Help! Second chewing phase!

[Lewis Moon]

Cerb is into his second chewing phase and it's starting to get ugly. He has the run of the house so if we don't practice Ninja-like vigilance, he finds something that is either expensive, dangerous or will stain everything (see: expensive). Can anyone suggest good chewies that either last like battle armor or come in bulk? He eats rawhide chewies like monkies eat bananas and the medium hard, chicken flavored nylabone lasts about a day. I've tried the harder nylabone but he snubs it in favor of....just about anything.

I worry about him ingesting too much cowhide or plastic but I'm also worried about the Sharpie I found him with last night

[rushdoggie]

Can't help you with the bones much, but if I was you I would rethink that whole "giving him run of the house" thing for now.

[njnovice]

I'd rethink giving him run of the house too. But have you tried kongs for him? Get the black kind. My dogs destroy the red ones (and just about every other toy) in short order.

[Lewis Moon]

Can't help you with the bones much, but if I was you I would rethink that whole "giving him run of the house" thing for now.

 

 

The problem items usually come from our 10 y/o daughter's room or bathroom. Both of which we either keep closed or keep a baby gate on.....but she's a 10 y/o and forgets every once in a while. Otherwise, Cerb is crated when we are out of the house and sleeps on our bed at night and rarely even moves. We're pretty vigilant but he's ...well...a BC.

 

I figure if he had an attractive alternative chew he'd concentrate more on that and our "security lapses" would be less painful.

[rushdoggie]

The problem items usually come from our 10 y/o daughter's room or bathroom. Both of which we either keep closed or keep a baby gate on.....but she's a 10 y/o and forgets every once in a while. Otherwise, Cerb is crated when we are out of the house and sleeps on our bed at night and rarely even moves. We're pretty vigilant but he's ...well...a BC.

 

I figure if he had an attractive alternative chew he'd concentrate more on that and our "security lapses" would be less painful.

 

Possibly, but often the desire to chew something is because it smells like you guys or is attractiveness in that kind of sense vs. just not having anything the chew on.

 

Something that might help is offering his food in toys that require working at it, might help satisfy his need to forage and explore: have you ever offerred his meals in things like kongs, or puzzle toys? If he really can rip thru plastic you might have to do this supervised, but you would be surprised how satisfying this is for a critter and it can actually help curb some destructive impulses. Its how they often feed zoo animals these days - make them forage for their food and it helps keep them mentally happy.

 

Some links:

 

some Kong reciepes

 

Tricky Treat Ball

 

Nina Ottoson puzzle

 

Premiere Tug a Jug

[Lewis Moon]

Possibly, but often the desire to chew something is because it smells like you guys or is attractiveness in that kind of sense vs. just not having anything the chew on.

 

Something that might help is offering his food in toys that require working at it, might help satisfy his need to forage and explore: have you ever offerred his meals in things like kongs, or puzzle toys? If he really can rip thru plastic you might have to do this supervised, but you would be surprised how satisfying this is for a critter and it can actually help curb some destructive impulses. Its how they often feed zoo animals these days - make them forage for their food and it helps keep them mentally happy.

 

Some links:

 

some Kong reciepes

 

Tricky Treat Ball

 

Nina Ottoson puzzle

 

Premiere Tug a Jug

 

This is a great idea! Thanks a BUNCH for the links! Definately better than just tossing him a bone.....

[nancy in AZ]

Cow hooves--they're stinky but satisfying

[muttlycrew]

Elk Antlers! They are holistic, don't smell or stain the carpet, and the best thing (IMO) is that the dogs can't chew off a big chunk and they don't splinter. They have to grind them down to get the marrow out. There are two kinds that I get. The one that is a solid antler will last a good 3-4 weeks. The kind that is split open will last about 2 weeks. Mine prefer the split opened kind.

 

I get them from a specialty pet store near me but I'm sure you could find them online.

 

My girls also enjoy frozen stuffed kongs, but they only buy me 30-45 mins.

[gcv-border]

Thanks for the links from me too. Kongs are good. I will be interested in the recipes. I am not familiar with the tricky treat ball or the puzzle - will check them out. The Premier Tug-a-Jug was recommended to me by the rehab vet. I think it is a good idea, but Torque chewed through the imitation rope within 10 minutes, and the hard plastic of the jug is VERY loud on wood or tile floors - use it in carpeted rooms!

 

I second elk (deer) antlers - very long lasting. Try to get a good size one since I worry about my dog swallowing a smaller one (or once it gets small after being chewed on).

