Comments on: A Canine Garbage Disposal

By: Michele

Michele — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:42:50 +0000

We have a black lab who has separation anxiety when we got him at age 3 long story short he was a mess so living in Seattle there was a local talk show that would have a dog trainer Uncle Maddy on he works miracles so I went to the website http://www.unclemaddy.com and emailed a question I figured may get a letter back less then 24 hours I got a phone call I ended up buying his book I think it is call no bad dogs just bad behavior. I even bought training videos, and attended a class when he was in Seattle this all happened over a period of time we had gotten a boxer puppy so needed more help. It helped both dogs and he has great tips one thing we used for chewing was sour powder he recommended you mix it with water and made a paste. any way he has a ton of tips I have been to his website in a long time but you can check it out.

By: Janelle

Janelle — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:36:06 +0000

Les — Dulcie is just too adorable! Unfortunately, I don’t have any advice for you. I’ve never had a dog that chewed stuff — thank goodness!

However, like Linda Gates, my dog does occasionally indulge in those cat poopies out of the cat box. So gross!!! What is up with that? We call those cat liter encrusted logs “kitty-Roca” — like almond roca, because that’s what it looks like.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:07:54 +0000

Thanks so much for all the great tips and advice!

I hadn’t tried Bitter Apple with Dulcie because we used it with Cassie and she licked it up like it was ice cream.

I will definitely give some of these other suggestions a shot!

By: Gigi

Gigi — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:01:05 +0000

I had the same trouble with my doggie Bridgette when she was a puppy.
At 3 months Bridgette chewed off the head of a disposable razor.
That accident cost me $100 for x-rays. thank goodness i noticed that the razor was missing. I had been cleaning my bathtub and had taken everything out and when I put stuff back in I noticed the missing razor.
I found Bridgette under my bed with the handle of the razor in her mouth.

the vet gave her a few tablespoons of peroxide and she threw up the razor.
They told me if it had gotten into her intestines she would have had to have had surgery.
WE have had to use the peroxide rememdy a few ti,es during the puppy phase. the nastiest thing she ever ate was a dead turtle out of the pond. YUCK!!

After that episode everything that could be chewed or found my a dog was put up out of reach.

At 6 months old she chewed up a brand new pair of ballet pointe shoes.
My daughter got in trouble because she knew not to leave anything laying around for the dog to get hold of.

I say just treat her like you did you kids when they were crawling around the house.

Have lots of squeaky and fuzzy toys for her to play with.
I think most of the time the puppies are bored and just want attention so they act up. Just like a little kid.

Good luck
:monkey :monkey

By: erin

erin — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:00:33 +0000

When i trained my lab mix i used positive reenforcment. Whenever he was chewing on something he wasn’t supposed to i would say ‘no bite’ then when he let go i would say ‘good no bite’ and pet him like crazy, it took awhile but he soon learned if he was good he would get lots of love. Good luck

By: Cherylann

Cherylann — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:56:42 +0000

What a cutie Delucie is

she sounds like my girlfriend’s dog I forget what he is hmm I think Bassett Hound and he has eaten remotes for the tv’s batteries and all, rat poision and they do the same thing barricade the house up, but sometimes they forget and just the other day he drank wine because my girlfriend’s hubby left a glass of wine on the coffee table and he drank it without tipping the glass over. :scratch3: he isn’t a puppy either

By: Pat Cochran

Pat Cochran — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:52:44 +0000

Just consulted with my son-in-law whose Great Dane just about ate their whole house!
It happened when Dakota was teething. They tried all kinds of chew toys and rawhide
bones, she just ate them, then went back to wood items. They tried the bitter apple
spray, she ate the bitter apple bottle! He finally gave her one of his old wooden bats.
She chewed it to a point, but left the windowsills alone. Once her permanent teeth
were all in, the chewing began to lessen. Now at age 11, she only indulges in an
occasional mouthful of grass!

Pat Cochran

By: Carol R

Carol R — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:17:15 +0000

Puppies teethe just like babies do and just like babies they need something to chew on. They make some really great puppy toys for just this purpose. But if this doesn’t seem to be the problem your vet will have some better ideas. :dog1: :dog1:

By: Karin

Karin — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:47:43 +0000

I don’t have any pets, but I did some dogsitting last month and the owners had the bitter apple spray limecello mentioned. It worked really well. Carly’s suggestion sounds really good, too.

Of course, I’m with Cher on asking the vet if they have any suggestions of something you can try. It can’t hurt to have back-up plans if something doesn’t work.

By: limecello

limecello — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:24:56 +0000

Hm… dogs that eat garbage? No way! LOL – but seriously, not good. I know a lot of breeders recommend bitter apple – it’s a spray you should be able to get at pets stores. Douse things in it. And/or if you see Dulcie chewing on something, even after it’s been sprayed with bitter apple – spray it directly in her mouth. Seems cruel, but it works. And I have to admit, watching an oversized puppy try to work the taste out of it’s mouth after the breeder sprayed it was too amusing.