The most destructive dog in the world...

[Macette]

I am convinced I have the most destructive dog ever, I am at my wits end.... Lexi sleeps in the dinning room with the door shut at night. As soon as she opens her eyes at anywhere between 6 and 6.30, she starts chewing on everything and anything. That is what wakes me up in the morning. I can hear her chewing on skirting boards the arm chair thats in there, I cant get up right away because I dont want her to get that as a signal, so I lay there until she stops for a minute. I really dont know what to do about this, I leave toys in there but she is not interested. She is now 11 months old she is very close to being put out into a kennel, or sleeping with a muzzle on before she destroys my house.

[Emilyoliver]

Is she crate trained?  My puppy sleeps in a crate. Very happy in there, and no chance for him to damage anything.

[elaine.e]

If she's been doing the early morning chewing for a while it may have become a habit by now and therefore difficult to stop. Does she chew when she's on her own in the daytime or is it just early mornings once she's woken up? You mentioned a while ago that she pees in her bed too. Has that stopped now? It all makes her sound a bit anxious, so you might want to consider if there's anything that could be worrying her.

In the meantime, you could try crating her at night. Or, if she's not used to a crate or you don't want to try one, you could buy some puppy panels and make a pen in the dining room for her and her bed. If she's penned in she won't have access to the skirting boards or armchair but will still have some room to move around a bit and stretch out, and you can remove the panels easily enough in the daytime so that you have full use of the room.

I honestly think that muzzling her at night would be unkind. Dogs aren't meant to wear muzzles for long periods of time.

I hope you find a solution soon

[Qwerty]

Watching this thread with interest as molly a chewer too. Much more so than our previous cocker. Molly is 6 months and enjoys chewing any piece of wooden furniture - corners and edges of tables, sideboard, rugs, wallpaper. When she is in chewy mood - most of time - no amount of distraction will stop her. She has a heap of chew toys and stag bars but they just dont hold her interest like the furniture! She is pretty much faultless apart from this which is her saving grace! Cant wait for the phase to be over and knawing sounds will be a thing of the past!

[Joules]

I would definitely crate her at night 

[Patp]

Also you could try buying some Vick Vapour Rub and smearing it on anything you dont want chewing.  It might be enough to start with until you decide on whether a crate is the way forward.

[Helen]

Crating is definitely the best way to prevent the chewing but it doesn't teach the dog not to chew therefore this can be a life long problem for some dogs.  You can crate all you like but unless you modify the behaviour then the chewing habit will still be there if the opportunity arises.

I would try a deterrent on the furniture - you can try vicks or bitter apple or any other deterrent out there.   I would pre-empt her habit and change it by getting up at 6 (before she stirs and starts chewing), letting her out for a wee and then putting her back in her room with something yummy she can chew on (and go back to bed for an hour!)  and gradually extend the time you're doing this so it's a normal get up time and habit for you both.  I think your ideal would be to be able to get up on your alarm, let her out, and reward her with a small something being such a good girl     With the mornings getting darker now this may be easier to do than starting in the middle of summer! 

She's learnt a habit and habits take a while to break but it will be worth it to be able to safely leave her in a room - my dog trainer said you need to change a behaviour before a pup does it 3 times.  After 3 times it's a habit and that will be harder to modify.  Wise words 

[jonnytrabant]

Agree with most about crating. but id like to know how long has she been doing the chewing? You say Lexi is 11 months if its a recent thing then it can be reversed, but if shes been doing this from since you got her, then its a big problem.

[Emilyoliver]

Agree with most about crating. but id like to know how long has she been doing the chewing? You say Lexi is 11 months if its a recent thing then it can be reversed, but if shes been doing this from since you got her, then its a big problem.

Agree.  If I can't supervise my puppies, they are either crated or put in a room where they can't do much damage (like the kitchen/ utility).  They sleep in my bedroom so I know what they're up to when I am in bed.  My two adult dogs were allowed freedom of whole house only once they had matured (and were over a year old).

If the morning chewing is limited to only mornings, then it sounds like boredom/ frustation - which can be remedied by providing alternative entertainment and getting up earlier (as Helen suggested).  If you're not able to do that, then a 'safer' area away from temptation would be the alternative.

[Archie bean]

I agree with everything Helen has suggested. If Lexi is not used to a crate then putting her in one now may cause anxiety and confusion thus creating a new problem while not actually solving the original one. A pen and chew deterrent sounds a better option. Plus getting up before she starts. Does she chew things In the daytime too? If not then it certainly sounds to me like its a bad habit that she's formed rather than an anxiety issue. I used deep heat spray to deter Archie from chewing but it wears off so if you spray at night it probably won't still have an effect in the morning. I hope you get it sorted. Having a destructive dog can be so upsetting and tiring. Archie is two but I still don't trust him with anything that isn't bolted to the floor. 

[*Marie*]

Bracken was a at chewing just about everything when he was 9-12 weeks I put a bit of tobasco sauce on whatever he chewing on stopped him and he never went back to that place, this continued only for a few weeks then he completely stopped! Apart from chewing his toys! He is 13 months old and he's very soft mouth now compared to when he was tiny!

[Macette]

Thank you all for some great ideas. She sleeps under quite a large dinning table in a large plastic bed. By the way she seems to have stopped peeing in it I have put her comfy cushion back in wrapped in a bin liner and in a duvet cover so far so good. Anyway I am going to try and wire panel her in. By putting the table in the corner and panel the front and side. I have moved the table and panelled one side so far I will let her get used to her bed being moved for a night. It will take two panels for the length of the table so will put one on at a time. I will try her for short time outs during the day with both panels on. I think habit and being bored is playing a big part. She does not seem to be destructive when we leave her during the day maybe for an hour or two. So it has become her morning pastime. I have tried vapour rub must wear off by the morning.  And  it really is distressing because she really is a chewer and loves it.  I know she wouldn't take to being crated now but I really wish I had of when I got her. I will keep you up to date with my wood chewing ,chair ripping , work in progress .....

[Macette]

We have made progress, in the end I decided not to wire her in before trying some of the advice I was offered. So my dinning room looks like an assault course. I have blocked off the armchair and put chairs around the skirting boards to make It awkward for her to get a good chew at them, also have been getting up before her for the last couple of weeks now, to break the wake up and chew routine. It seems to be working plus the fact she has just come into season in the last couple days. I was up before her and it was nearly 8 o'clock. So I am hoping for great things now ....a new found maturity, fingers crossed....

[MIN]

just to make you feel better, our first staffie chewed, 3 fridge freezers, 1 washing machine, lino flooring, doors (down to the glass), skirting boards and door frames, kitchen cupboards  but hey, we all survived

[Macette]

That does make me feel better lol. I had a staffie who ran through a safety glass door once because the budgie made an unexpected screeching noise. But she was ok after a few stitches. We got her as an adult so missed the crazy puppy stage. I know it could be worse but I have never had a puppy quite like this little cocker.....