[hillies]

Stella does this too if she's upset with us about being put "in her area" when we leave.

I think more than anything, she gets bored and likes the sound it makes when she plays with the plasticky/paper stuff, so I got her a toy that makes a similar noise and I leave it when we leave. She doesn't do it as often anymore.

You might also try getting some of those "go-here" drops that attract a dog to potty in a certain place. They're a little stinky, but that might discourage him from laying on it and/or nibbling.

That's funny about the bitter apple spray--we used to have a rabbit that would nibble on chair legs, so my dad put Tobasco sauce on the wood in the house to keep her from going after it and it turns out she LOVED the Tabasco sauce and would just run around licking it off everything! So strange!