Positive Punishment?

[smashtank]

Hi guys

Tank has decided to chew anything and everything. I think this is maybe a little my fault because has a lot of toys and he chews them.

But, when he hasn't got a toy in his mouth, he wants to chew the bed, the desk, the couch, the pillows... How do I 'punish' him and stop him from chewing things that shouldn't be chewed. I get him by his face (gently) and look in his eyes and say no, but I worry that he thinks I'm playing with him.

I also try to go and grab something I want him to chew - eg he loves the toilet rolls and I put some kibble in a Kong bone thing.

Any ideas? Or is this just a phase I have to deal with?

Thanks

Ash :)

[persephone]

Welcome to puppydom!

first ..

it is your fault if he chews ;)

puppies learn by feeling/tasting ; mostly with their mouths, as they have no nice soft finger skin to use !

So .. if something needs exploring , ie: The WORLD around them .. off they go.

he needs to be kept away from items that you don't want him to chew .

Puppy proof your house

provide him with VERY Good Chewy Things .. like LARGE bones ... ...and put him in his playpen , or outside ....

Feed him a meal in a treatball or kong ..so he can work at getting his food :)

Don't give him free reign of the house until he can be trusted .

teach him SWAP !! :D

when he has a fairly ordinary toy .. arm yourself with a few YUMMY treats , like tiny bits of cheese, or cat food, or sausage ... call him , show him teh treat , and when he drops the toy , feed him IMMEDIATELY , and say "Swap" ..GOOOOOOD BOY , etc .

Give him his toy back ... every time , while learning...

NEVER run after and grab - this teaches pups to hang on & run FAST :p

[smashtank]

Thanks!

I figured we will need confinement. *sigh* more Frenchie death wails.

He lives in my study which has my desk in it. I'm thinking or wrapping the legs of the desk in blankets - he likes climbing onto the little shelves so I don't want to block the desk off completely because it kind of keeps amused when I put him away.

I have a puppy Kong - how do I block the hole - it seems like it would be way too easy for his little kibble to get out.

[moosepup]

I have a puppy Kong - how do I block the hole - it seems like it would be way too easy for his little kibble to get out.

Peanut butter.

[Melina Bea]

Great video about kong stuffing:

If he's a bit of a monster, you might also want to get the puppy kong 'extreme' :laugh: (black instead of red)

[minimax]

Prevention is better than punishment, and teaching pup (physical) boundaries early on.

Compost cages from bunnings are good, even to put around furniture to stop him getting to the furniture, and they are easily movable.

[smashtank]

Prevention is better than punishment, and teaching pup (physical) boundaries early on.

Compost cages from bunnings are good, even to put around furniture to stop him getting to the furniture, and they are easily movable.

I might make a trip to bunnings. Otherwise the legs and shelves of this desk will be chewed until it falls on him

[Zug Zug]

Depending on the dog, bitter spray (I have one called Red Hot Chilli) can be helpful for specific items you want him to leave alone.

IME you need to keep topping up the spray.

For example, I have sprayed my other dog's coat with it - to stop my big guy from grabbing her by the coat while playing which I think is a bit unfair.

I also used it to spray on the couch when he started taking a shine to it.

It works for a while (with some dogs) but just remember it wears off so you need to keep adding to it every day or so until your dog gets the idea to leave that thing alone.

I still wouldn't trust the dog unsupervised with anything that's particularly special though.

Not sure of the merits of rugs around the legs of the desk. He might just start enjoying chewing the rugs. For an example like that, I'd tend to go for a combination of bitter spray on the desk, and an awesome kong to chew while you're in the room, and completely restricting his access when you can't be in the room.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Zug Zug

[becks]

just tell him NO in a loud voice and then give him something you want him to chew on - no need to grab his face and then say no as that is just confusing, he needs the NO when he is doing something you don't want him to do. No can be an important word to teach as it can stop your dog in its tracks from doing something from running out an open door or about to grab something you have dropped that is not suitable for him.

