bout at my whits end

[susan]

does anyone have any suggestions to get halo to quit chewing things? she tears up her blankets, my socks, the couch arm gaurds, the toilet paper everything. she is 8 months n just started this this past month. she has toys, raw hides, she chews branches n sticks outside. we get her strong bones from meat market. she chews up every toy i get her with in a week. HELP WHAT DO I DO!

[loverocksalot]

ALL I have is nyla bones and Bully Sticks and Antlers for Rocky. Keep her crated when you cant watch her.

[susan]

I DID THAT TODAY FOR CHEWING RUG BY MY BED LET HER OUT N WITH IN 20 MINS I WENT TO BATHROOM N SHE CHEWED HOLE IN COUCH ARM GAURD what are bully sticks? her bones are as strong n hard as antlers

[loverocksalot]

I would put her in crate when turning your back for a second. Or if you can confine her to another space. Rocky was never much of a chewer of furniture. He does chew and eat his blankets and dog beds mostly when looking for attention. Like when I am on the phone or have company. He is 6 years old though. If it is that much of problem I understand there is a spray I think called bitter apple that you spray on things you dont want chewed. But the best defense is crate or confinement to a safe place such as kitchen or another room, when you are busy and cant be watching every move she makes.
Bully sticks allnaturalbullysticks.com/category/bully-sticks/ Its a bull pizzle (penis). If you buy cheap ones they stink to high holy hell. I have bought the no odor ones from the website posted and they dont stink at all. They do not last long but they are an awesome chew for really good behavior and for crate time and to redirect them.
Also playing some kind of games with her like the box game and shaping exercises may keep her mind occupied so she has less interest in chewing it tires the brain good. something like this well here is a better one, this is how a pit bull does it. I have used a plastic container like a rubermaid tub or milk crate. They hold up better.
Oh boy this dog Gracie is too cute. Here is more of training ideas with Gracie. I might try this one with Rocky You can teach all kinds of things this way. I have not been doing much these days but I need to get back into it.

[johnr]

Yes, the three ingredients are crating, appropriate chew items and mustering the patience to see her through adolescence. Even my Baby Beth, who was in many ways the wimpiest, lowest drive Pit Bull in world history, had a significant chewing phase that tried my patience.

[loverocksalot]

And yes remember it is a phase. They go through many of them and 8 months old are some of the worst phases they go through. Rocky too is a wimpiest, lowest drive pit bull too. Yet he had some phases that concerned me too. But with crating, and shaping exercises and training he would get nice and tired. Too tired to be the fool. Oh yeah try something like a buster cube or the new Kong Wobbler. I plan to by a wobbler for Rocky. That might keep her occupied while you are doing things and keep her from chewing furniture.

[loverocksalot]

Marrow bones from the meat section of grocery store are good too. I freeze them so he cant eat the marrow out too fast. And or scoop some of it out. After it is all cleaned out by him. (not all at once or he will have the poops) Then I wash it and those hang around for quite some time. I also refill them with peanut butter and bananas treats cheese what ever I have and freeze them for crate time or super reward time.

[fureverywhere]

I tried the green apple and other repellents with Ferdie the border collie-think she actually LIKED it. Ophie has ultimate sized Busy Bones, they last awhile and they're really thick so there's not so much worry about pieces breaking off.
It's a phase, like everybody says either crate or confine her to a room with nothing chewable except safe chewies. Baby gates are a good thing too

[maryellen]

more exercise = tired dog. up her exercise to tire her out, crate her or leash her to you when you cant watch her, and she will get better with age. most pitbulls will chew thru bones in a week, its normal

[lovemybully76]

I had the same problem with my Bella who is 3 and will be 4 in February. There were a couple of times you turn your back for a minute and there would be a hole in a couch cushion or a chewed up holiday decoration. Everybody gave good suggestions above. What's worked best for us in excercise and time. Get her a lot of excercise and get her tired out. Also, hopefully she outgrows this phase with time. Seems like this breed is in the "puppy" stage for quite a while.

[scoutsmom]

I agree - the most well behaved pit is a well exercised pit! Scout went through a major chewing phase right after we got her (we got her at 6 months.) Everyday when I came home from work something new was chewed, but she quickly outgrew it. We have learned (through trial and error) that the best way to keep her out of trouble is to exercise her until she's exhausted. She loves playing frisbee - it keeps her mind and body engaged. She also likes games like keep away and hide and seek and loves play dates with other (familiar) dogs. We don't have a fenced in yard (we rent) so we take her to the local Little League field where we can close in the fence and just play.

[melonie]

A nice long walk. Puzzle toys to work her mind....
If you have enough yard, purchase an extra long leash, or make a really long one. Put her on that and play fetch in the yard to help run off some energy. Lilly was a major chewer, I just redirected her with a chew toy in her crate. (I couldn't allow toys/chews outside of crates)

[susan]

we exercise halo daily we have nice park half a block away we take her to. lol at frisbee that last 3 throws then she runs n eats it. i found some bully sticks today n watched the videos rock star posted. checking out a few things, like getting all here teeth pulled lol jk. really scared of putting up xmas tree i know what is going to happen. i hate to crate her when im home or awake. i thank everyone for suggestions keep them coming. special thanks to rockstar videos where great.

[maryellen]

long fast walks help, so does mind games and food puzzles.. just because you take her to a park doesnt mean she gets exercised until she tires out.... hikes, long walks, puzzle games will work

[fureverywhere]

Just an extra comment besides keep the reciept of any toys or puzzles so you can return or exchange...Remember !!!ELECTRIC CORDS!!! Ferdie must have been a dog with nine lives. She loved wires and would dig them from everywhere. She bit through about 6 vacum cords, plugged in or not. There are child proofing solutions for cords but most of them don't consider a strong doggie gnawing them. I duct taped cords under the carpet and covered the outlets with shock boxes and taped and painted over any exposed wires. Drastic, but it kept her from lighting herself up

[sugar]

Chubby was a chewing monster when I first brought him home. Here is how we got over the phase. When no one was home? Crate. When I was taking a shower? Crate. When I was home? Leash attached to me so he was never more than four feet away.
Have a variety of toys for her and praise her like a nutjob when she chews on her toys (I looked crazy at how happy I pretended to be when Chubby chewed his toys,lol). Try to cycle her toys instead of having them all out. One of Chubby's favorites is the extra-large black Kong (not the red one, black only!)It lasts him about a month and he is a very strong and aggressive chewer!

Also to help tired her out more, try getting her a doggie backpack and fill it with some water bottles. The extra weight makes them work more (and makes more people look at you like you are either very crazy or very lazy, lol). Worked very well with Chubby.

Hope some of the suggestions work. Its never easy having a dog, but it is worth it

[loverocksalot]

haha look at this video. I showed this during my preparing for a 4 legged friend program I did. I used this as an example. HOW CAN THIS BE AVOIDED.
When Rocky was a pup I went and got some really big boxes. Put heavy bricks or rocks in them so they cant be flipped. Wrapped em up to look pretty. It worked. I had done this when kids were little too. I also tied tree up. Each time I put tree up I show Rocky that it falls if you touch it. So he is not too interested in touching it. I only put ornaments not so interested in on bottom. And probably not a good idea to put glass ones on this year for you.