CANINE BEHAVIOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS By Kathy Diamond Davis Author and Trainer

Q: Oh my, have you ever gotten a question like this?

Just a few weeks ago I said to my husband, "Our puppy is so good. I don't understand why people say they have problems with Weims." (We have had health problems with Willie - a shot reaction and emergency surgery to remove a blockage in the colon.) But as for his behavior, he had been VERY good. Well, last week, he turned 6 months old, and it was like an alarm went off! When we aren't home (we both work during the week), he has a room that is cleared of furniture and clutter. It had his water bowl, a stuffed animal, a bone, a kong, a blanket, and his crate with a pillow and blanket in it. The sun shines in the windows, and he loves to sleep in the sun beam. Everything was fine, until he started chewing on the walls and mouldings around the closet door! (The door to the room is left open, but we put up two baby gates in the doorway stacked on top of one another, so he doesn't jump them.) Today, I left him in his crate. I would typically prefer not to do this, as he can't run around the room, but I thought he'd be fine for the day until I came up with a better solution. Can you suggest anything?

He is a very strong chewer. He can tear apart a nylabone.

Other info: Willie is walked about one mile twice a day, fed 1 and 1/3 cups food three times a day, and is crated at night.

A: When a dog's permanent teeth come in, they are loose. They must be set in the jaw by chewing, and this is so urgent that the dog is typically unable to stop and think about getting his own toy to chew. He will also often crave chew objects of materials different than his toys.

The crate is important through this time, and you should expect it be needed until age 2 to 2 1/2 years. The more you supervise/confine the dog and help him to form proper chewing habits and avoid developing habits of chewing on your things, the more likely he will come out on the other end of this quite normal development period with good chewing habits.

He needs to chew. Dogs who do not chew tend to be the ones with lots of dental problems and early tooth loss. He needs a variety of textures in safe toys. Which toys are safe is an individual thing from dog to dog. His chewing habits will be in transition for awhile, and he will start putting a lot more pressure on his toys than in the past. You want toys that are NOT quickly consumed, so as not to overload his gastro intestinal system or create a blockage.

The exercise sounds good, and is probably not a factor. You could start adding some retrieving play if you are not already doing that. It has the added benefit of giving you a mechanism for having the dog bring you something he has appropriated for chewing. Never chase him. Always encourage him to come to you, and make it really worth his while to give you his prize, by giving him a treat or a nice game with one of his toys in exchange--plus lots of praise.

Be sure to get into training class with him and stay in it through this adolescent period. It's a darling breed, but they are big and smart, and that calls for training. The main effect training will have on the chewing is that you will be better able to communicate with the dog.

Never rebuke him for anything he has chewed in your absence. It seems like he feels guilty and knows what he has done wrong, but that is only submissivenss to human anger. Rebuking the dog for chewing done in your absence causes a lot of dogs to develop separation anxiety, and you do NOT what THAT problem!

You might experiment with having him in your bedroom at night, loose, to sleep in a bed of his own. It might be too soon, but many dogs are ready for this responsibility sometime between now and a year or so of age, long before they are ready to be loose in the house with you asleep or gone.

This only works if you are a light enough sleeper to wake up if he gets into mischief, AND if you do confine him to your room. It is one way to reduce crate time when you must crate him while you're out of the house. But only do it if he can handle it without chewing things in the night.

And don't let him on your bed. That needs to wait until after adolescence, when you can see if this is a dog who can handle that privilege. If you have children, it is often best to never allow the dog on the beds. But most of all, this privilege needs to wait until you can be sure of the temperament. It's really hard to get a dog off the beds when that privilege has been given too early.

So, yes, I have had MANY questions like this. For some reason, few dog owners know about the second, and much more serious, destructive chewing stage. Many, many dogs lose their homes at this point, because the owners are convinced the dogs are chewing up valued possessions out of spite. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The dog is totally innocent, just following nature.

Training is part of solving this problem. Get a bottle of Bitter Apple spray (or similar product--but not a home remedy). Supply your dog with plenty of safe toys in a variety of textures, so that wherever you and your dog are in the house, there are toys at hand. When you see the dog start to chew the wrong thing, get up quietly and spray the Bitter Apple on that thing, as you say "Leave It." (Say, don't scream, etc!). INSTANTLY present your dog with one of his toys, in a playful, teasing manner. Don't overexcite the dog, but get him eager for the toy. Then give it to him, and softly praise him when he starts to chew it. You will need to do this, oh, a few HUNDRED times!

This is not just a training problem, but also something that will require maturity for the dog to get past. It takes time and patience. Angry corrections for chewing are setbacks, and will harm your relationship with the dog. Bottom line is, harsh corrections don't work for chewing, anyway. The dog has no idea why this is "wrong." How would a dog have any concept whatsoever of the value of possessions? The dog doesn't even know what money is!

My youngest dog will be 2 years old on Feb 22nd. She gave up chewing on my comforter and pulling the stuffing out of it just a couple of months ago. I removed the comforter from temptation during those months as much as possible, kept an eye on her, etc. I bought new comforters as she got older, and she has only chewed them once. Maturity in a dog is a wonderful, wonderful thing!

Date Published: 4/24/2002

    

Kathy Diamond Davis is the author of the book Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others. Should the training articles available here or elsewhere not be effective, contact your veterinarian. Veterinarians not specializing in behavior can eliminate medical causes of behavior problems. If no medical cause is found, your veterinarian can refer you to a colleague who specializes in behavior or a local behaviorist.