Dear Abby:

[straightshooter1]

So, we were gonna replace the carpet, add more tile and repaint the inside of the house.

In the meantime, as I have said on other threads, we lost both our Wheaten Terriers to cancer within the last year.

I found the cutest little female Lhasa Apso and we've had her since July. Very smart, very cute, but, thankfully, we had not started on the house yet as she likes to chew the carpet.

She finds an edge, where it butts up to tile and simply pulls it out, chews it and moves to another place.

We have tried the "NO! BAD DOG!" That gets us no where.

Tried the pepper on the edge of the carpet. She hasn't actually asked for salt to go with it, but the pepper doesn't slow her down a bit.

Anyone here had a similar problem and come up with a successful remedy short of beating the little thing (which ain't gonna happen, by the way)?

Bob-going nuts in TampaBay.

 

[A10]

You could try embarassing her by tying a little pink ribbon in her hair ever time she does that...........

 

[Gunslinger808]

There's a product called Grannic's bitter Apple sold at most larger retail pet supply places.
Trust me, this stuff works, plus it's not dangerous to your pet.
It was actually designed to be used on animals that chew on them selves, but works equaly well on carpet (won't stain) and any other porous material.

 

[V1 Rotate]

Chewing like that is usually an indication of anxiety due to separation. I had a dog that did similar-but she chewed up wooden floors, baseboard trim and low hanging miniblinds! Our vet had us stop making a big deal out of leaving, and to get her used to us leaving, we had to go out for a few minutes without long goodbyes and come back with no drama, then increase the amount of time we were gone, over several weeks. They need to learn that you leaving is no big deal and that you will come back. Check with your vet, and google separation anxiety in dogs. There are so many more resources available with the internet nowadays. Putting a sour tasting substance on whatever the dog is chewing may just cause them to chew something else. Regards, Bill S

 

[Arik]

How old is she? It might just be a puppy thing. Both my dogs did that when they were under 6 months. Out grew it. Try that spray they sell at pet storesto thats supposed to taste awful (didnt do anything for my dog but then again she'll eat stink bugs! Odd dog). Try getting a few different chew toys. Soft, hard, rubber, bone. My younger dog (6m old rat terrier) loves hard rubber bouncy toys. My other is a 3 yr old Eskimo mix. She loves cow leg bones. She'll go through one in a few days and they are huge and ment for large dogs.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[26Ford]

Could be worse, she could be a " Sooner ".

 

[BarbC]

The bitter apple works and you can even get a formula you can put on wood. All my dogs were chewers. You can try to distract/redirect her with something she IS allowed to chew and pull on.

My little guy was horribly destructive and at 7 months is finally starting to outgrow it. He ripped so much wallpaper off the wall so that it practically looks like wainscoting in here. He tore planks out of the drawer he used to sleep in and chews on them. He tore my mattress apart. That's why you put them in crates when you can't watch them when they're like this. It didn't take long to convince my friend that the American habit of crating dogs isn't so cruel.

 

[JcMack]

Get another dog. They will keep each other company.

 

[straightshooter1]

We do keep PC crated when we are not home. She seems to do this when I have my back turned. Caught her twice this afternoon and it seemed clear to me, when she saw I was observing her, that she knew she was "Doin' me wrong!"

We had some of the Bitter Apple, never opened, though neither of us recall ever buying it and our other dogs were never chewers. Maybe it was a gift or given us by the vet or miraculously appeared just in time to spare PC from something worse (yeah, right).

Anyway, we sprayed it and we are trying to keep our backs turned to see if she sneaks over to the scene of her latest depredation. So far, she's just lying on the floor watching us.

She's 8 months old now and she loves the pink ribbons.

Bob

 

[26Ford]

Get another dog. They will keep each other company.

Then again they might have a chewing contest.

 

[Rule3]

We do keep PC crated when we are not home.

Bob

How long a time period is the dog crated? Crate training is great but not for long periods. They can get anxiety problems. None of our dogs were chewers. Even or JR Terror who is 13 now never torn anything up in the house, we always gave him lots and lots of other toys and stuff. He's sleeping on my foot now. He likes to roll over and his head hits the reset switch on the surge protector and turns off my puter.

 

[delta-419]

Chewing

With two German Shepherds we just remodeled our house with all ceramic tile floors. Easy to clean and no frayed or stained carpet. I love it!

 

[straightshooter1]

She is crated, generally, 4-5 hours a day, sometimes a bit longer on Sundays.

The funny thing is, she is so calm, so mature, most folks who meet her think she's an adult.

But, she loves to play, chase and bring back a ball, a sock, or anything. She loves to mess with me, sneak into my reloading room, grab a wad or 12 gauge hull and bring it to the family room and drop it somewhere I will see it, then cross the room, lie down and watch me discover it. I think she wants to learn to reload.

She never chews them, only the carpet! She does have chew toys, a Nylabone, a rawhide bone, etc. and chews them regularly.

So far the bitter apple seems to be working. She went to one of her past attack locations, sniffed and walked away.

Bob

 

[wbraswell]

Sounds like you're on your way to a long rewarding relationship.

 

[RightArm]

Check the warranty. Maybe the dog is defective and needs to go back to the factory to work out the kinks. I hope they have a good CS dept. Good luck.