Help! Our Puppy Just Chewed A Hole In The Leather Couch!--upda

[Bundyburger]

I agree it is the owners fault most of the time. But in my defense he had never shown an interest in the couch, he has never been crated, and until now no problems and ( we must be just lucky until now!!) we have had him since he was 8 weeks of age, and if it was the remotes or my sunnies etc i would understand alot more than him ripping and chewing a hole in the side of the couch.

And yes until I get a firmer hold on the situation his freedom has been curtailed somewhat.

You never assume.. it ALWAYS bites you in the ass where puppies are concerned After 6 months we thought, ahh he'll be right.. NOPE... $500 raybans, about 30 pairs of underwear, 2 pairs of my shoes/thongs, one laptop charger and three beds and half a couch(a very old spare one) later... we finally realised he either came with us or was penned.. They always (unless you are lucky) turn into ferals when you least expect it.. I am still wondering HOW he chewed a hole in one of the floorboards all that time ago...

Even now we don't trust him to have run of the back room just yet... Maybe next month after he goes another 4 weeks without chewing something

Edited November 21, 2010 by Bundy's Mum

[Huntia]

He has become an adolescent, the dreaded stage of a dog's development and this is when they do things they have never done before and can be right royal ratbags getting up to all sorts of mischief. My current Lab youngster (14mths), was a fantastic pup who never destroyed his toys and had only had an odd chew on the TV stand, but once he became an adolescent the little bugger decided to go big and the couch seat cushions became his first victim. I started crating him after this when I went out for anywhere from 1-3 hrs (I worked from home) for a few weeks and then gradually let him have his freedom in the family room with my older lab boys like he used to and he was great for awhile, then decided to have another go at the couch cushions, so once again into the crate or outside he went (weather dependent) when I had to go out. Once again after a couple of weeks, I gradually gave him his freedom inside when I went out and apart from dragging the dogs beds and futons and blankets around, he never did any more damage.

From about 9months he seemed to have turned a corner, no more couch cushion chewing, no more pulling clothes off the line, no more counter surfing etc Apart from a couple of these couch chewing episodes, he has really been a fabulous pup and the only one out of all my lab youngsters that I have allowed access to both inside and outside when I am not home as I have two senior labs that mainly live inside during the colder months with outside access.

He is a great puppy, very affectionate and lovable, and most importantly fantastic with the kids.

When I am out he and the older ridgie are outside, they only come inside when I am at home. And usually he follows me all over the house.

Since the couch chewing, if I know I can't monitor him I have been putting him outside.

I would really like to modify this behaviour with training and positive reinforcement, so that we can get back to him having his freedom inside, without having to resort to the crate if possible.

And I am off to buy a bag of dog bones to give him all the chewing he needs outside!!

[sheena]

If you clearly want him to stay away from the couch when you are not in the room, you can get a "static mat" (I think that's what it is called). You place it on the couch, garden, bench etc, wherever you don't want puppy to go. When he jumps on it he gets a very small static shock, which he doesn't forget, & of course associates the unpleasantness with the couch etc. You can also get static strips which are good for keeping cats off benches etc.

[sas]

I agree it is the owners fault most of the time. But in my defense he had never shown an interest in the couch, he has never been crated, and until now no problems and ( we must be just lucky until now!!) we have had him since he was 8 weeks of age, and if it was the remotes or my sunnies etc i would understand alot more than him ripping and chewing a hole in the side of the couch.

And yes until I get a firmer hold on the situation his freedom has been curtailed somewhat.

Nup, there are no buts. You made a mistake, that simple. We all do, learn from it and do not leave the puppy unsupervised whilst inside your home again until it has outgrown the puppy stage and has proved it can be reliable.

I'm taking a rough guess here that 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 sofas are ruined world wide by dogs every year.....so yeah don't be suprised.

The dog can turn its' attention to anything that's why you can't leave them unsupervised when they're in this stage.

Edited November 22, 2010 by sas

[Huntia]

Hi. Just an update on the couch chewing pooch ;)

Eucalyptus oil applied every few days has worked a treat for keeping the puppy from chewing the couch. He hates the smell and when I reapply he moves at least 2 metres away from the offending area!!

