to let her tear something "apart" and get some yummies to hopefully have less desire to eat shoes. I mostly use meaty bones for my guy, who also loves to chew and pull things apart. Now he gets chicken legs or quartered chickens mostly, the occasional ox tail and such, as he grows up half a chicken is probably better. The more complicated the meal, the more he gets to chew and tear and the more tired he gets, so it's all good.

Increasing the level of mental stimulation is also often a good way to reduce destruction. Get out some treats and teach her a bunch of tricks. "Leave it" should be one of them. Things to learn impulse control is most likely a good idea, like the "it's yer choice" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc - but also just silly tricks like rolling over and sitting pretty or anything to occupy her mind and tire her out mentally (which is much more efficient than physically).

Aniemother wrote:Sounds like you have a "chewer", some dogs just really love to chew and rip things to pieces. It can of course be very helpful to train her a "leave it" command and make sure books, shoes and other easily destroyed things are never within reach. It is a pain to put everything away, but it's less trouble than having everything destroyed all the time. Putting some sort of bitter substance on things like table legs, cables and other things you can't remove can be a good thing. You get stuff like "bitter apple" sprays, but I've had best luck with deodorant. I'd also avoid dogs beds that can be torn to shreds until she's old enough to leave it alone (if ever). I have some beautiful dog beds in the attic for now, as I have a 3 month old puppy so nothing is safe. A metal crate with some blankets is a good idea and the blankets are cheap to replace if she shreds them.

Also - with a dog that really, really loves to chew and tear I would make sure she has lots of appropriate ways to do so. Slightly untwisting rope toys and sticking treats into the spaces, then letting it twist back is one way to let her tear something "apart" and get some yummies to hopefully have less desire to eat shoes. I mostly use meaty bones for my guy, who also loves to chew and pull things apart. Now he gets chicken legs or quartered chickens mostly, the occasional ox tail and such, as he grows up half a chicken is probably better. The more complicated the meal, the more he gets to chew and tear and the more tired he gets, so it's all good.

Increasing the level of mental stimulation is also often a good way to reduce destruction. Get out some treats and teach her a bunch of tricks. "Leave it" should be one of them. Things to learn impulse control is most likely a good idea, like the "it's yer choice" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc - but also just silly tricks like rolling over and sitting pretty or anything to occupy her mind and tire her out mentally (which is much more efficient than physically).

Fantastic advice Ane All of the above should help you and also just try to remember, she is just still a pup, and as Caryll said, should grow out of it.

Just out of interest, who was the friend that recommended the forum to you? We can thank them