posted 10-17-2003 10:49 AM         

Nala, the angel-devil dog, decided that the best thing in the world to chew on is carpet. We have wall-to-wall carpeting, but there is a seam in the family room (where she is confined) between the original room and the addition. It is not noticable to a person. She found it, however, and would pull on it until she was actually lifting up the carpet and pulling strands out. Bitter apple worked for a while, but she began to ignore it.

Then she moved to a spot near her food bowl, where the carpet meets the tile by the back door. She was alone in the room for about 30 seconds and when I came back, she had torn up a whole corner and there was carpet everywhere! She was lying calmly by the couch looking innocent, and as it was time to kennel her anyway I told her to "Kennel Up" and she walked in with no fuss whatsoever. I tend to think she knew she did something and was on her best behavior at that point. So I moved her food bowl to cover the offending spot and thankfully she left it alone.

I started sticking her old, small crate over the seam in the middle of the room, but this was a pain in the butt to always be stepping over and around. I thought about rearranging furniture and although it would not have been ideal, I would have done it.

But before I could, I found her at yet another spot by the back door! I tried Leave It which seemed to work to an extent, but if you didn't watch her like a hawk all the time, she would eventually go back to one of her spots and boy, can she wreak destruction FAST!

Suddenly I had an epiphany and went to the office supply store and got one of those plastic mats for under your chair. It is big enough to cover most of the tile near the back door and overlaps the carpet. I thought for sure she would start chewing on the edges of the mat, but she never did.

My husband took a plank of wood and set it down over the seam in the middle of the room that extends underneath the furniture on either side. Admittedly it does look a bit odd, but someday we will be able to remove it and still have whole carpet underneath.

So if your dog is destroying something that you can't remove from the room - be creative!

posted 10-17-2003 09:37 PM         

As for those darn carpet seams...our last dog found a couple of those...then the cats found them...then the new dog..."Hello, Home Depot - any laminate flooring on sale?"

posted 10-21-2003 12:23 PM         

I do intend to get Nala into agility or flyball. I have books I am reading and I want to start trying to do some of the things they say is safe for puppies. First, I am firming up her Stay and Come, though.