Help Or Rehome

[tarina]

My cocker bitch is now 12months old.  Her chewing is just getting out of hand.  telephone, extension leads, cane furniture and today the hearth rug.  She has loads of toys and chews, has a good run at least twice a day, plus a large enclosed garden to play in.  How do I stop the chewing, being a pensioner I cannot afford to keep replacing large items.  Please help as my patience has almost run out.

[isla]

I'm sorry to here that you are having probs. I've no direct experience of this but I'm sure someone will be along soon with some helpful suggestions that can help  

[Pammy]

First welcome to the fprum, second sorry to hear you are having problems.

I think you need to go right back to basics with this girl or you might even need a one to one with a behaviourist to observe what's making her behave in this way.

Chewing is usually a short term problem associated with teething, to be continuing so long suggests it has become a learned behaviour. Is she OK in all other ways?

To save your sanity you need to teach her what she can and can't chew. Do you have a crate? If not then I strongly suggest you invest in one to protect your home and your girl. If she's chewing cables she could do herself serious harm

Try giving her stuffed kings - they can keep them occupied for some time. She might also need more mental stimulation.  Is she left on her own for long periods? If so then perhaps the crate or a baby gate might help.

There are so many things that may be the cause and that may help that it's quite difficult to cover here- but hopefully there are some pointers. Please do tell us more about your situation and we may be able to give better advice

[miche]

I would say maybe more mental stimulation and distraction if the chewing starts while you are around and putting her in a crate if you are not around.

Hopfully some-one will be able to offer you more advice here though - welcome to COL

[PippaMattinson]

How do I stop the chewing

A lot of gundogs of all breeds  chew a great deal.   Some are extremely destructive. This tends to diminish with maturity.   Many will have grown out of it by their second birthday.

You can teach her not to chew your possessions in front of you,  but you cannot train a dog not to chew things in your absence.  You must get a crate or chew-proof room for your dog to sleep in whilst you are not able to supervise her,  before she wrecks your home or harms herself.

There is no alternative.   Crates are quite expensive but you may be able to borrow or buy one from  someone whose pup has grown out of the chewing phase.  

Pippa

[shonajoy]

How much exrcise is she getting? Mine used to chew when small, but ar much better now they are older.

A crate is a good investment if you have to leave her for short periods and are concerned. You can also get a nasty tasting spray to spray on furniture to dissuad them, but like th other said, you need to find out why she is doing it.

[debbie321]

Loads of good advice already!  I would recommend a large crate - at least you'll know that she and your house are safe!  I read a really good book bought from Canine Concepts called 'I'll Be Home Soon'.  It's about seperation anxiety but having read the first half - it's more about natural dog behaviour which has lots of advice and explanations.  I bought 'bitter apple' from the vet (not in pet shops) and sprayed my 'precious antique effect' furniture - he hasn't chewed it since

I invested in two baby gates but Ben can jump them easily now - I've noticed that puppy gates are at least 10cm higher (if I get them will he jump that bit higher? cockers are a bit of a challange)

You often find crates advertised on supermarket 'for sale' boards - i also think argos do one that will probably be cheaper than the damage she does.

Good luck - I hope you both come to an agreement about what's not allowed

[tarina]

Thanks for all your input.  She is not left alone for long at all.  If I go out it is for a max of 2 hours, (I do have to shop usually for her food).  The chewing or should I say shredding, is spasmodic.  I think she has grown out of it and then bingo its as though she has had a brain storm.  We are also having a batttle of wills,  when I let her out into the garden, if its raining I cannot get her in, she just stands staring at me, when I approach her she runs away, if I close the door she sits and cries, I really am at my wits end.  I think if things do not improve I will have to find a home for her with someone who has endless patience, which I am afraid i do not have.  She has also started to be faddy over her food.  I've seen her go three days without eating at all.  If she is good she gets a treat, but I don't just give her treats for no reason.  I dread to think I may have this behaviour for another year.

[*Jay*]

Does she come to you when called normally? If not, I would work very hard on her recall (personally, I think this one of the most important things we can teach our dogs) using a very tasty treat specifically for that purpose ie small bits of cheese, hotdog etc. You start off in situations where you know she will come to you (this way she doesn't get the chance to fail), call her to you in a nice cheery voice and reward her when she gets to you. Work away at it in short sessions until she is 100% and then you can move up a level, eventually working up to outdoors with distractions.  For when she is in the garden, get a long training line and attach it to her. This will give her the freedom of the garden but you will still have control to get her back in the house if she refuses. The recall training would work hand in hand with this.

