Two beds down.....Brady continued to chew the whelping/crate pad (and had to see the vet for an upset tummy). While pad was everything this forum had suggested in terms of ease, I had to remove it as it was being destroyed. Tried a so-called chew proof bed last night. This morning the stuffing was all over the floor, zipper destroyed (chew toys in crate, ignored. Frozen kong, empty). We did experience bed chewing with our recently passed old guy when he was this age.....I'm looking for advice as to what to put in the crate with him at night for a cozy sleep. Any suggestions helpful. For exercise - long walks, off leash, in woods and hiking trails (about 1.5 or 2 miles, he controls pace and activity. Also retrieval games but those don't last too long. He hangs out with us during the day....lots of chew toys, elk antlers, etc. to gnaw on. We did have a small child (age 5) with us for about 3 weeks (at school during the day) and that probably disrupted his perception of one-on-one time with us in the evenings.
Vet bed if he doesn't destroy that but, if he does, I'd leave him without, to be perfectly honest! He'll grow out of it eventually but, in the meantime, you have to keep him safe and that may just mean he doesn't get a soft bed for a while.
I 2nd the vet bed. My latest boy had vet bed or nothing until he was nearly 2.He ate and destroyed everything. No of my labs gets bed if their own until the stop the destructive phase
Ha ha -- We read about the vet bed in this forum and we able to buy it in the US for him. It was great but that's the first thing he destroyed (at least the edges....I still have the bulk but it's no longer a rectangle). I think we'll just use his plastic crate tray until this passes (with his chew toys)....he has a kuranda bed for daytime relaxing that he can't destroy. It's indestructible PVC piping - no zipper to grab. Has survived two other labs.
Stanley has gotten through 5 beds. He's now got a plastic bed with loads of blankets and he's never attempted to chew it
Has Stanley not given his plastic bed a nice chewed edge - so sharp it can cut your leg as you walk past. Ripple said he can give Stanley a lesson in plastic bed redesigning if he likes .
@JenBainbridge Thinking of this option for Rolo! What size crate do you have, and what size beds fits in it xx
We have a 42 inch crate and got a large bed from Wilko's. Ignore his sad face, he actually quite likes it
Haha brill, our crate is a pain... its in an alcove in the Kitchen and doesn't fit in the way I want it too....So we have to use the thinner end as entry point, so his bed would be sideways, im sure he wont mind.... Im going to wilkos this week!
Jenny destroyed the first crate liner, then I put fleece fabric , a few, she started eating it. Then I tried a tightly woven rug like I have by my back door. At first she tried chewing the edges, but I told her firmly no and sprayed a little bitter apple. It seemed to do the trick. She pretty much leaves it alone now. And if she starts again, one spray of bitter apple seems to work.
