Dog lovers

[nfulton]

Ok, I am at wit's end. I know several of you gentlemen are dog lovers, so I will ask your opinions. I have a English Springer Spaniel female just over a year old. She is my baby (and acts like it too!), but I am having a chewing problem. All my experience tells me she should have grown out of this by now. And now it encompasses the new furniture and anything my wife and son own. The thing that gets me is that she won't chew my stuff or anything that smells like me, and she won't do it when I am there. Should I get some professional help (for her not me), or is this a pecking order problem? Does anyone have a tried a true method to ween her of this? I refuse to make her an outside dog because then I loose my mobile blanket/face cleaner. Other than this, she is the most obedient, well behaved, and smartest dog I've known.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Nate

 

[Hillbilly Steaks]

I have a Springer as well, they are awesome dogs. Mine chewed quite a bit when he was young as well.

2 things I would suggest.

Start crate training the dog. Buy a nice comfortable crate that is big enough for her, and when you're not there she goes in. give her toys to play with while she's in there. raw hide chew bones are great.

Second thing is exercise. Springer spaniels need lots of it. Take her swimming, or throw the ball for her. You get that dog tired enough, she won't want to chew as much.

good luck!

 

[cookie_1978]

start cross dressing with your wife's clothes :laugh:

 

[target]

nfulton,

I believe with your dog especially a springer, she is chewing because you are not there. I have a German shorthair pointer who chews when I am gone. There is a term for it but cant remember or find it right now. She is obviously your dog, so she is mad your are not there at the moment giving her attention and also probablly has an excess of energy.

What I did with mine was scold her and then ignore her, pay no attention to her let her know your pissed. I also have a lot of toys for her and when I leave I give her a bone or chewie to take up the time. My pup is nine months old and has quit for the most part but still occasionally chews.

Dont know if this is any help to you but I think you can do this without a professional

 

[N2Advnture]

After owning 8 dogs, I have found the most common reason for dogs chewing is because they are teething. Give her LOTS of options to chew on but I have found the "Kong" to be by far the best dog toy ever made. Whenever she chews something, give her a firm "NO!" (have your son and wife do it as well). And then give her the Kong to chew on. Put a couple of knive fulls of peanute butter in it to entice her to play/chew it.


If you don't believe it to be a teething issue, it would seems to me that there is a domination issue.

Here is what I suggest:

1.) Establish the pecking order in your house! It seems to me that you are the "alpha" in the house and the dog thinks she is #2 with your wife and son falling below her.

To do this, your wife and son need to be more involved in discipling her. It's easy as pie but they need to do it through daily excerises and BE CONSISTANT. (don't let her slide on sometimes, it only confuses her) Giving her commands, such as sit, stay, lie down, etc...and they should reward her after each.

This will not only continue basic training but establish their role in the hierarchy.

Just a couple of things and hope it helps.

~Mark

 

[Shooter]

Sounds cheesy, but check out a few "Dog Whisperer" shows on the National Geographic channel... That guys philosophy on dogs and what he can do is amazing.. His name is Caesar Milan.


Shooter

 

[cigardawg]

I have a Springer as well, they are awesome dogs. Mine chewed quite a bit when he was young as well.

2 things I would suggest.

Start crate training the dog. Buy a nice comfortable crate that is big enough for her, and when you're not there she goes in. give her toys to play with while she's in there. raw hide chew bones are great.

Second thing is exercise. Springer spaniels need lots of it. Take her swimming, or throw the ball for her. You get that dog tired enough, she won't want to chew as much.

good luck!

Yep, start crate training her. Make the crate a happy place so that she does not think she is being punished when being sent to the crate. Like Hillbilly said, lots of toys and chews.

I agree with the exercise as well. While we have Aussies (quite different dogs ),they are high energy like springers. They need jobs. Give her a job, even if it is chasing a ball. Try to find a hill and throw the ball down the hill and have her run back up it. Worked wonders for our sheltie.

Age has some to do with it, but at one year, she is still quite a bit of puppy. Give her time...she probably won't really grow up for another year to 18 months.

nfulton,

I believe with your dog especially a springer, she is chewing because you are not there. I have a German shorthair pointer who chews when I am gone. There is a term for it but cant remember or find it right now. She is obviously your dog, so she is mad your are not there at the moment giving her attention and also probablly has an excess of energy.

What I did with mine was scold her and then ignore her, pay no attention to her let her know your pissed. I also have a lot of toys for her and when I leave I give her a bone or chewie to take up the time. My pup is nine months old and has quit for the most part but still occasionally chews.

