General Chat

ive got a lovely 9month old golden labrador retriever,hes lovely in every way except that he chews everything except the furniture.
he eats coal,wood,paper,plastic,and our underwear,and its getting to be a problem now,ive tried antichew sprays(he licks the spray off) ive tried raising my voice and telling him hes a naughty boy,ive done everything to no avail, hes not bored as hes taken out walking 4times a day,and we all play with him in the garden,hes a very much loved dog and has lots of cuddles,i just dont know where im going wrong, any tips?x

hasnt anyone got any ideas?any dog trainers on here.

charlie has every toy you can imagine, but oh how he loves eating my bras,my husbands and sons boxers are another favorite(but hes fussy,only clean underwear)and socks,every time i put a pair of socks on they have a hole in them.put hes never touched the furniture(maybe hes saving that for later)i know hes only a pup,but we have had labs before and never had this trouble.x

oh no,im running out of underwear,cant take this much longer, but will try the whistle sounds like a good idea,hes a lovely dog,hes lying in his bed beside me while im typing this,you would think that butter wouldnt melt in his mouth.xx

it took us 3 years to get benson
to stop eating my house nothing was safe

noooooo, i cant go through 3yrs like this,although when i shout at him for being naughty,he looks up at me with his beautiful big brown eyes and i just melt, i wonder who needs the training,me or the dog.x

He will grow out of it... our dog Tess went through the same thing earlier this year she was 12 months gone Aug.

Try a squeezy bottle filled with water and everytime he picks something up or you find him chewing squirt him with the water and say firmly NO, he will get the message you just have to follow it through religiously. When he leaves them praise him. Eventually he will drop them when you say no.

Good luck.
Catherine

Hi
Every time your dog does something noughty.... Sprey him with a Water Pistol and firmly tell him NO. This will act as a Short sharp shock treatment without hurting the dog. Your dog will soon start to learn right from wrong. Your need to keep this up possably for a few weeks. It's a method some leading dog trainers use to cure problems such as barking at nothing, Peeing on carpets, Chewing things in the house, etc. It's a simple idea but very effective. Your need to use the same command to get him to what you want when you want him to, If you want him to sit then say a firm SIT, if the want him to stop doing something use a firm NO or STOP, ect Hope all goes well.

Ron

at the moment charlie is like the lovely cuddly lab from hell, but i will try all your ideas,the funny thing is ,we took him to training classes when he was small ,and he passed with flying colours,hes very god at some things,hes never done a wee or messed in the house,he walkes on and off the lead very well,he never runs away from us,and he sleeps like a baby all night,so he has got his good points,i just wish he would stop eating my house.x

As soon as you see him grabbing anything he shouldn't chew, take it away with a firm NO and immediately replace it with something he can have, then praise him for playing with that.

Otherwise, he won't learn what he is and isn't allowed to have.

If all else fails, an indoor kennel while you are out will keep him out of mischief and save the chaotic return to a chewed up home.:))

he doesnt chew things while hes alone never has done, i thought it was attention seeking,but he has loads of attention from all the family.x

So his bad points are outnumbered by the good one then:)))

He is just being a rebellious teenager! LOL

thats a great tale,but sad to say charlie had his n---s chopped off 3months ago..... and hes still humping pillows.xx

Why not go back to training classes. Labs are prone to being a bit off the wall. People make the mistake of attending these classes in puppyhood only. They need to be focused (usually a retrieve toy will do it with a lab). They love learning, trouble is they do whether they are taught or not!. Usually they find this is a great game of chase-dont play(they will win). Kong toys are a good distraction,mine love them cheese and chicken. If you can go back to training classes it will help. Good luck. x

He sounds a lovely dog, very bright. If the water pistol isn't working, and we know labs love water, you could try putting pebbles in an empty plastic water bottle, so they clatter when you shake it and distract him. When we had a young Doberman, she started picking up shoes and towels to chew. I think it started when her baby teeth were coming out, so her gums may have been irritating. She had bones to chew which she liked, but seemed to want fabric in her mouth. We managed to stop her by tying an old sock in a tight knot which was then hers. Every time she picked anything else up we said LEAVE very firmly and gave her the sock instead. After a short time she seemed to get the message and would look for her sock to shake herself when she was mooching about looking for trouble! Hope you soon succeed!

ive spent a fortune on bones,rubber ones,flavoured ones,chocolate ones,gravy coated ones,ive got rubber rings,rubber balls,rubber bones,squeaky toys(although i take the squeak out) soft toys(its funny but he never chews his soft toys) frizbys,kong toys,but no he has to eat my bras,i think the cellotape around the mouth was a good idea ha ha (only joking.

My son bought a black lab x ,spaniel,just before xmas last year.Gorgeous dog ,and called him Digger.
Well,he certainly lived up to his name,they havent had a plant in a pot all summer.To top everything,they are getting married on saturday and last week the dog ate his new shoes..before he has always gone for DILs shoes.

My cousin had a golden lab, and she was the same taking clothes off the line, eating them,and despositing them a couple of days after, when out for her walk.
She grew out of it, and was the most faithful dog anyone could have, better than any nursemaid when the kids were small. She would not let them out of her sight when they were out.
When the kids grew up, they had another one, he was the same taking things off the line, but stopped early, when he got a taste for beer.My cousins son used to have his mates round, and he used to go up to them if they were having a beer with his bowl in his mouth for a drop. He also went around with his begging bowl for a take away. they might be having.

Mo

well he hasnt started boozing yet,but im sure it wont be long.xx

My 9 month old lurcher pup used to try and chew my shoes when she was younger, and other things too. A firm "Leave it!" worked well and she quickly learnt to leave my shoes alone.

Problem with puppies is they dont understand about ownership of things left laying around the house - so to them anything is fair game.

I keep mine supplied with a large assortment of stuffed toys - mostly picked up from the charity shops cheaply, they also last longer than pet toys. This works well as long as you dont have children with their own soft toys as the dog wont know the difference.

For the same reason, never give a dog an old shoe or item of clothing to play with - it wont know the difference.

I also keep her supplied with big cooked marrow bones I get from the pet shop.