Question:

I adopted a one-year-old Kelpie a month ago and everything is going well except for one thing – the chewing! She chews everything and anything and we can’t seem to get her to stop. We crate her during the day when we are at work but the rest of the time, it is open season for anything that fits in her mouth. She even chewed a hole in the carpet one night! She has bones, chews, pig ears, Nylabones and toys around her and most of the time, it is one of those she chooses to chew on. But if one of those is not handy, anything else will do!

Any suggestions?

Steve

ANSWER:

Hi Steve,

First, congratulations on adopting your girl! Rescue dogs are always the best dogs, as they seem to appreciate everything you give them and there are far too many unwanted animals in the world.

And thankfully, the chewing stage does not last forever although it can feel like it sometimes. Dogs chew until they are around eighteen months old when the teeth finally set in the jaw. Unfortunately, you still have six months to go and it doesn’t sound like your house will be standing by then if we don’t come up with a solution soon!

Because chewing is a physical need for teething dogs, there is no way to stop nature. You are right in crating her when she is unsupervised while you are at work as your house is safe from her then. I would also suggest crating her at night while you are asleep, at least until she grows out of this stage. It won’t harm her and although it may take a night or two for her to adjust to her new sleeping arrangements, you will probably find you are getting a better night’s sleep if you don’t have to try to listen for the sound of gnashing teeth and destruction.

And you will need your sleep because when you get home from work, your first mission is going to be taking her for a long walk or game of fetch. A tired dog is less likely to pick the most difficult thing to chew and I cannot think of anything more difficult then carpet! Keep her worn out from exercise and she will be a much more content dog and less likely to chew random objects.

Next is to spray the spots that she has already chewed with bitter apple or some other non-toxic but bad tasting product. Often when a dog chews a spot or thing once, they will go back to it. By making it unappealing, you stand a better chance of keeping the damage to a minimum. If you see her heading to another spot on the carpet, give her a firm ‘no’, hand her a toy or something she is allowed to chew and then spray the new area with the bitter apple. If she goes back to the spot later on, the awful flavor will quickly discourage her!

Most important is diligence in watching her. Whenever she even eyeballs something she is not supposed to chew, give her an ‘eh, eh, eh’ noise or say ‘no’ gently but firmly. Catching her before she begins to chew is important as is telling her she is a good girl when she chooses a toy, chew or Nylabone. We tend to only tell our dogs when they are doing something bad but never tell them when they do something good – how are they supposed to learn from always hearing the negative? If you take something away from her that she is not supposed to chew, immediately give her a toy or bone to chew on and when she reaches for it, let her know how wonderful she is with big congratulations! Put tons of enthusiasm into you voice and she will pick up on it!

The other part of being diligent is to not leave things around that she is likely find appealing. Keep shoes, purses, pens, watches, etc up off the ground or the furniture she is allowed to lay on. Out of sight, out of mind. Watch her for patterns too on where she claims the things she is going to chew. For example, as a pup my pit bull never chewed anything that wasn’t hers – she was a model puppy in that regard. However, as she aged she got it into her head that if a small object like a pen or a watch was left on my bed, it was fair game to chew. If the object was left a foot away on the nightstand, it was safe. I was never able to change this behavior and it was up to me to remember to not leave things on the bed. Seems like a cop out I know but there was mitigating circumstances with her that made retraining difficult (she suffered mild brain damage from an illness when she was young).

In your case, training her would be easier but training yourself will also help. The good thing is it helps make for a tidy house….!

Good luck and let us know how it goes with her. I am sure she will grow out of it soon enough but the training is important. Keep lot’s of toys and chews around and remember the enthusiastic ‘good girl’ when she chooses to chew on one of them!