Dont know if this is any help to you but I think you can do this without a professional

I agree with this first statement in part. She is probably doing part of this out of worry...you are not there, oh my Dog, he has abandoned me...I must start chewing. It's anxiety. However, the fact that she is chewing only the items of your wife and child points to a pack problem. She views you as alpha, but does not have the same respect for you wife and child. Because of your scent, your stuff is off limits, but theirs is not. I don't know what kind of relationship they have with the dog, but it is something worth examining. Of course, you might just smell funny.

The biggest problem with scolding her is that she is doing it when you are not there. By the time you get around to telling her she has done bad, she has forgotten what it was for. It sometimes works to show the dog the item that pissed you off, but it takes a pretty perceptive dog for that one. I'm not sure that it would work for a springer...not familiar enough with the breed.

Your wife's and son's items can just be picked up and not left for the dog. The new furniture is a real problem. If it were me, I would start with crate training. I would also explore the relationship between the dog and your wife and son. If they catch her at it, what do they do? Putting her in her crate would be appropriate. As for professional help, you might have her evaluated to see if she is indeed suffering from separation anxiety. If so, it might be solved with some training, however, I have seen dogs that actually have to be on medication.

My Mate is a dog trainer, so I'll ask her if she has any other suggestions. Hope this helps.

 

[Castaway]

Crate training is great training...The dogs really like having their own "cave" where they feel safe. Sorry I can't offer any help on the chewing thing.

 

[N2Advnture]

Forgot to mention "Apple Bitters" for the furniture bro!

 

[smokelaw1]

I have a five month old Aussie/Beagle mix. She is coming along really nicely, but with breeds like this (AND SPRINGERS!) getting them to know their place in the pack is VERY important, and I agree with all those who say this might be the issue here. My fiance and her mother both spend a lot of time withthe dog, and she is crazy and out of control with them. She bites, she barks, she jumps. With me, she is as obedient as you would hope for in a 5 month old puppy (not very, but is starting to "get it" and wants to please me). She will change her behavior to please me, but not them.
If oher family members are not already, make sure they start taking an active roll in obedience training. It might help if at first you are there for this. If the alpha is clearly witnessing and tolerating the behavior (them training her) she will recognize that you are letting ehr know where she stands. She might resist at first...but CONSISTENCY is key.
As for the bitter apples spray, it turns out ours really likes it, and will lick it off before she starts chewing. That behavior is starting to stop though, as it was teething related. If it doesn't work...try some hot peppers.
Good luck!

 

[Peekay]

My recommendation is the kong toy to keep them busy.

It looks like some type of porno device, but they are great for young dogs;keeps them busy for hours. I put peanut butter on the inside and it will my dog busy chewing on it for hours.

Also yell at her when you catch her in the act.

 

[cigardawg]

My recommendation is the kong toy to keep them busy.

It looks like some type of porno device,

Ya know, I never even thought that when I saw the kong. Now, I will every time I stuff dogfood, peanut butter, or bisquits into one.

Damn, leave it to a fuggin' aggie to bring this up. :sign:

 

[Pyre]

I think I read that the term for this was "seperation anxiety".

I did some reading on this a while back, and they had some exercises you could do with your dog to make them more comfortable being alone.

Doggies chew to relieve stress. Already some great suggestions here; keep plenty of chewable toys around for them, get some "bitter apple" and spray it on things your doggies chew when you are gone, correct them immediately if you find them chewing on something inappropriate, but never correct them after the fact. They just don't understand it (even shoving their face into whatever it was they chewed, or "rubbing their nose in it", they just don't understand that.)

Also, you could do some research online. There are lots of good websites relating to obedience training and problem correction.

 

[jgohlke]

Here are few thoughts from a guy that owns 2 Golden Retreivers...

Crate training - Worked great for us. Really limits the damage they can do. They both like to dig in the trash and shred paper into little bitty bits. While it didn't hurt anything, you could always count on a mess if you left them in the house uncrated. We've since turned that into something fun for them on their birthdays and Christmas....they get to "unwrap" their own presents...which they think is big fun.

We leave the crates out and available with the doors open. Our female will often go in hers and lay down during the day.

Bitter apple and all that stuff - my dog loved the stuff...didn't phase him at all.

After we crated him and he couldn't chew on our stuff, he chewed on himself (even though we left lots of toys in his crate). He eventually outgrew it, but it took years for him to calm down. When he was young he ran in circles in the backyard so much that he made his own racetrack, complete with banking...we called it "Doggie Daytona".

We use the Kong idea (stuffed with goodies) to keep the dogs busy when we have company. I cram them full of hard biscuits and then squirt some cheese whiz in there...or peanut butter works too. Keeps them busy for at least an hour.