[Weasels]

just tell him NO in a loud voice and then give him something you want him to chew on - no need to grab his face and then say no as that is just confusing, he needs the NO when he is doing something you don't want him to do. No can be an important word to teach as it can stop your dog in its tracks from doing something from running out an open door or about to grab something you have dropped that is not suitable for him.

I'm a big fan of training what "No" means, if nothing else because that's what a bystander is most likely to yell if my dog is heading for the road/pile of snail pellets/whatever. But I also see a lot of people who a) don't train it, just assume the dog knows what it means and b) don't really have a criteria for what it means in their own head - and use it interchangeably for "stop" "drop it" "leave it" "quiet" "go away" etc. etc., then the word doesn't really have the effect the owner is looking for. A worthwhile word to train though, IMO.

For me it means "stop moving" (although I admit I use it as "go away" when I'm exasperated, but then more as part of a sentence about how annoying they are ).

[The Spotted Devil]

I stuff Kongs with a mix of dry food, a little raw diced lamb (bought some cheap off cuts) and 4 Legs dog roll or balls. I mix it up with my hands so it's almost paste like and pack it really hard into the Kong - a good 30-40 min activity for a very determined, in season, Spaniel who is being confined more than usual. A nice meaty bone, lots of exercise and training as well and she is generally content. No food in bowls at all.

[persephone]

If your pup is in a study , I presume there are also electronics/powerpoints/cords etc?

if so, this is a dangerous place to house a pup ...esp one who now knows chewing stuff is fine & dandy

I really suggest a good sized playpen .. with room to sleep.toilet and play ... and still be inside ...but safe when unsupervised .

Like this is a great idea!

[JackC]

That's my plan above for Koda when we are out, enough room to play and when he has matured a little opening it up further and blocking off only specific rooms / areas.

I was taught to stop behaviour you don't want to start with a verbal block, and if that does not work bring the verbal block 3-4 levels louder, if that still doesn't work a physically block might be needed.

Do not praise or comfort the dog after you give a verbal block (ARRR or NO) as this will confuse him and make him think that its ok to do that bad thing as long as he stops when asked, you want him to understand that when you say NO or ARRRR its bad full stop and should not be done at all.

[dancinbcs]

I have raised a few super destructive chewers and have worked out a method that works very well. First confine the dog if you cannot watch it with a puppy pen with stuff to chew in it. When they have supervised access to the rest of the house, have a toy basket full of interesting toys of all different textures from hard chews like nylabones or antlers to soft toys to cardboard boxes. Encourage the puppy to take stuff from the toy basket and always praise when they do. This lets them know that this is their "stuff" and they can do whatever they want with it. They can make as much mess as they want so long as they don't touch anything else. Everything else is your stuff and they are not allowed to chew it. A harsh arrrgghhhh sound or a serious sounding growl works much better than the word no, if they chew something they shouldn't. Dogs have no idea what no means but a growl is universal dog language. If they are obsessed with door frames or wooden furniture, using something like Vicks Vapourub or a bitter spray will deter most. For any tendency to chew dangerous stuff like electrical cords, sound aversion can work well. Bang some saucepan lids together or throw a short length of chain near enough to them to startle them. Praise immediately they leave whatever it is alone. Consistency is the key with praise when they are chewing their own stuff and a reprimand if they touch anything else.

Finally if they destroy your stuff when you are not watching them, take a rolled up newspaper and whack yourself around the head for allowing the puppy to make a mistake that will set them back in their training.

[alpha bet]

You haven't mentioned outside time.....firstly going out to explore with his humans in new surrounds very important especially starting out.

Also the backyard is the place for our dogs to play and run, build muscles and have loads of toys and games to play even a garage or carport can be set up with toys dangling from cord to create activity for single pups - tired puppies are much less likely to spend their time chewing.....

Inside time is more for chill out space.... not playtime - so I recommend that there is no wrestling, tug of war, chasing games - inside is for crashing on the mat and resting from the previous activity... quiet time laying down perhaps with something yummy to chew on....

Once you have kids you have to kidproof the lower regions of the rooms, same applies for the puppy stage. But even so if his energy level is too high inside, you are not meeting his needs for the exercise - physical and mental - get him out and wear him out, then he loves to come in and have quiet time to have a quiet cuddle while watching tv.

