# Problem with chewing.



## Jericho2007 (Dec 7, 2012)

Our 8 month old GSD is a chewer and has destroyed some of my wife's expensive shoes. We have learned to keep everything put up where she can't get to it. She also has a lot of chew toys.

She now chews on the coffee table corner and our area rug. We always rush over to stop her and give her a toy instead. When she starts chewing on the toy we give her good praise.

Our goal is to have her roam free in the house when we are not there and bark if someone is close to the house. But she still chews on stuff and can't do that yet.

I know she is still a puppy but I am wondering if there is more I can do to stop it or should I just keep doing the same thing and wait til she is more mature in hopes of reaching that goal?

Thanks!


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

It is frustrating...been there!

My advice....more exercise and mental stimulation. My boy was less likely to be a rascal if he was tired.

If you can't have two eyes on her, crate her or tether her to your belt loop.

Don't leave all her toys laying around. I always put them away and give them, it's like it's a new toy everytime and it kept him occupied longer.

Like you mentioned free roam of the house is a goal...still can be but she's no where near ready. My boy will be 3 in March and he's still crated when we are not home, he's ok at night out of his crate. I would imagine he would get "busy" if we were not home...not taking my chances! lol He likes his crate and accepts it as down time which is perfect.

Also, keep redirecting like you are. 

Remember..as frustrating as it is, when they destroy our stuff it's our fault for not having two eyes on them


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## Jericho2007 (Dec 7, 2012)

Thanks for the reply. We also have a new male GSD puppy coming next week. We want our female to have a playmate and companion for when we are at work or gone for misc. stuff. Not for breeding. I know it's another dog to train but I love training them. It's a lot of fun. And we wanted two anyway. Hopefully they will keep each other occupied so there won't be as much chewing. I was told a lot of the behavior like that is because they are alone and need to be doing something and if they don't have something or someone else to keep them busy then those unfortunate things will happen. The puppy of course will be chewing during it's teething stage but hopefully at some point I won't have worry about them being alone in the house. We have a big house and yard so there is plenty of room for two dogs to play and keep each other busy. Hopefully it will work out how we want but regardless they will always have a loving home.


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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

Ugh I know how you feel, my 7 month old chewed on our dinner table. You have to make your dog tired, when they dogs are tired they are not bored therefor they are not destroying your house. Also get a crate for when you are not there. And give her some yummy chews like Kong toy, keeps them busy for hours... Before you leave the house take the dog for a walk get some of that excitement out  I don't know what else to tell you when I leave the I just hope that she doesn't destroy it , if you catch her in the act say a firm NO it definately helps, there are a few things in my house she tried to get to but when I simply said NO on a few occasions she got the point... If I leave for a long time the dog goes in crate and that's a for sure way she doesn't chew up everything


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

You can always try spraying your furniture with Bitter Apple, altho some dogs don't mind it, and I'm not sure if it would ruin your furniture.

Honestly, I've never had a "furniture chewing puppy",,or one that really chewed on much of anything..My aussie did chew up one of a 90$ pair of running shoes, but my fault..

Your doing good by redirecting and praise for "GOOD" chewing just keep up what your doing and hopefully she'll grow out of it, and/or she'll most likely be passing this bad habit on to a puppy


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

If she's chewing on furniture she has way too much freedom! Some dogs chew for a year or a year and a half before outgrowing it, some never really outgrow it, so you may have a long road of chewed up possessions ahead of you if you don't want to crate or otherwise confine her when you can't directly supervise. 

Dena was never a destructive chewer, and neither was Keefer, but Halo still can't be trusted at 4 years old. She has a special thing for eating toilet paper right off the holder. :wild: Sneaker was bad for awhile but finally stopped, and Cassidy we thought had outgrown the destructive chewing phase, but then she had a secondary phase after being fine for months. She did finally outgrow it though too. 

Do you have a plan to prevent an accidental breeding? She's old enough to go into heat if she hasn't already, and your new puppy will be capable of siring a litter by the time he's her age, so you should either spay/neuter them or have a foolproof way to keep them completely separate for as long as a month when she's in heat.


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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

Bitter apple spray was a life saver I completely forgot!!! I sprayed every wire in my house now the dog doesn't come near them, you can do the same with furniture but you have to respray about once a week because it does wear out. It's good stuff like $14


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

you have a 8 month old dog that's not trained/house broken.
it's much easier to have 1 dog solidly trained before bringing
in another dog. if you're thinking about letting the dogs run
free in the yard you need to make sure they can't get out (dig out,
jump out, climb out, unlock the gate, etc). personally i think
leaving 2 yound dogs in a yard unattended is a good recipe
for a disaster.

a watched dog, tethered dog, crated dog can't chew on things
in the house.


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## Ageizm (Nov 11, 2012)

Look up Dentley's rawhide products most are digestible (I only use those) and they're much less expensive than shoes =) Toys get boring for them it seems.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

you have to teach a dog house manners. what makes
Dentley's rawhide digestible?



Ageizm said:


> Look up Dentley's rawhide products most are digestible (I only use those) and they're much less expensive than shoes =) Toys get boring for them it seems.


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