@Teller's mom that Christmas one is the best! The scissors though, imagine waking up to that in the middle of the night
I haven't noticed any changes in Molly yet. I mean, she's been a hooligan from day 1 and is just the same now at virtually 8 months
@Teller's mom - those are hilarious! I don't know how you stay calm enough to snap the pics before rescuing them. My lab/poodle has a very soft mouth. He didn't destroy much, even as a puppy. His biggest offense was carrying around a tennis ball INSIDE a croc sandal. Oh, he was very proud. Bessie likes to carry things - I finally figured out she won't bite my ankles on the way in the house if she has something to carry - a lot. And her mouth is fairly soft, but she's quite a hard chewer and needs to chew a lot. And she's relentless with seeking food. She's eaten two round lip balms in the past week! She's chewed my leather boots and sheepskin slippers and I had to put away my sheepskin pillow long ago. Haven't taken it back out. Underwear if left accessible may be chewed if she's in the mood. So that level of naughty. Usually if she's bored, frustrated, or hasn't had enough appropriate to chew. On that note I have found that hard/heavy chewing is key for both my dogs' balanced well-being. They're so much calmer and rest easier when they've had a chew or Kong. Has to happen every day at least once. It is the only thing that knocks my older dog out. He chewed through a UPS delivery today! Normally that would have him literally bouncing off the walls barking at the top of his lungs.
@b&blabs - LOL, that's so funny! Too bad you didn't get a picture. Don't get me wrong, Teller DOES have a soft mouth but when he chews... it's hardcore. He definitely has the 'powerful jaws' described in the breed standard, haha. It's really crazy how they can turn on such bite inhibition when retrieving but can still manage to chew through someone's wall or furniture. Teller is a HEAVY chewer, actually I'm not sure that adjective is strong enough to describe what he is--hyena-like might be better? Several trainers in the states recommend never giving a gun dog pup chew toys or allowing them to chew on things because it supposedly causes hard-mouth. That's a load of idiocy in my opinion, I'm no expert, but every hunter I've known with a lab has given them chew toys with no issue. T can't have anything but the black Kong toys (he's managed to chew through the bone and the regular shaped one but loves the tire), Goughnuts, antlers (only the round kind), Nylabones (Durachew type), and bones. Everything else he destroys... I gave him one of the flat, halved antlers last week and he ate the entire thing within 2 hrs. Thankfully he didn't have any obstructions or perforations, although he vomited antler pieces and had diarrhea; he's still on a bland diet to soothe his irritated tummy. As for the food searching, it's a lab thing I'm told lol. Teller will do anything for a piece of food and he will literally eat anything; he eats fruits and veggies too. Heavy chewing is the best thing to keep a lab pup or adolescent out of trouble. That's how we got T to behave in the house and actually lie down instead of bothering everybody and wanting to constantly go outside. Now he has his bone or antler in the living room while we watch tv and will chew for hours.
