My yorkie chews on furniture! Help!

[Baileyruth]

I can't get him to stop! if he continues I might have to get rid of him.
I take him away from the area. I give him a chew toy. I am now smacking his behind and will take my finger and hit his nose. I don't like to do that.
Any recommendations?

[rubymoon2072]

have you tried gating him off from the rooms where he is chewing? please dont hit him at all. he doesnt understand what you are trying to tell him when you communicate that way. there also may be a spray to keep them from liking the taste any longer. im not sure where you can get it but maybe google it.

[sandy simpson]

Hi!
My male Yorkie was doing the same thing. My Yorkie is still a puppy. He would go out in the yard and chew on the wood rocking chair. So I removed that. I have tried to keep him supplied with toys and chews. If he is bored, he will chew stuff. I buy the CET chews from the vet. JoJo likes them yet I watch him and when the chew is too small and yucky I take it away. I confine my Yorkies in the kitchen area when I am gone and cannot watch them.. Hope you can knock this bad dog behavior off real soon!

[Baileyruth]

i have thought of a spray that might work. will look into that.
yeah, i agree to not smack his behind or little nose. I don't like to raise my voice either. he is so adorable and sweet and loving. He doesn't know any better because he too is still a puppy.
I do place him in our large master bath when away for awhile. I also have a playpen for him for short times and sleep. right now he is a sleep next to me. all is well.
thanks for the feedback.

[kjc]

Be sure to feed him enough and throughout the day 3-4 times. Plus treats.

[Nancy1999]

Please don't hit him, you could cause serious problems and later aggression. You say that you don't want to do it, trust those feelings. Joey was a chewer too; I kept him confined to an x-pen (like a large play pen) unless my eyes were glued to him. He had favorite objects he liked to chew, and I sprayed those with a product called "Bitter Apple". It works well if you use it before they get accustomed to chewing on the object. One wicker container he especially loved and I had to spray that several times. Also, don't let him have access to any rooms that have electrical cords like lamp cords that he can reach. He can electrocute himself if he chews through a cord. There are cord covers you can buy. Also, get him plenty of chewing sticks and toys, he's just like a baby who is teething, and his gums hurt.

[LunasMomma]

Have you tried Bitter Apple Spray yet? It works with some dogs, not all though. My Izzy used to chew the corners on the baseboards and the dining room table legs She actually liked the bitter apple spray. Someone here suggested using some men's stick deodorant and that did the trick! ONE taste of that and she's never chewed on the wood again.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by LunasMomma

Have you tried Bitter Apple Spray yet? It works with some dogs, not all though. My Izzy used to chew the corners on the baseboards and the dining room table legs She actually liked the bitter apple spray. Someone here suggested using some men's stick deodorant and that did the trick! ONE taste of that and she's never chewed on the wood again.

If you use the deodorant/ antiperspirant, it should be the clear type and it should have the word antiperspirant on the label. It’s the Aluminum chlorohydrate that discourages the licking and chewing.

[LILBIT1]

Awwee please dont hit your furbaby. EVER. That being said go to Petco, they have bitter stuff u put on items they are NOT to chew. My big dogs were chewers. Never had a prob with Waffles tho. I have heard that the chew if bored or under excercized.

[Anj19]

Hi !
My 5 month old yorkie puppy also chews a lot. He can chew anything if he's left unsupervised. However there's a lot of ways to help lessen this problem. Aside from providing them lots of toys, give him/ her bullysticks! Yup, that's right! They will chew these stuffs until they get tired. I think they're tasty so it satisfies their urge to chew. Also, remember to walk your yorkie as often as you can. As others say, "A tired dog is a happy dog". If they get tired they get less bored. It's also a great way for you and your dog to bond. I hope you won't give up on him. Give him some time. Raising a dog requires lots of love, patience and determination.

[Potter]

Bitter Apple spray usually works or you can use deodorant I heard. I have tried Bitter Apple spray myself and it works but am not too sure about deodorant.

[lynzy420]

Miss Mia does this so I moved and left all my furniture behind and bought new furniture! No not really...well yeah really but it wasn't because of Mia! I bought a spray from Walmart called bitter cherry spray...same premise as the bitter apple and in my opinion works better...I tried it to make sure it wasn't too harsh etc., believe me it is awful...took 3 brushings to rid the taste!!! Also a tip: if he is chewing wood be sure to put your shoes and wicker away as well, trust me!

[franciskyle]

My Yorkie does the same. Keep him busy. I was told that generally they behave this way because they have no activity to do. Play with him, take him out, give him some toys.

[shannonNJ]

Jack chewed the first week we had him and he loved the bitter apple spray, so we called the vet and he recommended Vick's Vapor rub. Did the trick....can't say Jack has been back to the chair in the corner at all since then. LOL. He HATES the smell.

[yorkietalkjilly]

I'm assuming he's not a young puppy and just teething, at which time they do chew everything in sight. I'm going to assume he's a grown dog and has a bad habit of gnawing furniture. If he is a puppy, ignore this post and just re-direct him until he's through teething stage. Since you don't give much information about his lifestyle, I've got to make a lot of assumptions here about why dogs usually chew on furniture and if they don't apply, please just disregard them. I'm posting on the most likely situation which causes the most dogs to chew on furniture or our possessions.

He's probably bored and frustrated and it's an OCD displacement type behavior, something he does out of frustration, stress, boredom, loneliness or nerves. I'd gate him off from most furniture, tape tinfoil over the furniture I can't keep him from and get him busy with a much more challenging and active life so that he takes the time you are away to rest and sleep and await your coming home and the time fun life starts.

Look up how to train obedience on Google and start in active obedience training and if he is already being trained, increase his sessions to 3 - 4 5 minute sessions a day for a total of 15 - 20 minutes total. A dog well-trained in obedience rarely is destructive. Buy him several interactive toys and feed him his meals only from them so that he has to work to get his breakfast and dinner. He'll love it! Get him actively walking 2 - 3 times a day. Play challenging games with him and you can Google those and get some ideas. Take him outside frequently so he can explore and work out excess energy and frustrations out and about. Agility training can tame even the most ardent chewers sometimes! They are so pleasantly tired and all their tensions gone, they just plop down and rest when left to their own devices. Toss balls and frisbees for your baby to run to get.

Your dog can't chew his nails, kick his foot over and over or smoke when he's nervous or frustrated. He can't go read a book or give himself a pep talk. He can chew to work out his frustrations and worries but keeping him challenged learning and busy working and training can give him a new outlook on life and give him a new confidence and calm attitude.

Don't forget to have those loving sessions of just hugs, tummy rubs and sweet-talking him, where you just sit and enjoy him a couple times or more each day. Times when you tell him how terrific he is, how pretty and sweet. Talk right to him. He'll understand and soak it up.

Don't smack his behind for his chewing again. He will just grow to dislike you, lose trust in you and it will make him more nervous and worried - he'll want to chew more - not understanding why you would take his one thing away that he uses to relieve him stress or nerves - his chewing. That's all he's got right now unless you give him a different kind of life full of action, exercise, challenge, work, lots of love and fun.

Again, I've just posted suggestions about why most dogs chew and have to be re-homed and addressed how to correct that type of dog. If it doesn't apply, post more info on your dog's lifestyle and we can go from there.