Chewing inappropriate things
I was wondering if any has any suggestions to get Kage to stop chewing EVERYTHING but his chew toys. He is destroying the bed in his crate. I'll give him his puppy kong, puppy nylabone. All he wants to chew is table legs, rocks, leaves, pant legs......
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They only thing that seems to work with pups (this is me trying to remember what I did over a year and a half ago) is a watchful, consistent eye - sound aversion - and appropriate replacements.
Scenario - You are about to get busy making dinner, so you leave Kage in the living room with a stuffed kong. You come back 20 mins later to find the kong sort of played with, but your coffee table is currently getting the brunt of it.
Solution -
A. Don't leave your puppy unattended. We've decided after raising our first shiba that all pups should be confined to an x-pen (or crate) when unattended until they are at least a year old, and depending on the dog's personality perhaps longer. It's not cruel, it's damage prevention and safety precaution when your eyes aren't on the pup.
B. Making sure the pup is tuckered out from play or a walk before leaving him alone with help. Try a fun game of tug to tire him out before corralling him, chances are he'll be less frustrated with pent up energy and opt to nap instead.
C. The stuffed kong is awesome at keeping their minds busy. Good job!
D. Sound aversion... if you catch the dog in the act, make a startling noise to break their focus (something like "AHHT" or "UP BUP BUP"). Once they are looking at you (for making the noise) replace what they are inappropriately gnawing on with what they are allowed to chew (toy). And do this consistently, being lenient even once will not change a thing.
For the pant leg thing, I suppose walking away calmly or not reacting to it will make it less fun for Kage to do it the next time. If he gets skin, many make a sharp "ouch" noise to startle the dog into stopping.
It's not always easy, and the scenario is never the same, but think of ways to make every instance like this a training session for both you and your dog - learn something new each time! And set your dog up for success!
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/tugowar.html
http://www.sfspca.org/resources/library/for-dog-owners/abcs/tug-of-war.pdf
And an article on "complex kong stuffing" to keep puppy more interested in whats inside the Kong
http://www.sfspca.org/resources/library/for-dog-owners/abcs/kong-stuffing.pdf
I can't wait until he has all his shots so I can take him out into the real world and puppy classes!!!!
When Tetsu was little, he'd chew on the leg of the kitchen table out of frustration when another dog wouldn't play with him (he would try to play, they would ignore him or growl, he'd chew on the table watching them and sometimes stopping to try to get them to play). When he'd chew, I'd pick him up and place him in the kitchen away from the table or bring him into the living room. If he got up and went back to chewing on the table, I'd bring him back to the spot I originally placed him on.
It's kind of similar to teaching stay or the time out method, if he doesn't behave he's not allowed to be over there.
Another thing you can do is to have chewy time TOGETHER. Dogs want our attention, and they want to chew, and when they chew the table, you come running over. You can 'catch" him being good, and come over to praise and be with him when hes doing the right thing on his own- where your instinct might be to think- he's fine alone with his toy and leave him- go say hi and tell him to keep up the good work, then go back to whatever you need to do.
Have some of your play time be quiet, chewy time- act interested in the toy- its a treasure and verrrry precious and thanks for letting me see your wicked nice yucky chewy thing, and hold the end for him to chew on while he lays down. I also would rub my fingers on the top surface of their gums (trick I learned from being a mother- works for puppies, too!) where the back teeth were causing pressure before they pop up. It sets up good mouth handling/management rules teaching very early. I will rub your gums, but you will BITE the cold facecloth, and NOT my fingers, good puppy! I think this kind of interaction is a nice bonding thing, too.
The table leg may also have textural qualities he likes: it gives, his teeth go into in, its satisfying. A frozen wet facecloth is good for teething pups, and Reilly only loved her rope toy back when she was a pup and teething- I remember holding it and her just gnawing it until she finally got her puppy tooth out, then she felt so much better. She was never much for ropes after she got her teeth, all superior, "I'm not teething anymore, I dont need a rope knot...that's for babies."
*edit* BTW, Shibas are smart, so it won't take them long to get it. If he's not "getting it" it's b/c of the attention of getting caught. Spuds will go into the trash can in the bathroom everytime she wants attention and deliberately bring out something stupid to chew on in front of me and pretend she didnt see me.