dogsthatchew

Chewing in Dogs
Dog Loves to Eat Plastic
5 Easy Steps to Stop Your Puppy From Chewing
Dogs That Chew Through Electric Cables
Dogs That Eat Glass or Other Sharp Objects
Tips to Prevent Chewing and Biting in Puppies
Dogs That Chew Stones

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Chewing in Dogs

By Sherry Woodard

Why does my dog chew on things?
Chewing is a normal canine behavior. So, instead of punishing your dog for chewing, try to redirect
his attention to more appropriate objects. If your dog starts chewing on an inappropriate item,
simply offer him an appropriate one. When he begins to chew on it, give him lavish praise.
You shouldn’t allow your dog to chew on any of your possessions (even the ones that you don’t
mind him chewing up), since he can’t distinguish between an old worn-out shoe and a brand-new
one.

What sort of things should my dog chew on?
Pet supply stores have a wide variety of durable rubber or nylon toys that satisfy a dog’s urge to chew. Dog “puzzles” that you can stuff treats into (like Kongs and Buster Cubes) can keep her occupied for a good long while. You can also buy sterilized, hollow bones that you can fill with peanut butter, wet dog food mixed with dry, or a piece of cheese. If your dog empties the bone or toy too quickly, experiment with different fillers. You can try freezing wet dog food or wedging a piece of hard cheese tightly inside the toy or bone.
To prevent your dog from becoming bored, give her a variety of items to chew that offer different tastes, odors, textures and challenges. Occasionally add new items to your dog’s choices. Besides the above suggestions, many dogs love frozen carrots, cow hooves and Nylabones.

If your dog is very enthusiastic about chewing, make sure chew toys are available to him all the time. For example, put chew toys outside if you leave your dog in the yard for more than a few minutes. Remember, too, that dogs will chew out of boredom, so make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise and interaction with you on a daily basis.

Sherry Woodard is the dog training and care consultant at Best Friends. She develops resources and provides consulting services nationally to help achieve Best Friends’ No More Homeless Pets mission

reprinted with kind permission from Karol Taylor
Member Support Coordinator Best Friends Animal Society
info@bestfriends.org http://network.bestfriends.org

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Dog Loves To Eat Plastic

Kathy Diamond Davis

Q: I have a 1-year old Boxer/Hound mixed dog. He has a bad habit of eating plastic. Actually he likes to eat almost anything he can get his teeth into. He really loved to eat plastic doggy chew toys. I used to buy them for him and would come home to find he had eaten and swallowed pieces of the toys. I stopped buying him plastic toys, but he has turned to eating other plastic things he can find in the house, like medicine bottles accidentally left in his reach. Is there something I can do to stop him from eating plastic? It has been suggested that I crate train him, but I can't stand to see an animal caged. Is there some way to train him to stop eating things?

A: When a dog's permanent teeth come in they are loose. They have to be set in the jaw by chewing. I had a small dog once who didn't chew much and many of her teeth were loose from the time I got her at 18 months. She lost 11 teeth before she died. So this chewing is not all a bad thing.

Your dog, being a large and active breed, will likely chew all sorts of things that are bad for him and could kill him in fact, until he is 2 years old, or possibly even older. He has no way of knowing what is safe to chew and swallow and what is not. That's one of the major reasons we recommend crate-training for a puppy.

Crate training can literally be a life insurance policy to get that dog through the hard times until it is old enough to safely be loose in the house. For large-breed dogs, this is usually around the age of 2 years, but can be longer for some, especially intact males. You might want to read a very long discussion we already have on this subject in the Canine Behavior Series called The Great Crate Debate, Thoughts to Ponder.

If you don't want to use a crate when you are not there to supervise your dog, you'll need to provide him with some sort of safe place to rest when you are not there. Otherwise, he may literally kill himself.

Since your dog enjoys plastic, he might like the hard chicken-flavored Nylabones. I buy mine at Wal-Mart, where a different brand name sells for a great price in a good size for big dogs. Look on the back, at the bottom of the package, and in small print it tells you it is made by Nylabone. My dogs love these.

Nylabone has several other textures available too, and there are also Hercules bones and others designed for hard-chewing dogs. I can't give my dogs the cute dog toys, either. They rip out squeakers, mangle stuffed toys--nothing prissy for this wrecking crew!

When you are there to supervise your dog, you need to continually work on focusing his chewing onto his own toys. Have a bottle of Bitter Apple spray handy. Anytime you see him chewing the wrong thing, spray that item with Bitter Apple, saying "Leave it." Then IMMEDIATELY hand him a toy of his own, with a tiny bit of teasing to get him to want it. When he starts to chew it, praise him. Bitter Apple evaporates quickly, and will not protect things for long. It works best when used for training as I just described.

You will probably have to do this, oh, a hundred times or more! Always at the right moment too. He will have to mature past this physiological life stage before he is ready to be left loose alone in the house. If you haven't carefully focused the chewing onto his own toys by then, sometimes the bad chewing habits will linger for life. So it's important to diligently form good chewing habits in your dog.

A Buster Cube or a Kong--either toy with food in it--helps some dogs with their chewing when you are not home. It also helps to make sure the dog has plenty of exercise. I hope things go well.

Kathy Diamond Davis is the author of the book Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others. Should the training articles available here or elsewhere not be effective, contact your veterinarian. Veterinarians not specializing in behavior can eliminate medical causes of behavior problems. If no medical cause is found, your veterinarian can refer you to a colleague who specializes in behavior or a local behaviorist.
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Dogs that Chew

5 Easy Steps To Stop Your Puppy From Chewing

You got your new pet almost a week ago. In that time, the little beast has eaten three pairs of shoes, four of your favorite Stephen King novels ( He left Cujo alone... Maybe he is a fan too? ), gnawed the trim around the bathroom doorway, chewed thru the power cord of your laptop and, just this morning, you found him gleefully chewing up your wallet with a side order of your credit cards. This is getting expensive really fast and starting to get dangerous for the pup also. Maybe it's time we intervened?

So how do we handle this situation? Once again, we want to be sure our young charge is healthy to begin, so off to the vets office if you haven't been recently. There is a medical condition that can cause chewing in pups aside from the normal tendencies they have of chewing to explore their world. This illness is called Pica and causes your pet to eat non-food items in an attempt to deal with nausea. So please visit your veterinarian and make sure your animal has a clean bill of health.

The next step involves understanding that, while chewing is a normal and healthy part of any pup's development, it has acceptable and unacceptable outlets. Puppies learn about their world thru chewing much the same as human children. They use their senses to explore the new world, which lies before them and their tactile sense, and sense of taste is brought into play as they chew on various objects. Much like human children, pups also need our protection from the dangers that lurk in their explorations. Electrical cords, needles, poisonous houseplants and household chemicals, even chocolate, all pose very real threats to your pet. It is your duty to protect the animal from these dangers.

Consistent training with the "NO" command can do this. No is a word your dog should learn early and respond to instantly. This one word has saved many dogs from many horrible fates. The pup is trained by repeatedly using the "NO" command every time a situation occurs. If you pet is caught chewing on your shoes, say "NO" in an affirmative tone and take the item from the animal. Do not let it become a game of tug-o-war. Rather, remove the item quickly or back up your "NO" with a spray from a water bottle, a loud clapping of the hands or a light but convincing tap on the nose. This little diversion is usually enough to make a dog lose interest in whatever they may have been chewing on. Also, do not give chase to an animal chewing on an undesirable selection of chew toy.

The will interpret this action to be a game and they will be most happy to play for hours on end. Instead, calmly work your way towards the animal and then remove the object. For items that are habitually mistreated, a chemical additive such as Bitter Apple may be in order to impart a foul taste to the item and make it unpalatable for the animal to chew on. Crate Training is also effective to stop chewing behavior and we shall discuss this course at length in later articles.

You do not want to completely destroy your dogs urge to chew however as this habit is healthy for them when exercised correctly. Instead, offer them suitable objects for their chewing pleasure. Perhaps a dog toy ( For quieter households, remove any squeakers from the toy. ) Rope toys and crunchy dog biscuits provide good outlets for a dog's destructive behavior and also help to keep up the oral hygiene of your pet.

Also be aware that all animals are different. Your dog may react differently than another dog in a given situation. Some dogs develop aggressive stances upon attempts to remove an object from their possession. If your dog becomes aggressive and territorial, then professional assistance is highly recommended to avoid further problems or biting.

With these simple suggestions, you can insure your pups' good health and the well being of your book collection. You might even find the time to spend some quality time reading Cujo again with your new best friend.

Dog Article courtesy of I-Love-Dogs.com

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Dogs That Chew Through Electric Cables

Stan Rawlinson
www.Doglistener.co.uk

Sometimes a puppy can chew through a cord leading to an electric appliance. The shock is usually not serious (though in certain circunstances has proved fatal), however it can knock the puppy out. If this happens, put a little ammonia on a cotton wad and hold it under its nose. Don't touch the nose with it, as ammonia will burn the skin. The sharp odour will bring it round. When iy does come to, give it some cool, strong , black coffee to drink. If its mouth is burned, wet a cloth in cool tea and wash the burned place with this. Take the puppy to the vet if it seems burned or injured in any way.

Stan Rawlinson
Founder member of Association of Applied Canine Trainers (PAACT)
www.doglistener.co.uk

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Dogs That Eat Glass or Other Sharp Objects

Stan Rawlinson
www.Doglistener.co.uk

What Do you do if your dog eats glass or other sharp objects? Buy some natural cotton balls and a carton of double cream, which you can freeze untill required, shred the balls, dip them into cream and feed them to your dog. Dogs less than 10lb should eat two balls, dogs 10lb to 50lb, three to five balls, and larger dogs five to seven. As the cotton works its way through the digestive tract it will wrap around the smallest of sharp objects, protecting the intestines. Consult your vet if your dog's stools show fresh blood or have a tarry appearance.