She is still very young and training will still be an on-going process at this stage. Putting in the hard work now should result in a well-behaved adult although the thing I have found with my boys, is you should never lapse with the training or the rules no matter how old they are or they will take advantage If you don't have the inclination to train alternative behaviours (which will take time and patience) then perhaps looking for another home for her would be the thing to do before her behaviour gets even more ingrained. You certainly don't sound like you are enjoying her very much, although I apologise if I have picked that up wrongly

[clairep4]

It sounds as though perhaps she needs a bit more mental stimulation. I have a 14 month old cocker bitch and she too gets lots of walks, but also needs lots of mental stimulation to stop her getting bored. Remember they are gundogs and therefore very intelligent - they need to have their minds excercised as much as their bodies.

A few things that might help would be:

1. If you don't have one, go to your local pet shop and buy a Kong - stuff it with things like mashed banana and yoghurt - initially with things that are easy for her to get out.

2. You could also invest in a treat ball - you put dry treats or kibble into it and they have to work out how to roll it around the floor to get the food to drop out - this keeps Bella busy for ages.

3. If she likes shredding, which Bella does as well, you could create something for her to shred that is safe. You could for example get a big cardboard box, cut some cocker sized holes in it, stuff it with newspaper etc and hide some treats in there. Whenever I leave Bella I always get something like an old teabag box and hide treats in newspaper inside and she shreds away to her heart's content - this way she can get that out of her system on safe things and doesn't tend to shred anything else in the house.

You could also try doing things like scent games with her, cockers generally love things like this, eg show her a tasty treat, put her in the next room and hide the treat, then let her in and encourage her to find it. You'd have to put it somewhere easy to start with but you can then make it harder for her and it will use up her gundog instincts finding it. You can do the same getting her to find toys.

Have you taken her to any obedience classes or anything - are you able to get to any? This might also help as it will be great mental stimulation for her and of course you'd be taught different methods to get her recall better.

If she is 12 months she is very much still a teenager so she will be a bit testy at times, it takes patience as you already know. I would practise her recall as much as you can and give her a good, tasty treat when she comes to you to encourage her.

I really hope you can sort out your problems with her so that she doesn't have to be rehomed.  

[clairep4]

She has loads of toys and chews

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Do you play with her with the toys? If she has lots of them lying around and you don't play with them then they may not be that interesting to her. You should only let her have 1 or 2 toys out at a time - play with them with her and at the end of the session put the toys away (so that she knows you are in control of them) and then give her a different one or a chew. You want her to perceive the toys as valuable and exciting things so that she shifts her focus onto chewing them instead of cables etc.

If you look at it from her point of view, having lots of toys that aren't played with is a bit like someone giving you a tv and not telling you how to switch it on, initially you might go "hurray! a tv!" but then when it doesn't do anything you'd get bored of it. So play some really exciting games with her, make silly noises and get her interested. It can be so much fun playing with them and getting that little tail wagging!  

If you're already doing this then apologies!  

[PennyB]

I assume this dog is a rescue (one of your 1st posts on another thread suggests you were looking for a rescue cocker), if thats the case I guess you haven't had her very long either.

As others have said she needs on going training at this stage. Trianing can be fun and not a chore but sometimes if you're struggling its worth getting help through training classes, even if you've had dogs before (some can throw up challenges that we haven't come across before).

Its also possible she hasn't really bonded properly with you if you've only just got her. I started focusing mine usuing a squeaky toy then saying 'what's this' in a upbeat/excited way just to grab/focus their attention then give them a treat (cockers have lots of other things on their minds and sometimes its not about listening to you). Now with mine I only need to say the magic words 'what's this' and I have their undivided attention!

Clicker training is useful to help  focus them and stimulate them without having to expend much energy yourself.

[Dog Mad]

How long have you had her for? I presume from one of your previous posts that she is a rescue dog.  I'm certainly no expert but I do know that rescue dogs often have more behavioural problems especially when settling into a new home.

I'm sure that you will get some good information off here that will help you.

Debbie

[Mightyjoe]

We are also having a batttle of wills,  when I let her out into the garden, if its raining I cannot get her in, she just stands staring at me, when I approach her she runs away, if I close the door she sits and cries

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Cant help you with the chewing as Oscar only did it as a pup but does have anything that comes in the post. Oscar does the same buy standing and staring at me then runs off. I have found this to be that he just wants you to go out and play with him, 10 min of playing ball and he's ready for a rest and just goes in for a drink.

[tarina]

No she is not a Rescue.  I bought her from Scotland.  She has a marvellous pedigree.  Her previous owners said they were selling her because of the new baby who was 6months at the time.  I have been in contact with them, and they say they did not have any problems with her chewing.  Yesterday she was very good, we walked miles x twice, played, groomed, and when I came downstairs this morning at 8am, she had demolished a leg off the conservatory chair.  I rest my case.