Hello! I've been having this problem for quite some time now, and I don't really know what to do Just like every other labrador, my boy Bismo has no problem picking up an item or carrying an item. My problem is that he Won't. Simply. Stop. Chewing. On any Items placed in his mouth. I know it's common for labs to be a bit mouthy and I don't mind if he chews on bones or items that are meant for him to chew on. The thing is, I can't teach him to carry things without completly destroying any said item, I can't even play frisbee for more than 10mins because it won't last longer than that. I do have kong toys and bones for him so I'm not depriving him of this need and I know that it's especially common for dogs his age; 10 months. Is it suppose to be like this? Is it a phase he'll grow out of, and if so, is there anything else I can teach him meanwhile to replace this exercise? Am I dong something wrong? I've tried putting my hand underneath his chin, he still won't stop. I've tried making him carrying an item while walking, he chews on it still; while walking (don't ask me how, because I have no idea how he pulls it off ). I've tried clicker-training but it's impossible to time it because as soon as he has the item in his mouth the chewing begins instantly. I've tried gloves, plastic bones (not a good idea), shoes, I'm out of ideas guys! Reaaalllllly thankful for any suggestions!!
I think you have to wait for however long until he does stop chewing and then click and reward. Can you sit him in front of you while you are sitting on the sofa and play 'hold - give'. Maybe playing frisbee has proved very exciting for him, hence the chewing?
Our Harley didn't previously chew the items in her mouth but she would be very "enthusiastic" about carrying items. She would hold on fairly tight and toss them around. There is a video by Kikopup on how to get your dog to have a softer mouth. We used the techniques with Harley and it helped calm her down when carrying items. Her mouth is very soft anyway but it really helped. I will see if I can find the link again. I know I posted it in another thread.
Alright so I tried to follow the video but I don't know how to make him understand that he is not allowed to chew on the item. The first step is obviously rewarding and clicking whenever he puts his mouth around it, but after that he starts chewing and if I wait for him to stop chewing he'll just give up and start barking and whining. Any ideas? If I keep rewarding the chewing the item won't last long. He already made holes in it
@Kaywii when we play with Harls in the garden she often wants to initiate a game of tug and pull with the toy she returns. So she wont drop or give. What we did was get another exciting toy and swop it for the toy that she would then drop because she wants the new one. Always with marking the drop and rewarding the the other toy. Their brains do develop and eventually it clicks and they transfew the knowledge. Or so I keep telling myself. Good luck
I would go back to basics. If he is clicker trained I would do as @Stacia suggested and play 'Hold-give'. As soon as he takes the toy (or whatever item you use), click and put your hand under his mouth for him to drop the item into. If he is well tuned into the clicker he should happily release the item ready to take his treat reward. If not let him see the treat to encourage the give. I would only do this 2 or 3 times initially in a session and when he is happily releasing without chewing you can begin to add a little duration before clicking - just a second or two to begin with
I think those are awesome solutions listed above, but just came to see that it gets better! Tank destroyed everything until he got to be about 1.5 years (about a year after we adopted him). He still loves chewing, but as he's matured he seems to be better at chewing on appropriate items (bones, etc.). We honestly didn't do a ton of training in this area, but did keep some of his balls and tug toys locked in a closet when we weren't actively playing with them. Then, if he devolved into destroy-mode during a game, we'd "trade" or "drop it" and put it away again. I think part of his improvement is maturation, but he's also learned how much fun other games can be (i.e. games that don't end in destruction).