 

How old is your dog? Mine seemed to lose the intense desire to chew everything, at all times, a few months after he turned 2.

 

Try the trade game. Put a chew toy and something of yours you do not want him to chew in front of him. If he chooses the chew toy, mark his choice (treat or click/treat or YES). Let him know that he did a GOOD thing. If he chooses the other, say Oops in a happy voice, remove it from his mouth gently and place it back on the floor and start the game again.

 

Good Luck,

Jovi

 

_______________________________________________________

 

Possibly, but often the desire to chew something is because it smells like you guys or is attractiveness in that kind of sense vs. just not having anything the chew on.

 

Something that might help is offering his food in toys that require working at it, might help satisfy his need to forage and explore: have you ever offerred his meals in things like kongs, or puzzle toys? If he really can rip thru plastic you might have to do this supervised, but you would be surprised how satisfying this is for a critter and it can actually help curb some destructive impulses. Its how they often feed zoo animals these days - make them forage for their food and it helps keep them mentally happy.

 

Some links:

 

some Kong reciepes

 

Tricky Treat Ball

 

Nina Ottoson puzzle

 

Premiere Tug a Jug

[njnovice]

Elk Antlers! They are holistic, don't smell or stain the carpet, and the best thing (IMO) is that the dogs can't chew off a big chunk and they don't splinter. They have to grind them down to get the marrow out. There are two kinds that I get. The one that is a solid antler will last a good 3-4 weeks. The kind that is split open will last about 2 weeks. Mine prefer the split opened kind.

 

I get them from a specialty pet store near me but I'm sure you could find them online.

 

My girls also enjoy frozen stuffed kongs, but they only buy me 30-45 mins.

 

Hmmm...I'll have to give them a try, since my dogs basically destroy everything that comes in contact with their teeth in short order...the exception being one rawhide stick. Sinead's been walking around with one rawhide since February. She holds it straight out...looks like a giant lollipop. All other rawhides get destroyed in short order. One of them is just "special" to her.

[Lewis Moon]

Cerb's an eight month old BC/Lab mix. So....let's see....24 months, subtract eight....erm...borrow one....THAT'S SIXTEEN MORE MONTHS!

He's also a big boy at 51 lbs and 21inches.

 

Arizona has one of the larger elk populations in the US....hope the antlers won't be too hard to find.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Riley's nickname is "destruct-o"! Anything he touches is destroyed in short order. I agree with the black kongs and I have Nina Ottoson's "Tornado". He eats Daisy's tricky treat ball and would likely put a tug-a-jug through our T.V. But I just discovered the Kong Wobbler! Awesome!!! It's too heavy and slick to pick up and chuck and pretty fun! Check it out!

http://www.kongcompany.com/

Although, he prefers bones or even an empty kong just to chew on. He will sit and chew on anything he's allowed to for quite a while. He just likes to chew. Every single door in our house is closed unless we are in that room and Riley is supervised.

[Lewis Moon]

Elk Antlers! They are holistic, don't smell or stain the carpet, and the best thing (IMO) is that the dogs can't chew off a big chunk and they don't splinter. They have to grind them down to get the marrow out. There are two kinds that I get. The one that is a solid antler will last a good 3-4 weeks. The kind that is split open will last about 2 weeks. Mine prefer the split opened kind.

 

I get them from a specialty pet store near me but I'm sure you could find them online.

 

My girls also enjoy frozen stuffed kongs, but they only buy me 30-45 mins.

 

 

Being in the profession I am in, I did a bit of research on the elk antlers. I had heard of Chronic Wasting Disease and wanted to get the skinny.

 

Are domestic animals at risk for CWD?

There is no indication to date that CWD is a threat to domestic animals or livestock other than deer or elk, and there have been no reports of CWD in dogs or cats.

 

Are prion diseases transmissible to humans?

Although there is considerable ongoing research on this issue, there is no confirmed human neurologic disease linked to CWD at this time. In addition, there have never been any indications of human illness related to scrapie, a prion disease found in sheep. However, ingestion of cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) overseas appears to be related to human deaths from a new variant of a previously identified neurologic disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).

 

That being said, they advise a good bit of caution when handling the carcass and urge that you do not breech the skull or spine.

 

Some trustworthy websites:

NY State Health Dept.

CDC: CWD

 

I'm really not trying to be alarmist but prion diseases, while rare, are not well understood at this point. I think I'll stick with the Benzothiazole, Butylated hydroxyanisole, n-hexadecane, 4-(t-octyl) phenol etc. found in rubber toys.

Those I know.