# Eating carpet



## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

New behavior this week: 5 month old Saber has decided to eat our carpet. She likes to pull the yarns out and eat them. When I first saw her doing this I told her "leave it" and she left that spot and went to another spot and started pulling yarn up. I always stop her, reach in her mouth and take out the yarns, tell her "leave it." She has a good leave it for food but apparently not for this. 

Aside from continuing to work on "leave it", what can I do to stop this behavior? I am with her all the time, she is not by herself, but I will look up and she'll be biting the carpet. She has plenty of chews and toys.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

She's telling you it's time to pull up the carpet and replace it with tile like you've been meaning to.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Emoore said:


> She's telling you it's time to pull up the carpet and replace it with tile like you've been meaning to.


ROFL! Yeah, hey, maybe I can convince my husband...


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## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

Baxter has a new-found obsession with eating rope/yarn..thankfully we have wood floors.

Is your pup getting enough exercise? I know Baxter gets SO much worse when he hasn't had a good long walk, training session, and play time. Could be boredom. Could also be a youngster being a brat.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

evybear15 said:


> Baxter has a new-found obsession with eating rope/yarn..thankfully we have wood floors.
> 
> Is your pup getting enough exercise? I know Baxter gets SO much worse when he hasn't had a good long walk, training session, and play time. Could be boredom. Could also be a youngster being a brat.


I could probably stand to ramp up the exercise a bit. Our fence blew down like 2 months ago and the neighbor is taking his sweet time fixing it, so I can't let her out in the yard with the kids to play as much. I still walk her a couple miles a day, play fetch and tug, do a couple OB sessions... she does sleep more when I let her run.

But even when she is tired she'll lay down and start nibbling the carpet.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Hmmm . . . at 5 months old she's finishing up with her teething, so maybe it feels good on her gums? What if you got her a carpet remnant that was hers to chew on? So long as she's not ingesting it.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Karlo loves to nibble fabric or plush toys(he doesn't swallow the fragments) At night he'll bring a toy with him to calm down. He prefers the soft stuff to bones.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

There's two parts - there is the pulling - fun and the chewing - feels good and is fun too. 

I would find some of those busy bee, ball in the block type toys, or kongs or the rope/treat things or things like that and see if she can work on those. 

I would also make sure that leave it was leave it was leave it.  I say this while sitting on the computer and you have the puppy, so very easy for me.

ETA - carpet and string chewing, etc not good - the only one it's good for is the vet's bottom line, and they would rather not see it. I was there one day in the back and hanging on this dog's kennel was the carpet and string he had eaten that had been taken out of his GI system that morning. Nice they saved that for the pet parents to see.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Yep she is almost done teething I think. Has some canines coming in.



JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> I would also make sure that leave it was leave it was leave it.  I say this while sitting on the computer and you have the puppy, so very easy for me.


lol, yeah  She is great about leave it usually. I can stick a bowl of food or a chunk of chicken under her nose and she won't touch it. Or my daughter's toys. I wonder if she is able to generalize the "leave it" to the ENTIRE carpet though?? Because she does leave the spot she is chewing, just moves to another spot to chew.


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## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> ETA - carpet and string chewing, etc not good - the only one it's good for is the vet's bottom line, and they would rather not see it. I was there one day in the back and hanging on this dog's kennel was the carpet and string he had eaten that had been taken out of his GI system that morning. Nice they saved that for the pet parents to see.


This is what I always worry about... I'm the type of person who takes the toys away once they start eating them, especially rope, stuffing, etc. My family thinks I'm crazy, but I'd rather get a different toy - way cheaper than a vet bill. 

Silly dogs, always getting into trouble.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I agree with ramping up the exercise and fun training for the next few months. If you aren't taking dog classes, start.

And packing the pup in the car for some 'quality time' out of the home to really mentally and physically stimulate your pup so they won't prefer the 'even negative attention is better than no attention' phase that otherwise can crop up.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

She is in Novice OB, tracking, and we are starting dock diving this weekend. 

I wish I could spray my whole carpet with bitter apple!


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## Zan (Nov 12, 2010)

Sounds very, very familiar. I try to redirect with toys, chews etc. So far bully sticks are about the best thing. I have resigned myself to replacing the carpet, baseboards, back yard turf, ...already pulled down the last of the (admittedly old and dated looking) wallpaper, and repainted. Hey, maybe that's it...they are "decorating dogs"??! We could start a new tv show on HGTV network!


