AnnaKat Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Anyone have a dog who pushes their toys under furniture and then cannot get them back out so they start chewing on the furniture? Any suggestions on how to stop this? I’ve tried spraying with bitter apple but it does not deter her. She does this over and over again, even if she loses her toy because of it. thanks for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Billadeau Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 yes Sounds like she is training you to participate in her game: “if I push my toy under furniture she will interact with me and get my toy”. Got to love smart dogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Try putting some rolled up towels or blankets under the furniture. Use something to block the 'disappearing toys' so she doesn't have to dig for it - IF that is the cause of her chewing the furniture. As for bitter apple: it doesn't work for all dogs. One of my dogs started to chew on the stair banisters when younger. After spraying with bitter apple, he would lick it. He thought it was tasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaKat Posted January 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Yes, I thought it might be her way of getting me to interact with her toy. I’ve tried blocking everything off but she just moves to the next piece of furniture. It’s like she just prefers to push her toys under things! In the last minute, she has shoved her toy underneath three different pieces of furniture but thankfully has not gotten it stuck yet. I only intervene when she begins chewing on the furniture. The chewing is only when she can’t reach the toy and she is struggling to get it out again. should I just ignore it and see if it is the interaction that she is looking for? I have to interrupt the chewing but I can leave the toy hidden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 If she pushes the toy under another piece of furniture, then block that off too. Another option: get toy(s) too big to fit underneath furniture. In my household, toys are not left out. I only allow them to play with toys under direct supervision - i.e. I am personally interacting with the dog and the toy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Cressa Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Can you try giving her something she can bury it under? My boy, Val when he is super bored thinks it’s great fun to bury a toy under a blanket and then having to solve how to get the toy unburied. He loves the joys of having to solve the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Either block off every piece of furniture that she can push a toy under or else keep the toys away from her unless you are supervising her and playing with her with the toys. She has made this into a game and trained you to play it. So, if you don't like the game it is up to you to change it. I think giving her a blanket to bury the toys under is a great idea. How about blocking off all the furniture (go to the Goodwill, buy old blankets or towels, use them to stuff under the furniture) and then give her a blanket, an empty cardboard box, whatever, to hide her toy under. Eventually she may grow out of it and you won't have to keep blankets stuffed under the furniture all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Definitely block off furniture. You might try hiding the toy in another room and reinforcing for finding the toy and bringing it to you. Then you hide it again. You'd need to train a solid fetch first, of course. Finding games are a lot of fun and work off some energy in a good way. If there are nose work classes available to you, check those out as well. Ruth & Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 Hide-and-seek is a great game for dogs. I used to play it daily with one of my border collies. the reward for finding it was a few throws for him to fetch, then I hid it again. He really loved that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaKat Posted January 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2020 Thanks for the help, everyone! I’m going to try to take up all the toys unless we are playing and also teach her to find. We’ve been working on scent training and adding toys in should add some fun in for her! I also tried the blanket trick but she ended up chewing on the blanket trying to get it out. I’m not sure what her fascination with putting toys underneath things is about! She may be getting bored so I will up her training time and see if that does the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexJax Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 My lad Jax (8Mo) does the same. I retrieve the toy and then ask for a series of moves before I’ll return it, sit, lie down, sit, round, lay down, stay, come, sit... After a few rounds of those he decides that all that work isn’t worth the payoff and keeps a better grasp on his toys! He’s at that typical teenage stage, so while he’s huffing and puffing about having to do chores, I get to be all smug with my unbeatable opposable thumbs and torch skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyDoPets Posted October 20, 2020 Report Share Posted October 20, 2020 My dog do the same I am not sure why but what I think they might don't like or afraid of something unnatural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiawatha Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 Draft dodgers, also called “draft stopper,” around the base of all your furniture. My pets do this too. Draft dodgers are long tubes of cloth that are designed to be put at the bases of doors and windows to stop cold air from entering, but they are great for putting around the base of furniture to keep pet toys out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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