TRUE OR NOT

[oso]

OKAY, EVER SINCE I GOT OSO, I KEEP HEARING HORROR STORIES ABOUT HOW SO&SO'S PITT CHEWED THE COUCH, ATE THE WOOD DOORS, KNAWED OFF A WODDERN STEP....SO ON AND SO ON... IS THIS TRUE W/ ALL PITTS? SO AR OSO HAS TRIED TO CHEW ON A DINING ROOM CHAIR , BUT I WOULD TELL HIM "NO" AND GIVE HIM ONE OF HIS TOYS.IS CHEWING FURNITURE WHAT I HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO?

[kyles101]

all dogs do that. my akita ripped down a door, shes far from hyperactive.

[Sara]

Working breeds tend to be more prone to boredom and would imply that they are more likely to cause more damage because of boredom than other breeds... However.... My BF's aunt has two Silky Terriers who have done more damage to her home than my pits and Boerboels ever thought of... Each dog is different but it's pretty safe to say that APBT's are energetic and need their people so that coupled with boredom and their people gone at work...you can get some SEVERE damage... Crate training is a dog's best friend and a lifeline for many surrendered dogs. Lots of dogs are surrendered because of distructive behavior and MOST distructive behavior in adult dogs is due to an emotional issue (Boredom or separation anxiety)....so to help the dog deal with the problem provide toys and safety for when you are gone... Safest place for a dog is in his den...thus... Crate training is something I always stress for both the human owners and the dogs! Hunnyjade I'm sure would be more than happy to tear doors down to get to wherever it is I am...but she's even happier sleeping in her crate while I'm away...it's her safe place to be.

[bullylove1]

I agree with crate training. Its a sure way to keep both your furniture and your puppy safe.
I personally don't crate, and if you don't want to either, I would confine to one room. Remember, a tired puppy is a happy puppy. The more excercise they get, the less likely they are to "destroy" stuff because they won't be so bored. Also, lots of indestructa-toys, such as kongs (which are great cause you can stuff them, i use peanut butter and freeze it), balls, rings. There is tons of safe stuff to leave your dog with to occupy them.

Dogs are natural chewers, so this would be a worry no matter what breed you had.

You are correctly training him to leave the furniture alone. Good job! Whenever you notice this, place something in his mouth that he can chew and when he starts to use that instead praise the heck outta him! This also works well for dogs who mouth play a lot.

[oso]

SPEAKING OF KONS, OSO HAS ONE AND I STUFFED IT W/ PB, BUT HE HAS NO INTEREST IN IT AT ALL. ANY THING ELSE I CAN STUF IT WITH THAT HE MIGHT LIKE?

[Freedom]

Kongs are NOT indestructable and I feel should not be given to a dog unsupervised. I gave a belgian mal a kong as his reward after doing some drug detection training and put him in his kennel, come back to check on him and the kong is chewed into pieces. BOY, is it hard work trying to get a toy away from a working dog he lives for. When leaving your dog alone unsupervised I suggest only leaving some pig ears and a bone, if he is old enough to chew it and digest it properyl. Freedom was crate trained and stayed in a crate till he was around 1 year old. After that he matured and could be left alone in the den whenever he was home alone and we wouldn't come home to shredded magazines, newspapers, pens or pencils. Freedom never chewed up the couch or anything major like that, crate training is certainly a must.

[kyles101]

stuff it with vegemite. most dogs LOVE that. while youre at it, eat some yourself

[goob]

Dogs can pull pieces off of pig ears, and the same with most bones, causing them to choke. That's not to say that its safer to give a toy that they can chew up and eat, but just because it's supposed to be edible doesn't mean it can't cause problems. A few months ago, one of ours got a 3" piece of bully stick lodged between her bottom molars and the top of her throat, if I hadn't been around to pull it out, no telling what would have happened as she tried to dig it out. When you get down to it, most things have the potential to cause problems, which may end up fatal in an unsupervised dog, it's up to you to know your dog and decide what's safe for each (none of our dogs eat toys, they may shred them, but spit out the pieces; so in their case, I'd sooner leave them with a toy than something edible.... just an example).

As far as stuffing kongs, or any stuffable toy, you can try fruit or veggies mashed and put in, chunks of liver or other meat (just remember not to leave it out too long if they don't eat it right away), broth frozen in (if you go with canned, look for the low sodium stuff), canned food, or even dry food soaked in water for a bit. Freezing the kong will make it harder to get the treats out, but can also make it smell less, so in turn, your dog may not be as interested.

[bullylove1]

Good point Goob. when I say "indestructa-toys" for me that is all the hard rubber toys. Harley never chews through them and I know its safe to leave her alone with them.

I would never leave her alone with a bone or pig ears. I stay away from pigs ears anyways. I have heard too many stories of dogs choking on them, or it cutting their inside throat or stomach form improper chewing.

In time you will know Oso inside out so you'll figure out what's best for him.

I have NEVER met a dog that didn't like peanut butter! oh well, goob gave you some great ideas too.

[Sara]

What I do is always monitor my dogs with new toys. When they've sufficiently proven to me that they can handle the toy when unsupervised (the stringy ropes are BAD after a few minutes they start eating the strings) but anyway if they can handle the treat or toy unsupervised they can use that for their boredom time when I am not home. I haven't had problems with Pig ears in the past...all of my dogs do a great job and knawing of bite sized chunks and doing find with them. Hunnyjade is the only one out of all of them that can't handle rawhide ANYTHING because once she gets the whole treat wet and slick she'll try to swallow it... Three times during supervised play I've had to go fishing for the raw hide out of her throat... The Boerboels do fine with material tug toys but the pits will eat them... Monty does okay with fluffy beds (full of stuffing) but the rest of the dogs will EAT the stuffing... Each dog is different and each dog can handle certain toys...it just depends...

Rule of thumb is to monitor your dogs when introducing a new toy, then decide if the toy is suitable for un-monitored play and then once you've found some good toys that will work keep an eye on those toys and examine them every day to make sure they aren't becoming dangerous etc...

JMO

[the_maine_pitbull]

Well I agree, crating is great. A lot of people think it is sad to leave there dog in a crate all day or when they can't be there, but in all honesty would you rather have your dog in a crate, safe as well as your home being safe from destruction or let the dog destroy the place and just happen to chew the wrong thing and choke to death.

Saige and Jekkyl are fifteen months old. Both had separation anxiety, Jekkyl still does, Saige just matured and it went away. The chewing when we leave was not even all that bad even with the separation anxiety. Youneed to just redirect your dogs habits. Like mentioned, give the dog a toy. I wouldn't give anything like a tennis ball or stuffed toys (such as teddy bears) or anythign like that because they can tear it apart and chew it up. My dogs hatred kongs. I tried everything imaginable. The thing that worked best was canned cat food, then freeze it.

Good luck. It is not as bad as they make it out to be... all dogs chew when young.. the problem with adult dogs chewing most of the time is owners not letting the dog know it is not aceptable behavior and those same people thought a puppy would grow out of it. It is like teaching a kid to not draw on the fridge or walls. They do not know it is wrong until you teach them it is not good.

Angie