dididog Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) I can count on one hand the amount of things Didi has destroyed in her life time which I think is a fair tally... the problem is one of them is the outside of our house! We rent and it's an old weatherboard so plenty of wood and there are 4 separate walls she can access in the backyard. The first occasion was pretty bad. I'd put her outside with a bone for maybe 45 minutes and came out to a large corner gouged away. We've blocked this area off and in the months since she hasn't done it again. Yesterday she was in the yard while I was out and had a frozen chicken frame, a stuffed Kong and two other chew toys she likes to keep her occupied and she had been to the park that morning so was relatively tired. Came home to a few little nibbles on one of the panels which was not too bad so I didn't do anything about it but then my Dad let her out this morning to play with her Kong and in that small time frame she made it A LOT worse. I don't know what to do! I can't do the usual suggestions like Vicks or something similar because there are so many walls and so many possible chew areas. As mentioned we rent and already I can tell this will be costing be a bit to fix Suggestions to stop her? Don't really like the idea of her crunching on old wood and paint very much either. Edited August 30, 2014 by Terri S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yonjuro Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Maybe tack some chicken wire to the areas so she can't get at them. Just make sure that she can't scratch herself on any exposed areas of wire. There are plastic versions of the wire but don't know how good it would be. Basically anything that can cover a bit should work - maybe some hard rubber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) Maybe tack some chicken wire to the areas so she can't get at them. Just make sure that she can't scratch herself on any exposed areas of wire. There are plastic versions of the wire but don't know how good it would be. Basically anything that can cover a bit should work - maybe some hard rubber? Yeah I was thinking we'd have to put some sort of sheeting around the house, perhaps acetate or corflute but chicken wire or some other mesh will probably be less bulky and less expensive. She's really tall so I will need a lot of what ever it is to cover all the bits she can reach. Thanks for the idea, might hit Bunnings up tomorrow and see what would work :) Edited August 30, 2014 by Terri S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 My Lab x went through a wood chewing phase at around 8 to 10 months of age, she chewed through the wood latticework on the back decking. Dogs supposedly don't like citronella oil, so I bought a 1 L bottle and painted it lightly on the wood. No more chewing :) I also made sure she had some recreational bones in the backyard i.e. old dino bones, to use her teeth on instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranga Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I wouldn't use plastic mesh, she'd just chew that too :) We had a labrador who tried to eat our house too. She even chewed through the wiring under the house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raineth Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Might also be an idea to see if you can get some footage of it to make sure it's not an anxiety-based behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranga Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Actually, looking at the photos, it looks as though the wood is rotten anyway. Maybe that's why she's attracted to it? Could you approach the landlord about getting it fixed without mentioning the dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I no longer have a back door frame (thank you Tempeh) for my screen door to sit in. I know if I replaced it she would just chew it off again. Timber just seems to be her thing - my inside stairs, the coffee table, dining table and one of the bedside tables seem to taste pretty good too. She has been known to bring tree limbs into the house and lie on my bed with them for a nibble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) I no longer have a back door frame (thank you Tempeh) for my screen door to sit in. I know if I replaced it she would just chew it off again. Timber just seems to be her thing - my inside stairs, the coffee table, dining table and one of the bedside tables seem to taste pretty good too. She has been known to bring tree limbs into the house and lie on my bed with them for a nibble. I no longer have the door frame or the mesh therein. Thank you, Horrible Herbert. Maybe he has Shar Pei in his lines. His greatest joy is to bring slobbered on pieces of 'timber/wood' inside as a trophy. Edited August 30, 2014 by VizslaMomma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 How do they not get splinters in their mouths? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) My Lab x went through a wood chewing phase at around 8 to 10 months of age, she chewed through the wood latticework on the back decking. Dogs supposedly don't like citronella oil, so I bought a 1 L bottle and painted it lightly on the wood. No more chewing :) I also made sure she had some recreational bones in the backyard i.e. old dino bones, to use her teeth on instead. This might be a less invasive way, I don't like the idea of having to attach things to the outside of the house in case it damages it in someway. Does it have any effect on paintwork? I wouldn't use plastic mesh, she'd just chew that too :) We had a labrador who tried to eat our house too. She even chewed through the wiring under the house Yeah I was thinking she could probably chew through mesh which was why I was also thinking some sort of sheeting as she would find it hard to get a grip on a smooth flat surface. Might also be an idea to see if you can get some footage of it to make sure it's not an anxiety-based behaviour. Hmm I don't think it is because two out of the three times she has done we've been home and she was just outside playing/eating a bone which she does everyday so I'm sure she'd be doing it more frequently and more obsessively if it was anxiety based? If she is doing it a lot/being destructive in general I will try it but I think it's more just a case of her having a sweet tooth for wood since she will try and chew sticks and bark, I think she's probably just worked out the house is also made of wood :laugh: Edited August 30, 2014 by Terri S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirra Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Actually, looking at the photos, it looks as though the wood is rotten anyway. Maybe that's why she's attracted to it? Could you approach the landlord about getting it fixed without mentioning the dog? My thoughts exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-o Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 The stuff you put on your nails to stop you biting them.... maybe get a big tub of that and paint all the wood :laugh: When my BC was young she ate most of the house, including big chunks of the stairway and she even took big chucks out of the walls(!). I dread to think how many $$$$s she cost us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDJ Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 A suggestion is to go to one of the horse suppliers (eg : Horseland etc) and look at one of the spray products used for horses that eat timber. They are relatively inexpensive - they don't damage timber or paintwork, but taste foul :-). And being a spray, it is relatively easy to cover a large area Not sure if I agree with the 'the timber looks dodgy, ring the landlord and don't mention the dog' theory - one of the reasons that some landlords say 'no pets' is because of previous knowledge or where an animal has done damage and the owner has not acknowledge it. I agree, the timber may be old and brittle, but hopefully with honest on both sides a fair outcome is possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 A suggestion is to go to one of the horse suppliers (eg : Horseland etc) and look at one of the spray products used for horses that eat timber. They are relatively inexpensive - they don't damage timber or paintwork, but taste foul :-). And being a spray, it is relatively easy to cover a large area Not sure if I agree with the 'the timber looks dodgy, ring the landlord and don't mention the dog' theory - one of the reasons that some landlords say 'no pets' is because of previous knowledge or where an animal has done damage and the owner has not acknowledge it. I agree, the timber may be old and brittle, but hopefully with honest on both sides a fair outcome is possible Thanks for that, there's a saddlery up the road so I'll check in and see what they have. Also the wood isn't rotten, the gouged away corner only looks like it because that happened months ago and it has since been exposed to the elements, you can see with the bit she just chewed that the wood is normal and that's what it looked like when she first chewed the other one. We are on very good terms with our landlord and he's been great about us having Didi so no I don't want to pull the wool over his eyes, I don't even know if he'll want to replace it yet as it's only cosmetic and wood in other areas is deteriorated even worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keetamouse Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Can you not put a muzzle on her the ones where the dogs can breath and drink whilst on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Probably but then she would not be able to chew bones or play with the other toys she gets to keep her occupied and she'd probably dig or something else destructive as a result of being bored. Plus I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving it on her for hours unsupervised. Would be an absolute last resort I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 That sort of muzzle probably wouldn't fit her , anyhow ... and no - NO muzzles on unsupervised ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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