Woof! Bark! And also Whiiiiiiiiiine.

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Sharkie Jul 2017 11:59am, 14 Jul 2017 11,658 posts	0 Sharkie Great cautionary tale about choosing the Wrong Dog, Helegant. GSD Jess was also a prodigious chewer (and biter) as a puppy - but she did grow out of long before she was a year old and never chews anything now. It was very difficult stopping her particular penchant for ... chrome. Along with wood, human flesh, and walls. Besides teething (the obvious one) dogs chew for a variety of reasons. LazyDaisy will tell you that Flossie's excessive chewing was mainly down to separation anxiety. Completely misplaced obviously - all they had to do was leave the room, not even the house! With a Border Collie it's more likely to be boredom and I'm guessing that Maz's Rory is a bitof a mixed up kid give n his background - and I agree with your supposition that he's younger rather than older. Stuffed Kongs are a very good idea if you are going out. Obvs you mustn't overfeed but a large, mainly frozen stuffed Kong (or similar) does afford some respite for the furnishings and yourself....
Helegant Jul 2017 12:05pm, 14 Jul 2017 5,078 posts	0 Helegant I had completely forgotten about stuffed and frozen Kongs - brilliant devices/toys and we used them a lot when Jet was at the chewing phase. I've been offering dried fish skin twist chews recently. They take a few minutes for Jet to eat and clean his teeth in the process. Most dogs can make one last for a day -allegedly. Made by a company called Skippers.
Helegant Jul 2017 12:06pm, 14 Jul 2017 5,079 posts	0 Helegant ^^ skipperspetproducts.com
Mazlin Jul 2017 12:46pm, 14 Jul 2017 3,321 posts	0 Mazlin Rory very very rarely chews anything when he's on his own - 9 times out of 10 it's when I'm there, but not paying attention to him (it's not unusual for him not to have even bothered with his kong or the treats I hide in his blanket when I go out.) His trainer agrees with Sharkie that a lot or his 'challenging' behaviours are to do with his background, and the more we work on calming him down, the less he'll do them. He's lucky that I hadn't been in my house long when he arrived, so I hadn't got round to decorating, and that I like the minimalist look...
Mazlin Jul 2017 12:47pm, 14 Jul 2017 3,322 posts	0 Mazlin (PS, every time I see Rory's bff Monty, who is a lovely but young, big and very enthusiastic Doberman, I think 'thank God I didn't get one of those )
BaronessBL Jul 2017 1:41pm, 14 Jul 2017 6,689 posts	0 BaronessBL I'm sure it will get better Maz. Wanda loves ripping things up so if for example I buy a box of bonios or similar I will give her the empty box to take to her bed to tear up. In her very early days and I am sure it was an anxiety at being left on her own too long issue (bearing in mind she had been in Battersea where stuff was happening all the time) she did completely destroy her bed - but then again that does also seem to be a Staffie 'thing'.
LazyDaisy Jul 2017 5:12pm, 14 Jul 2017 19,062 posts	0 LazyDaisy Oh yes, I think I have the Queen of the Canine Chewers :-). Sofa, chairs, table, plaster on the wall, skirting boards, Mary and the donkey from the Nativity set, innumerable wooden spoons and spatulas filched from the worktop... She still chews but thankfully, it's either sticks brought back from a walk or 'official' things like a filled bone. It is a Labrador thing though, our others chewed a fair bit (they've all gone for the plaster on the wall by their beds) and when we had Lottie recently I caught her contentedly chewing on the hall table
halfpint Jul 2017 6:00pm, 14 Jul 2017 23,537 posts	0 halfpint Chewing is not an issue with us. There are plenty of other interesting habits He does like to shred paper/cardboard. He steals socks but only to incite us to chase him. He is responding well to new training games. We left him with my parents for a few hours today and I enjoyed a lunch with friends without guilt.
Helegant Jul 2017 6:56pm, 14 Jul 2017 5,100 posts	0 Helegant Jet loves to be given a cardboard box to shred too.
halfpint Jul 2017 7:42pm, 18 Jul 2017 23,556 posts	0 halfpint Evening all! We have a slightly poorly dog and I think it's my fault. The new training regime recommends 'ditching the bowl' so you use the food allocation throughout the day as treats for games and any additional is 'scatter fed' or given on a mat. Our issue is that the only food we have so far found that doesn't upset Ernie's tummy is one that he isn't that fussed for. I decided to try some new food but forgot about gradually introducing it. We only had 200g but he loved it so he got it for dinner and as treats yesterday/this morning. He now has a very upset stomach and has vomited on the livingroom floor. I had to cancel his vaccination booster today. I gave him a tiny bit of rice with chicken at tea time. He is snoozing now. ION the next door neighbours dog pee'd on my leg today - not exactly sure why but it was rather unpleasant.