I need some advice on how to train a dog not to chew on things he shouldn’t chew.
My dachshund Nathan is between eight and nine months old. I got him from the shelter after the death of my previous dog Quickster.(Also a dachshund) I love this dog, he’s friendly and playful. But he chews. Oh how he chews.
So far he’s chewed on two cushions, and torn three holes in the comforter on my bed. He just loves to eviscerate things. And when I keep him confined to one room, when I’m at work, he’s chewed on several books. I’ve put a barrier up in the book room and so far it’s working, but I can’t keep my eye on him every minute, so if I am out of the room and come back to find out he’s been working on something there’s no point in telling him “Bad Dog!”
He does have toys to chew, and we play with them. From time to time I give him a small rawhide “bone” to gnaw. So what else can I do? I’m not getting rid of him, because although I’ve had Nathan only a little over a month he’s filled the hole in my heart I had after Quickster was run over.
Nathan is pretty well house-trained by now, so why won’t he understand when I do catch him and “bad dog” him?
Young dogs NEED to chew something. Make sure they have some does, and be sure to “good dog” them when they chew on the acceptable stuff.
Go mild with the scolding when they chew what they shouldn’t and swap in an acceptable item so you can “good dog” them right away. Best to catch them as soon as they pick up a nono and just take it away and hand them a chew toy. In general, it is always best to set things up so the dog pretty much is going to do what you want no matter what, then praise them for it. Scolding lets them know you are mad, but it is pretty easy for them to get the wrong idea of why.
The amount of destruction makes me think the dog may be spending too much time alone. Pretty hard to modify behavior that happens when you are not around. Ignore me if I am reading too much between the lines.
Pig’s ears, cattle hooves, etc are puppylicious, and probably won’t require any encouragement to be chewed on. Rawhide is good as well, and less stinky.
I do spend plenty of time with Nathan though. For example, he sleeps on the bed with me, and I’ve woken up to a gentle ripping sound, to find he’s torn the comforter. And when he tore the first cushion, it was while I was present, but in the shower.
I’ll take your advice and get some more chewing acceptable items. His favorite so far is a braided rope, and how he loves to play tug-o-war.
Get him a Kong toy to chew on, and put peanut butter inside it to keep him busy when you leave. I’ve also heard that you can put canned dog food inside too, and freeze the whole toy so it lasts longer.
Please don’t give your dog rawhides, pig’s ears or cattle hooves while he’s unsupervised. He could very well choke. Nothing against rawhides in general tho - I give my dog rawhides all the time.
Ceasar Milan always says “a tired dog is a happy dog” so you might want to consider exercising him more, especially before you leave for the day. If he’s asleep, he won’t be bored looking for things to chew.
You also do have to “puppy proof” the house as much as possible. Keep doors closed, make sure your trashcan has a lid, put smaller trashcans up high, keep shoes in closets, don’t leave anything out that you will regret losing to little teeth.
My dog went through a chewing phase and even though we hid everything…she managed to chew my mom’s dining room chairs. Oops!
My dog only likes rawhide chews if they are flavored, but I assume that lots of dogs don’t care if they’re flavored or not. It can take a lot of tries to find your dog’s preferred variety.
To expand on the kong recommendation, put pieces of broken dog biscuit or kibble inside and let it work on getting them out. Alternatively plug the hole on the big end with peanut butter, add the biscuit/kibble pieces, fill with chicken or beef broth (or water) and freeze. As the pup licks the yummy ice it will encounter the embedded treats and work at getting them out. I have toy breeds (poms and a min pin) and they have loved this ever since they were puppies. They were eviscerate-ers as well, and this really helped, along with the also already advice from Cesar Milan, exercise exercise exercise!
Maybe what I should do is take him to the local Bark Park every day, instead of every two or three days. Nathan does love to play there, but currently it’s so cold out, with several inches of snow on the ground, and he’s SHORT. I do walk him everyday though, and praise him lavishly when he poops outside.
We have a PetSmart in town, I’ll call to ask if they carry the Kong toy mentioned.
You can buy actual bones at the supermarket. Talk to their meat department. Some departments are on a schedule at they only have bones reliably on certain days of the week. But at least where I shop, real bones with meat on them cost about $1.50 each. I suppose they’re for people who want to make soup. But I roast them up, freeze them, then give my dog a new bone as needed.
The roasting is mostly because I don’t want raw meat juice everywhere. I usually get beef bones or pork bones. I tried lamb bones but the stench of cooking lamp repulsed me.
It’s a little expensive and you might want to adjust his diet to make room for an extra serving of meat and grease. But a real meaty bone is far more appetizing to a dog who needs to chew than any amount of cushions.
Crating him while you’re not at home is good. I have a dog who needs to be crated right now because of an injury and I put him in his crate with a Kong filled with kibble and sealed with canned dogfood then frozen. He’s excited about crate time because that the only time he gets the treat. My dogs like the crate - I don’t have it up most of the time, but when it is up, one dog or another is always going in. Sometimes one of the cats will go in and sit right int he middle and dare the dogs to try it.
As for when you’re home, keep him with you. If you have to, tie his leash to your belt and keep him there. At this age, he’s like a toddler, always getting into things unless supervised.
Well, I didn’t have anything else to do tonight so Nathan and I drove to PetSmart and I got him a Kong toy. I have dabbed a little peanut butter in it and so far he hasn’t let it go. I’m keeping an eye on him but this looks as if it’s a BIG help. Thanks to those who recommended them, and to everyone else for all their advice.
I agree with most everyone here; and have to say that Merneith, I STRONGLY disagree with roasting bones to give to a dog. Cooked bones splinter, and can cause internal injury, choking, blockages, and sometimes death. Please don’t do it! In my opinion and experience, the best food for dogs is raw. Always raw.
I would like to suggest too, Baker, that maybe your alpha position is compromised by having Nathan sleep with you. So maybe he doesn’t quite get that you’re the boss. In saying that, I accept that there are some who would disagree; I just think that boundaries are best set in the beginning.
Yay for you, Baker for looking at Nathan’s behaviour from his perspective. You good people!
He’s a dachshund. You can’t train him anymore than you can train a cat. He will learn commands and obey when he wants to, but otherwise he will play dumb.
There’s an easy way to train a puppy that destroys a lot of stuff; a crate. You can get him a really big one if you feel bad.
I rarely shut my dogs in their crates anymore but they sleep in them a lot, so they obviously like them fine.
If you supervise him well, crate him when you can’t, provide him with lots of his own stuff to chew (if he likes to eviscerate things, get him toys he can do it to), praise when he chews it, tell him ‘NO’ when he chews what he isn’t supposed to - he’ll probably be a very well-trained dog in a couple years.
And puppy-proof your house, if you haven’t already. Anything he’s proven to like to rip apart should be up out of his reach or put away for now.
ImpossibleThings, that’s one I forgot to mention. Early on my phone handset said to “Check access” and I found the cord had been broken. I’d never seen Nathan bite it, but who knows. So I had to get another.