My dad was a scout leader, he always said if you give kids enough activity they don't have the time nor energy to get up to mischief.... he was right.

If your pup/dog spends most of the day inside you will have damage done.

Edited May 22, 2013 by alpha bet

[kelpiecuddles]

I'm a big fan of training what "No" means, if nothing else because that's what a bystander is most likely to yell if my dog is heading for the road/pile of snail pellets/whatever. But I also see a lot of people who a) don't train it, just assume the dog knows what it means and b) don't really have a criteria for what it means in their own head - and use it interchangeably for "stop" "drop it" "leave it" "quiet" "go away" etc. etc., then the word doesn't really have the effect the owner is looking for. A worthwhile word to train though, IMO.

For me it means "stop moving" (although I admit I use it as "go away" when I'm exasperated, but then more as part of a sentence about how annoying they are ).

This, I also teach the words 'leave' and 'enough' so that they have different words for the different behaviours I may want them to stop. Leave is more of a pre-emptive word used to show my expectation(so I am using it right now as I am watching my basset who keeps licking at an itchy spot on her back where there is medication). Enough is used if the dogs are getting silly or in your face or getting a bit too exuberant and the circumstances don't permit it or to end a game in a hurry if needed.

[RazorBlade]

I'm also training "leave it" and "that's enough" with Toby and so far it's working really well and is very handy to stop unwanted behaviour and as an end to training/play time.

[Melina Bea]

Bear in mind this is a young puppy in an apartment. There's no back yard to tire him out, and he doesn't have all his shots so its not safe to take him to the park yet.

[Tassie]

I have raised a few super destructive chewers and have worked out a method that works very well. First confine the dog if you cannot watch it with a puppy pen with stuff to chew in it. When they have supervised access to the rest of the house, have a toy basket full of interesting toys of all different textures from hard chews like nylabones or antlers to soft toys to cardboard boxes. Encourage the puppy to take stuff from the toy basket and always praise when they do. This lets them know that this is their "stuff" and they can do whatever they want with it. They can make as much mess as they want so long as they don't touch anything else. Everything else is your stuff and they are not allowed to chew it. A harsh arrrgghhhh sound or a serious sounding growl works much better than the word no, if they chew something they shouldn't. Dogs have no idea what no means but a growl is universal dog language. If they are obsessed with door frames or wooden furniture, using something like Vicks Vapourub or a bitter spray will deter most. For any tendency to chew dangerous stuff like electrical cords, sound aversion can work well. Bang some saucepan lids together or throw a short length of chain near enough to them to startle them. Praise immediately they leave whatever it is alone. Consistency is the key with praise when they are chewing their own stuff and a reprimand if they touch anything else.

Finally if they destroy your stuff when you are not watching them, take a rolled up newspaper and whack yourself around the head for allowing the puppy to make a mistake that will set them back in their training.

Great advice here! Prevention when you can't be there, and interrupt and redirect when you are. No by itself really doesn't teach the pup what is acceptable - the interrupt re-direct acknowledge's the pup's need to chew on stuff, but redirects him to what is acceptable in his/your world.

And persephone's set-up is great too.

In terms of the pup not being able to go out much yet ... I would be tiring his little brain out doing lots of little tiny bits of shaping training with him. Have a look at sites like Clicker solutions, or kikopup's Youtube channel for some ideas. It's also good for building up the bond and relationship between you and the pup.

[Lugeanjaam]

All of the above + 1.

I have a chewer too. Flynn is never out of my sight when he is indoors. I don't trust that he won't chew anything he could get his little teeth on. If I can't supervise him I will pop him in his crate with a roo tail to keep him occupied.

He has his box of stuff that he has free access too. I keep it stocked up with bully sticks, chew toys, balls, toilet rolls, venison ears and his stuffed toys. It works great as he will happily go to his box and pick out what he wants. If he gets hold of something I dont want him to have a simple 'leave' command will get him to drop the offending item and I will redirect him to an allowable toy. Now I just need to teach him to clean up after himself!