So anything he looks sideways at get the eucalyptus oil treatment :D .

There has been no more chewing on the couch for over 2 weeks now !!!

And to top it off the quote to fix it wasn't as bad as I was expecting!! yeah

When would you expect the teething stage to finish? He is nearly 6 1/2 months now and it is almost like he needs a dummy. He always seems to have something in his mouth. Some he chews up, others he just carries around.

At the moment I am just glad I have found something that works for discouraging him from chewing undesirable things.....like the couch

[Gayle.]

I have an 8 month old puppy who's discovered my shoes taste good, he destroyed three pairs....two of them were brand new. He was getting them while I was asleep at night....opening the wardrobe door and helping himself.

I turfed him outside and he was fine, then one night my husband took pity on him and let him sleep in the rumpus room. He woke up to find his new headphones in tiny pieces all over the floor.

So puppy's back outside now. He doesn't seem to mind, he has a big sheltered area, a choice of beds and various sheds and a kennel if he wants a change.

He can sleep back inside when he can behave himself unsupervised.

[Huntia]

I have an 8 month old puppy who's discovered my shoes taste good, he destroyed three pairs....two of them were brand new. He was getting them while I was asleep at night....opening the wardrobe door and helping himself.

I turfed him outside and he was fine, then one night my husband took pity on him and let him sleep in the rumpus room. He woke up to find his new headphones in tiny pieces all over the floor.

So puppy's back outside now. He doesn't seem to mind, he has a big sheltered area, a choice of beds and various sheds and a kennel if he wants a change.

He can sleep back inside when he can behave himself unsupervised.

I know what you mean. I don't think I would get much rest if I let the couch chewer sleep inside, he also has been known to chew a shoe or 2!! We keep all shoes in a plastic box/crate underneath the pew in the family room. this has only happened since the arrival of the couch chewer, watch out anyone who doesn't put there shoes in the box, because he considers them fair game and boy is he quick!!

[Kyra]

One of my dogs completely destroyed a couch as a 10 week old puppy, she escaped past the baby gate while we were out and had the time of her life.. little bitch

[shelby-001]

Glad it's working, I think our truck is going to get the eucalyptus oil treatment, ours have chewed wiring on it 3 times now.

When they have been walked, trained, fed a RMB, then played with and left a buffalo pizzle to chew on leaving, there is NO reason for them to chew. Especially when they have a variety of chew toys, a treat ball and a kong to keep them busy on top of the sand pit stoked with treats. We have no idea so if eucalyptus worked for you we will give it a go.

[siks3]

My 7 month old akita chewed off my water timers then the kids water slide and a hose last night.

I walk him every day to the point of exhaustion.

He will not chew things in the house but he has enjoyed sleeping outside the last few nights because the weather is cool.

Never again he can sleep inside with us. I can't wait until the adolescent stage is finished.

[poodlefan]

My 7 month old akita chewed off my water timers then the kids water slide and a hose last night.

I walk him every day to the point of exhaustion.

He will not chew things in the house but he has enjoyed sleeping outside the last few nights because the weather is cool.

Never again he can sleep inside with us. I can't wait until the adolescent stage is finished.

I'm confused. He chewed things outside so he can't come inside??

Why not sleep him inside in a crate?

[twodoggies2001]

My 7 month old akita chewed off my water timers then the kids water slide and a hose last night.

I walk him every day to the point of exhaustion.

He will not chew things in the house but he has enjoyed sleeping outside the last few nights because the weather is cool.

Never again he can sleep inside with us. I can't wait until the adolescent stage is finished.

I'm confused. He chewed things outside so he can't come inside??

Why not sleep him inside in a crate?

I think what the poster is trying to say is that he will have to sleep inside from now on.

[siks3]

My 7 month old akita chewed off my water timers then the kids water slide and a hose last night.

I walk him every day to the point of exhaustion.

He will not chew things in the house but he has enjoyed sleeping outside the last few nights because the weather is cool.

Never again he can sleep inside with us. I can't wait until the adolescent stage is finished.

I'm confused. He chewed things outside so he can't come inside??

Why not sleep him inside in a crate?

I think what the poster is trying to say is that he will have to sleep inside from now on.

Yep.