Charlie is 10+ and since past one month he has started chewing things again all my expensive tables and chairs are looking like crap now He is chewing everything he gets our slippers shoes furniture which he left chewing altogether few months ago. Is this because I stopped giving him his calcium tablets?? Coz this is what everyone here is telling me
I don't think it has anything to do with tablets or no tablets . Any change in behaviour usually has a reason , do you think he could be just plain bored ? Does Charlie have hard toys such as kongs to chew on ? Does he destroy things when you are with him or when he is alone ? Sorry, not much help I know .
Oh dear, that's no good. It would not be because you have stopped giving him calcium tablets though, so don't worry about that. It's because he's reached an age where his need for training, mental stimulation and activity have increased. He's making his own entertainment (chewing your furniture) to fill this need. What's his daily and weekly routine at the moment?
Our last lab only started chewing at 7 months and didn't stop until he was a year old - we upped the stimulation to wear him out as it was boredom chewing I'm sure and lots of chew toys - kongs? Training in short bursts to wear him out mentally may help? And spray your furniture with bitter apple perhaps (although my old lab didn't mind the taste!!)
Mostly he does this in the furniture when we are at home but either inside the room or somewhere busy. But slippers he takes away even when we are with him and around. When he's alone for a few hours he doesn't do any such thing then. Even holds his bladder but when we are around he wees inside the house sometimes
When you are at home he expects interaction of some kind - if he doesn't get it he finds something to do himself. If you react when he steals things or chews the furniture this also gives him some of the attention he is looking for, which will reinforce the chewing and stealing. So the best thing to do is increase the level of entertainment and mental activity in his life, so that he doesn't feel the need to go looking for it himself. When you are out he expects nothing and probably just settles in for a snooze. Dogs that destroy stuff when their people are out are usually stressed about being left alone. Charlie doesn't sound like that - he just sounds bored.
If he's doing it when you are at home then it's easy to deal with, either give him more to do or restrict his access to the chew spots, or a bit of both .
I know how you feel about things being chewed up. Our rescue GR Arthur does that too, he's gone through 2 sewing boxes (luckily he never swallowed pins & needles),, foot stool, pouffe, chunkc out of coffee table & sofa frames, 2 pairs of my Van Dal shoes etc etc. He has Kongs and toys galore! We cannot both go out together now otherwise the home is chewed up even more. We tried a dog cage but he chewed out of that! Having said that we love him to bits, he's been with us 2yrs now. Sorry not much help but I do sympathise with you.
Sorry to hear about your furniture - many Labradors carry on chewing, intermittently, up to around their second birthday (and if you are really unlucky, even further), so although it doesn't help much, your dog is perfectly normal. Here are is some more information and tips - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-stop-your-labrador-chewing-things/
We have been very lucky with Riley really (now 11months old) she has not damaged any furniture or cables in the house but she does love to pick sticks up and chew them while we are out. she also likes to destroy pot plants especially lavender which she will eat given the chance. She has VERY strong jaws and destroys most new dog toys we get for her including her kongs which only last a couple of weeks until she starts pulling bits off them and we have to throw them away. We have now found that you can get black kongs that are supposed to be extremely tough and after a week she has put teeth marks into the two that we have bought for her but up to now she hasn't pulled any bits off them. YET!
Cooper doesn't chew furniture, but she is death on sticks. She will pick them up in the yard or shop, and then shred them in the house. I can't leave wood or kindling in the wood box next to the fireplace. She has plenty of bones, nylabones, kongs etc. but she still likes to chew up wood. She doesn't seem to swallow any of it, just leaves bits of wood everywhere. Must be good for cleaning her teeth. I think Tilly used to do this a little, but not like Cooper. We think she may be a Lab x Beaver cross.
Both of our pups were kept under pretty close supervision when they were young. Early on in a pet pen in the kitchen, and then just in the kitchen with a pet gate across the door. We would not let them have the run of the house for more than a few minutes unless we were with them, watching. Cooper still occasionally picks up and chews up things she thinks are interesting. Yesterday she got hold of a roll of Gorilla tape (Duct tape on steroids) and chewed it enough that I had to waste about 1/2 the roll.
In my opinion Charlie is doing it for your attention. Maybe a short playtime with him or a walk. I at times just take my dog's name just to make her feel that I acknowledge her presence. also a small tummy rub, or patting or give her commands and treat her when she listen to those commands. All they want is love and attention. If there would have been any medical issue, he would have done it even you are away. But no harm in getting it checked.