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## lisgje (Sep 3, 2010)

Chance did the same thing, needless to say, to matter how much exercise, redirection and other toys I gave him, did not work. I have no more area rugs in my house! LOL Shane did that too, but would spit it out, unfortunately Chance swallows everything he puts in his mouth, so again, carpets are a thing of the past.


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## Bristol (Apr 14, 2011)

Oh, chewing on carpets. Heres what I do if the dog is chewing on the carpet, I say, "OFF!" and push my dog Bristol away. If your dog comes back chewing on the carpet repeat, "OFF!" much sharper. If your dog then starts bitting you put your hands under your armpits and stand like a tree. 
I hope this helps


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Why thank you Mary Katherine Gallagher.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

Aww silly sister... no stressing mom out or tearing up the house.

Jinx started this as a puppy but as soon as I saw her even take interest in the floor I told her leave it and put my hand over the spot she was messing with she's good about it now (unless hubby spilled something that he didn't cean up) 

God I LOVE these girls to death that is too funny that Saber has the same personality as her sister.. darn sarcastic dogs. "fine I'll leave it but you didn't say I couldn't touch this spot.. oh I can't touch this spot either well what about this one over here" Jinx isn't allowed down the hallway so when I tell her to get out of it she comes right to the entrance and sits right across the line "on the bad side of it" and sits there like "fine you can see me but I have to test you enough by doing what I want and being partially in the hallway" You're not alone sometimes they can be so frustrating all you can do is laugh at it. Personally I would just tell her leave it when she went to the new spot simply another "AH AH" and leave it and do it each time she'll catch on the entire carpet is off limits. Maybe a redirect to a soft stuffy or something also might help or just reinforce what she should have.



JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> Why thank you Mary Katherine Gallagher.


I may need a dunce cap but this comment has me completely confused??



cassadee7 said:


> She is in Novice OB, tracking, and we are starting dock diving this weekend.
> 
> I wish I could spray my whole carpet with bitter apple!


Be careful with this one. Tons of people think its a miracle I have never had a dog or rescue (or ferret) that cared about this stuff. My lab used to go directly for the bottle and try to drink the stuff as fast as I'd spray it on me or on something he'd lick it off. (of course he WAS a lab lol)


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Bristol said:


> Oh, chewing on carpets. Heres what I do if the dog is chewing on the carpet, I say, "OFF!" and push my dog Bristol away. If your dog comes back chewing on the carpet repeat, "OFF!" much sharper.




And if she still keeps chewing the carpet. Yell "OFF!" at the top of your lungs and then string her up by her toenails for at least half an hour while flogging her with a wet noodle. :help:


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

hmmmm just read another post where Off was used by the same person to have their dog stop jumping. Wonder the issues that's causing yelling off to stop jumping and off to stop touching the carpet what else is off used for? (also again pushing the dog, it bites your hand turns into a game and shows why pushing the dog for anything let along everything is a bad idea) No reason to push your dog to make him do something.

Sorry Shawn for going off topic just stuck out to me big time.



Emoore said:


> And if she still keeps chewing the carpet. Yell "OFF!" at the top of your lungs and then string her up by her toenails for at least half an hour *while flogging her with a wet noodle*. :help:


LOL the visuals in my head tonight are to die for. Emoore thanks for yet another chuckle tonight I don't think I've ever heard the word flogging and I have to admit I'm loving the word and my grandma used to threaten to beat me with a wet noodle when I would drive her nuts so I just loved seeing someone else use a wet noodle lol.

Oh yeah and OBVIOUSLY beating with a wet noodle would never work come on this is a Wildhaus pup that noodle would be gone before ever making first contact... food drive is a son of a gun lol


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> Why thank you Mary Katherine Gallagher.


:rofl:


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Heh, you're right, I can just imagine Jinx doing the same things. They are too smart for their own good. But boy do I love this girl!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Kopper would eat the carpet if we had carpet. Since we don't his newest **way fun thing** is to pull the stuffing out of Floppy Octopus, dip it in the water dish, and place it strategically in various places throughout the living room.


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

When Anton was a puppy he started eating a spot on a carpet in the middle of the room. I told him leave it and he did, went to the other room and prepared to eat the carpet there. I told him to leave it and at that point he generalized that carpet was off limits. He never attempted to eat the third hole. He's such a very good dog.


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