Our female likes to carry her Kong around in her mouth like a megaphone and when she does that "wooohh..oohhhhh" (Chewbacca) noise, it sounds like she has a megaphone.

Our dogs can eat (I mean chew and swallow) just about any edible chew toy that Petsmart sells in 20 minutes. When we want to really treat them, we get a cow femur from the local butcher and have them saw it in half...they love it.

The best solution is old age...they are both over 10 now and much calmer....

Good luck!

Joe

 

[Sunward]

Sounds like your dog is biting out of nervousness. I had one dog that loved to chew leather, (belts, shoes), then moved onto remotes for tv, anything. Keep these items stored away. Those items you can't, put some tobasco hot sauce or cayanne powder on them if they are expensive. My on dog locked itself in the bathroom and literally ate a hole in the wood door big enuf to get herself out!

You dog sounds very insecure when you leave, and will outgrow it, mine did but it took a year. Definately give her more items, like the Kong Peekay had mentioned is excellant. Play with the dog using the Kong, its one of the best toys they made. Toss it outside and it bounces all over, getting the dog tired. I am really not too keen crate training for dogs that are over a year, its best to get them into a crate right away as a pup, then gradually give them freedom...not too sure about 1 year olds.

My dog handling experience is personal and professional (for guard/drug/bomb dogs), but i have raised a few at home.

Hope this helps.

 

[pittesq]

Liek everyone else said "crate training" also a year is still very young. give another 6 months or so with consistent boundaries and you'll be ok.

 

[Gumbeaux]

If she chews when you can actually see her do it, an e-collar can solve the problem fast. It's amazing how fast you can change behavior and train with this tool.

I always swore that I would never use one of these, but it has proven to be invaluable. It allows for immediate feedback to unwanted behavior. I trained my lab to be a true hunter/retriever and he and I went through extensive training. I'm thoroughly convinced that we never would have gotten to where we are today without that collar. As a pup, I used it to teach him not to chew, dig, or jump on the back door when wanted in. As we got farther along in his training, I used it to teach that even though not on the leash or close by, he still needs to be obedient. I can blow a whistle today from 100 yards and he'll stop on a dime, turn to look at me, and sit, waiting for his next command. And we don't even use the collar anymore. He hasn't worn it in 3 years.

There are definitely some things to know about the collars though. First, they are for training, not for discipline. Second, it doesn't take much to get their attention. You don't have to set that thing on high. The dog just needs to feel it a little. Finally, do a lot of reading and a lot of learning about how/when to use the collar. They're easy to use the wrong way if you're not careful.

 

[Allofus123]

..... an e-collar can solve the problem fast. It's amazing how fast you can change behavior and train with this tool.

Finally, do a lot of reading and a lot of learning about how/when to use the collar. They're easy to use the wrong way if you're not careful.

I think its important for anyone using an e-collar to have professional help in the proper usage. Reading up on this subject is a good start but far from enough to being knowledgeable in its use. I wouldn't recommend anyone to use an e-collar that hasn't trained/worked with dogs and e-collars previously. I'll be the first to agree, in the right hands, it is an invaluable tool but clearly 99% of the population do not have the skills to use it properly. You can really mess a dog up if not used properly. There's a fine line of enforcing behavior and totally confusing the dog.

I think most of the previous people nailed this particular situation with the crate training and pack issues. This would be your best option at this time to possibly correcting the chewing.

 

[nfulton]

Wow, thanks for all of the advice. We do have her cage trained, except we use the downstairs bathroom so she has a bit more room. She is very obedient so I hope not to have to go the route of an ecollar. We had some hierarchy issues last night so I think we are onto something. I forgot to mention that she only does it when the babysitter is there. She has only been with us for a few months (the babysitter). It never occured to me that it could be a combo of nerves and pecking order. Last night she snapped at the little one. He was messing with her food so I can't blame her, but it did give me the opportunity to set the pecking order a bit better. When she does something out of place my wife holds her head the floor and growls at her. It is hillarious, but Saturn (the dog) understands. So we had my son do it (with a little help from me). Perhaps if I have the babysitter do it, and then spend time with both of them in the room, she will feel more comfortable with her place. Its worth a try. Besides, if we got the ecollar, I would wake up one morning to it padlocked to my neck, and a wife with a sinister grin.


Nate

 

[Peekay]

My recommendation is the kong toy to keep them busy.

It looks like some type of porno device,

Ya know, I never even thought that when I saw the kong. Now, I will every time I stuff dogfood, peanut butter, or bisquits into one.

Damn, leave it to a fuggin' aggie to bring this up. :sign:

Well you know it was designed at the U. of Texas College of Rubber Engineering. :laugh: