Question:
>I’ve gotten some great dog advice on rec.pets.dogs before so am >hoping someone can help me with Margaret. > I need some sage advice on how to keep this eating-things-dog >from destroying the rest of the house. Please help! Post any >responses to this list (hopefully I have the right list) or send directly
It’s called a crate. Your dog needs one. Not only will it save you a TON of money — not only for damaged items, but eventual surgery she’ll need to remove SOMETHING that blocks her intestines — but it might also save her life. Also, make sure she’s getting plenty of exercise and brain-exercise. A solid 40 minutes in the morning before you leave (but not *right* before you leave) and obedience classes are a good place to start. But the crate will help you break the cycle you’re in — because I’m *sure* you are frustrated when you come home, which only makes her MORE nervous when you leave, which means she chews more, which means you’re even MORE frustrated, so next time she’s even MORE nervous — and so on and so on and so on. Use the crate to break the cycle — and burn off some of her mental and physical energy in constructive pursuits. & Edric the Wonder Mutt, Kati the world’s hairiest Akita, __ /|__ Gypsy the brindle pinto pogo stick, ah, I mean Akita, / ___/ ^_/ and Battlecat & Cringer, who think all dogs are dumb / | (oh, yeah, there might be a husband under all the hair) / — / "If I don’t vacuum for another year, maybe I’ll finally || || have wall-to-wall carpeting!"
Response:
I’m writing for some guidance in how to handle Margaret, our 1 1/2 year old lab/hound mix. Margaret is extremely smart, loveable and obidient. She has this one problem. If we leave the house and she has to stay inside (due to weather, etc) she eats things. She has eaten untold amounts of food as well as non- food items, such as: paper towel rolls tupperware containers plastic kitchen utensils magazines CDs 1 box Snackwell’s Fat Free Fudge cookies hats shoes a phone book a bag of cat food one dozen imported chocolates, with box Of course she cannot ingest a lot of this stuff, but she chews it beyond recognition, usually. She has ingested her fair share of chocolate, which is supposed to be very bad for dogs, (right?) and she doesn’t even flinch. She NEVER does this or even tries to do this when we are home. As I said, she has few other disciplinary problems–took to housetraining like a pro, and is very smart! But she eats stuff even when we leave her fave rawhide bones in plain sight. When we come home, her bones will be untouched, and the dining room is a scene of massive carnage. I’m ashamed of our loss of control as dogowners. Maybe I should note that she seems happier if we leave the bedroom door open so that she can sleep on the bed. But as I have already replaced most of my shoes due to this dog, I now restrict her to the kitchen/dining room when we’re out of the house (hence her recent kitchen-oriented eating extravaganza). That’s how we’ve handled it but it isn’t working. I’ve gotten some great dog advice on rec.pets.dogs before so am hoping someone can help me with Margaret. I need some sage advice on how to keep this eating-things-dog from destroying the rest of the house. Please help! Post any responses to this list (hopefully I have the right list) or send directly thanks
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I’m writing for some guidance in how to handle Margaret, > our 1 1/2 year old lab/hound mix. Margaret is extremely smart, > loveable and obidient. She has this one problem. If we leave the > house and she has to stay inside (due to weather, etc) she eats > things. She has eaten untold amounts of food as well as non- > food items, such as: > paper towel rolls > tupperware containers > plastic kitchen utensils > magazines > CDs > 1 box Snackwell’s Fat Free Fudge cookies > hats > shoes > a phone book > a bag of cat food > one dozen imported chocolates, with box > Of course she cannot ingest a lot of this stuff, but she chews it > beyond recognition, usually. She has ingested her fair share of > chocolate, which is supposed to be very bad for dogs, (right?) > and she doesn’t even flinch. She NEVER does this or even tries > to do this when we are home. As I said, she has few other > disciplinary problems–took to housetraining like a pro, and is > very smart! But she eats stuff even when we leave > her fave rawhide bones in plain sight. When we come home, > her bones will be untouched, and the dining room is a scene > of massive carnage. I’m ashamed of our loss of > control as dogowners. > Maybe I should note that she seems happier if we leave the > bedroom door open so that she can sleep on the bed. But as I > have already replaced most of my shoes due to this dog, I now > restrict her to the kitchen/dining room when we’re out of the > house (hence her recent kitchen-oriented eating extravaganza). > That’s how we’ve handled it but it isn’t working. > I’ve gotten some great dog advice on rec.pets.dogs before so am > hoping someone can help me with Margaret.
Why are you letting Margaret have the use of two rooms while you are gone, since you know she is destructive? Your best bet (and I’ve been an obedience instructor for 19 years) is to get a crate (dog cage) for Margaret. Get it large enough for her to stand up in and turn around. When you leave, put her in it and give her a milkbone or rawhide to chew…if she always gets a treat when she is put in the crate, she will look forward to being in it. Otherwise your only option would be to remove everything that she could possibly chew from the rooms you put her in…..difficult job. Also, there isn’t any point in punishing Margaret when you get home….if you do that…she has long forgotten chewing on things. She is probably bored when you leave or maybe anxious and then she chews – lots of dogs do this – so us trainers just cure it the easy way with a crate – the dog doesn’t mind, the house stays in good order and your keep your sunny disposition. Good luck – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I need some sage advice on how to keep this eating-things-dog > from destroying the rest of the house. Please help! Post any > responses to this list (hopefully I have the right list) or send directly > thanks
Response:
>> Maybe I should note that she seems happier if we leave the > bedroom door open so that she can sleep on the bed. But as I > have already replaced most of my shoes due to this dog, I now > restrict her to the kitchen/dining room when we’re out of the > house (hence her recent kitchen-oriented eating extravaganza). >When you leave, put her in it and give her a milkbone or rawhide to >chew…if she always gets a treat when she is put in the crate, she will >look forward to being in it.
Just a note: We don’t leave Bailey alone with rawhide bones. A couple of times she has gotten them nice and small and slobbery and started gagging on it until I pulled it out of the back of her throat. Now we take them away when they get too small. Karen & Bailey
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