I realise this post will be laughed at by most of you who kennel your dogs. We wanted to keep our dog outside, but don't feel our garden is secure enough
and worry about him being nicked. He therefore lives in the house. We had a crate initially which was fine, but when he out grew it we didn't get a bigger
one as he seemed fine. He has some chew toys in the house, and when we're around he often wanders off to find a toy, and settles down to chew it for ages.
Some of these can be stuffed with food too and he loves playing with them then. However, when we go out to work, he NEVER touches his toys (I've tried
lining them up and they're still then when I get back!). Instead, he chews our kitchen floor! It's not every day - maybe only once a fortnight. It does
seem to be either after we haven't left him for a while, or if he has had a slightly shorter walk than normal. I don't feel I can walk him further as
Spaniel pups shouldn't be walked too far - but he currently has 45 mins in the morning, 30 at lunch time and up to an hour in the evening. (He's 8
months old). He doesn't chew at night normally, and would NEVER touch the kitchen floor when we are in - so no chance to tell him off! I wouldn't tell
him off when I got home as he wouldn't link that with the chewing earlier. How can I tell him he is welcome to play with his toys when I'm not
there?!?!
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chewing when alone
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 AngelaD |
chewing when alone |
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Posts: 11 (28 June, 2009 17:11:23) |
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Eric Begbie |
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Posts: 1880 (29 June, 2009 10:38:46) |
AngelaD wrote:Angela, That is certainly the conventional wisdom - that a dog must be rewarded or punished IMMEDIATELY following the action which is to be affected. I am no longer totally sure about that. I think that it may be possible to indicate disapproval of something hours after the event. Faced with your problem, I would be inclined, upon arrival home and finding the floor chewed, to drag the pup to the "scene of the crime", hold his nose down to the damage and scold him firmly. Just make sure that it is the very first interaction you have with him upon arrival. I think that perhaps another strategy is to avoid leaving his chews lying around for him to pick up and chew whenever he feels like it. Rather keep them away from him until you are ready to give him one. Let him chew it for as long as you are together, but then put it away again. That might help establish a link that he only chews things that are actually given to him; not things he finds lying around (even if he was given them earlier). The other possibility is that chewing the floor is a reaction to being left alone. But it does seem a bit too infrequent for that to be the cause. It may be that the easiest solution is to invest in a larger crate. Even wire cages 48* x 36" x 36" are relatively inexpensive and can be collapsed for storage when not in use. You might well find that his destructive phase only lasts a few months and that he can then be safely left without using the cage. |
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Des ONeile |
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Posts: 2490 (29 June, 2009 16:17:08) |
This is simple and complicated at the same time. I understand that a teething puppy will chew, and probably needs to chew to help teeth but other than that I
have never seen the point in toys for dogs to chew. When I prune my bushes each year I cut lenghts of branch about 12" long and leave them in the young
dogs' runs. No other concession is made to chewing. I agree with Eric that you can register your displeasure"after the event" but in leaving a
dog with toys to chew you are effectively training them to chew and it would be contradictory to now punish this.
All in all it sounds to me like the dog is bored and the only way to stop eating the floor is to separate it and the most obvious way is a cage.
Last Edited By: Des ONeile
29 June, 2009 16:20:17.
Edited 1 times.
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wendy alexander |
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Posts: 544 (29 June, 2009 20:41:57) |
Why not invest in/or build a kennel and outside run, that is secure and that you can padlock to keep your dog safely in while you are out? It can be done quite
cheaply without looking an eyesore and much cheaper than replacing a floor?
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cuffy |
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Posts: 446 ( 2 July, 2009 17:29:16) |
He doesn't chew at night normally, and would NEVER touch the kitchen floor when we are in
If the dog believes HE is the pack leader,he will worry about HIS pack when they are not in the house.This can manifest in the form of destructive behaviour? Something to think about!!! 
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AngelaD |
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Posts: 12 (11 July, 2009 09:12:28) |
Thanks to all who have replied. Des - he is only 9 months old - should he still need to chew or should the teething phase be over? I could get rid of the toys,
but many people say you should always leave the dog with something to keep him busy (although any toys with food that claim to keep dogs busy only last 20
minutes max!). Wendy - I'm afraid I don't have room for a kennel and full run - although these do appear to be around £300 on the internet, which is
not cheaper than some new lino. Cuffy - yes, I think you're right. I read "the dog listener" which talks about ways of ensuring I'm the top
dog, not him. I think there's a lot of truth in this (my husband doesn't!). His behaviour does seem to be improved by me pretending to eat his food
before he does, and completely ignoring him when I come and before I go out for 15 minutes. However, I'm sure not everyone whose dog behave well does this,
and sometimes it's hard to keep it up! Will things like that improve gradually? Thanks all of you; I'll keep working on it! Angela
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Des ONeile |
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Posts: 2494 (11 July, 2009 17:24:44) |
As already said I don't really agree with toys. I also don't agree with the idea that a toy keeps a dog busy. The nearest I would go to a toy would be
a Kong.
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