Stan Rawlinson
Founder member of Association of Applied Canine Trainers (PAACT)
www.doglistener.co.uk

Tips to Prevent Chewing and Bitting in Puppies

Pet Library

http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/

Puppies naturally explore the world with their mouths. The tastes and textures of objects in their environment help them to learn about their world. They spend several months shedding their baby teeth and growing in their adult teeth. This stimulates them to chew and, thus, it is normal for them to chew. However, what puppies must learn is those things that are appropriate for them to chew on and those things that aren't.

The most important learning period for puppies occurs between the ages of 4 and 16 weeks. From birth to about 8 weeks, a puppy is mostly learning from his mother and littermates. The pup should also have generous amounts of gentle human handling during this time as this will help to prepare him for his new home.

A new puppy should not have free rein of the house at first. This is too confusing for him. Keep him mostly in a smaller, easily cleaned room such as a kitchen. Give him acceptable chew toys such as Kong toys, rawhides and nylabones. Do not give him discarded shoes or clothing. He can't differentiate between old and new clothing. Never strike or yell at your pup during this time because you will only frighten and confuse him and may create unwanted aggression.

Your puppy will need chew toys that outlast his teeth and others that he can really get his teeth into. Add some squeaky toys, balls, tug-o-ropes, and whatever else you think your pup will enjoy that won't hurt him.

If your puppy chews on you or your clothing, make a loud noise, such as 'no', to get his attention, then remove whatever it is that he's chewing on. Promptly replace it with an appropriate toy for him to chew on and reward him when he does.

Although often thought to be a teething behavior, nipping, mouthing and biting in young dogs is generally a form of social play. Teething is more likely to involve gnawing or chewing on household objects. The first thing you must do is to provide your puppy with ample opportunity for play without biting. Social play with people could involve chase and retrieve games, as well as long walks or jogging. Although wrestling and tug of war games can be fun, they may lead to play that is too rough or rambunctious. Puppies need to learn bite inhibition. This is something they start to learn while with they are littermates. It is one reason that puppies should not go to new homes until 7 - 8 weeks and they have had time to practice social skills with other dogs. It can therefore be extremely beneficial for the puppy to have regular interactive social play periods with other dogs or puppies in the home or in the neighborhood

There are many reasons why dogs gradually or sometimes suddenly become aggressive. It is always frustrating and sad because it usually means the demise of the dog. A dog that is repeatedly biting, leaving bite marks or drawing blood, must, for the safety of others, be confined, muzzled, or sometimes even put down.

One cause of aggressive biting is pain. For example, a dog may bite if touched where there is a growing tumor. He may bite if he has a severe case of indigestion or a bladder blockage. If you suspect pain as the cause, see your veterinarian immediately.

There are at least two normal causes of aggressive biting. One is maternal protection of pups by the mom, and another is interfemale or intermale rivalry. Here, the best advice is to properly socialize your dog at a very early age to people as well as to other dogs. Sometimes hormonal medication will effectively treat the aggression in these dogs.

Provide your dog with adequate play, attention and exercise, and you can turn the training to bite inhibition. One of the things that puppies need to learn is the amount of pressure from their jaws that causes pain. Without this feedback, a puppy does not learn to inhibit the force of his bite. Because all dogs can and will bite at some time, this lesson is vital for human safety.

Remember that play biting is a component of play behavior in puppies. Play is a form of social interaction. Realize that your puppy is trying to play with you even though the behavior is rough. To ensure that you are in control, be certain that each play session is initiated by you and not the puppy and that you can end each session whenever you choose. One effective strategy when the play gets too rough is to immediately end the play session and leave. Social withdrawal can be a very powerful tool. Leave the puppy alone long enough to calm down. If, upon your return, the wild playing begins again, leave again. Although it is tempting to pick the puppy up and take him out of the room, this interaction may be interpreted by your puppy as additional play and the biting may continue as you carry the puppy to a confinement location

reprinted with kind permission from Karol Taylor info@bestfriends.org
Member Support Coordinator Best Friends Animal Society
5001 Angel Canyon Road Kanab, UT 84741
http://network.bestfriends.org http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com

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Dogs Who Chew Stones

Pet Library
http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/

This may not be the most common problem among dogs. In fact, many dog owners have probably never even heard of stone chewing before. But there are, nonetheless, dogs who do it. Stone chewing behavior in dogs is most likely a type of play. However, this behavior can pose a risk to your dog and his health.

First, the actual act of chewing the stones can wear down or even break your dog's teeth. This can be painful for your dog and it can lead to infection. It's also possible for your dog to accidentally swallow a stone or two. While smaller-sized stones may not necessarily be harmful, if your dog swallows larger stones, they can obstruct the passage of food or tear the intestinal wall. This can lead to serious illness and can even prove fatal.

Because of the risks associated with chewing stones, you want to discourage your dog from doing it. Since he most likely just wants to play, redirect his attention toward more appropriate and safer toys. Be sure that you have a variety of toys on hand that your dog likes, such as balls, chew toys, kongs, rawhide toys, and so on. You may also need to keep a close eye on your dog and keep him leashed in rocky areas.

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