Bit of help please with 'Chewing'
 

Crystal latently started chewing a piece of my prime yew furniture. Fortunately I was on hand to desist the destruction, but it still caused me a couple of hours work to restore it. She was 'read her rights' and put in the gulag (bathroom) for about 15 minutes! She re-appeared ears down, head on the floor, looking up so the whites of her eyes showed etc. - gosh these little monkeys are so appealing! She was however truly extremely sorry and didn't leave my side all day or night thereafter. She's normally such a good little soul that I've reasoned this 'chewing' bout must be the result of teething causing her pain, as so far we've never had a thing touched? She does like 'mouthing' my hand however, which I indulge her with (and probably shouldn't), hanging on to my trousers, tug of war with her many toys and occasionally biting my wife's duvet fringing! Although she's now seven months old, I understand she can 'teeth' for up to a year? Crystal seems impervious to Chew Deterrent Sprays; but we've always kept a lot chew sticks around and recently, these are getting bitten in half very quickly? Maybe I need to get a stronger version as her meggy's become more efficient?? Is there anything I can use to protect the furniture with that anyone can recommend? Many thanks

Get some apple bitter that will stop her you can get this at any pet store

Thanks, much appreciated

I was going to say this - but then remembered back to when Harry was teething....he actually became quite addicted to Bitter Apple, and sat there with his mouth open, almost drooling for it....:eek: :D

So I got him a heavy duty nylabone, which he loved for a while, 'til he got bored with it....

Then I went onto odour free bully-sticks until I realised what they were :eek: and then quite a few people on YT had issues with them....

We ended up with the ultra heavy-duty Kong (the one that's made for Rottweilers :rolleyes:)....he's never destroyed it, and it's still his 'chew toy of choice' :)

Good luck with the meggies (and the yew!)....poor little Crystal :) Sally + Harry x

Use Vicks vapor rub, safe for the pets, lasts longer than bitter apple and they don't like taste or smell. My boys didn't mind the bitter apple they would chew anyhow. This was suggested from my trainer and even worked for my friends lab who s a chewing machine

Thanks Sall, I've got a few chew sticks left. I'll get the nylabone on Monday. She's not had a go at anything since, but is getting through the chew sticks at 2 or 3 a day. it seems once they're sawn in half they obviously lose the projection angle necessary to relieve the nagging 'meggy' that's upsetting her. My neighbour said she used to freeze a small wet flannel for one of her dogs, apparently the cold relives the pain a little?:thumbup:

What a good idea, I'll definitely get some Monday, thanks.:)

What a great idea - would never have thought of that one....:)

Frozen is good! :)

Wondered if you've had a look on www.petsathome.com at the Kong Puppy Teething Sticks? Mixed reviews but mainly good, they too are suggesting freezing them (in a freezer bag) first. They're kind of 'ridged', so might hit the spot hopefully! :) Sally + Harry x

:)It's funny Sall, but with anything larger than a chew stick, she grabs it and immediately tries to 'dig' a hole, usually in my duvet to presumably bury it. When of course she can't complete her aim, she whimpers and cries in a most maudlin manner. Carrying it around in frustration, it eventually gets put somewhere secret, but, upon re-appearance, some days later, it's always un-chewed!:rolleyes: They're treated more like prized possession's, to be secreted away in case of bad times, rather than an item for destruction and dental relief. She's not touched anything since I originally posted, but so far the chewing sticks at around £4.50 for 80, on eBay, seem to be the only thing she can really get her teeth into - sorry, very BBC daytime TV cliché, but couldn't resist that one!:)

It is a natural instinct for a dog to chew, especially young ones. Gracie was a chew monster when she was a puppy and I had a terrible time getting her to stop stealing things. I would never give her rawhide to chew because it is not easily digested and can often be a choking hazard.

She is a 5lb dog and I buy her 12" bully sticks from Best Bully . com. One stick can last her over 2 weeks sometimes. I throw them away when they get to be 3" to 4" long.

Sounds like your girl is a perfect little princess since you haven't had any chewing problems up until now. Gracie chewed like crazy until she was a year old and then things started to slow down a bit. Once we got her the bully sticks she stopped stealing things and was happy just to chew her sticks when she got the urge. Sure made things a lot less complicated around here.

Thanks for the reply, I too think that we are fortunate to have such a well behaved little soul. She's also great socially. If Irina leaves early in the morning, she comes into my room and very respectfully jumps on the bed and leaves me to wake naturally. Crystal never steals items either, so from reading on here, we seem to have a good 'un. I really want to help her, as she's fast become my best pal giving me so much love, affection and company. As she seemingly wants to use bigger chews, more as play items than therapeutic aids, it might be better to get slightly larger sticks than at the moment and freeze them I think?

I buy the long ones because I do have to throw them out when they get short. They just seem to last a bit longer that way. I won't take a chance with her choking on a too short stick. Do they sell bully sticks where you are? Maybe an 8" thin stick would work for her?
Gracie is kind of small. Just 5lbs. She looks pretty funny with a 12" stick in her mouth but she is not daunted by them at all. I get the regular size thickness for her because she is quite the chewer but maybe something a bit thinner would work for your girl. They sell them in different thicknesses here. Gracie would probably just devour a thin stick. I prefer that she just chew them slowly and not actually consume much of it at once. She will sit and work on it for up to 20 minutes at a time and not make much progress but it seems to satisfy her need to chew.

Thank you, I'll try her with a thickness up and an 8" length. She's obviously getting a lot stronger and needs to trade up?

My puppy chews on EVERYTHING! My purse, my shoes and now my wall. She doesn't do any real damage but I've never went through this with my other puppy. He was a saint and still is. Ummmm...