Hello again... Please can I ask for more help! Oscars barking has calmed tremendously - we are still working on self control and calm - infact we are still working on everything... But the bit I'm most concerned about is chewing - so here goes.. Oscar chews his bed each morning - we started with vet bed but he now has old towels. When we swapped to towels the chewing stopped for a couple of days, but it back now. Oscar is 6mths old and sleeps in a crate. He doesn't chew the bedding at night, he drags it out and chews it when awake. So my questions are.. Does it matter? Should I shut the crate in the morning so he can't get to the bedding? Does he need other things to chew? He has kongs but not often for breakfast. I'm worried about giving him too many food chews but maybe I should relax.. Any thoughts would help
Puppies are hard work aren't they? And just when you think you've sorted a problem another one pops up. His is still a pup and puppies chew. Perhaps his teeth are troubling him. Why not try giving him his breakfast in a Kong, it might satisfy his need to chew. Molly was a destroyer of beds at six months, but she never destroys anything now. As proof, I have just chased her round the house with a fragile plastic container of glue in her mouth (visiting child left it laying around) and it is unmarked. A Kong filled with soaked kibble won't do any harm, but I am always dubious about chews. They can upset tummies and it is very easy to over feed with them.
Thanks Tina I'll definitely try breakfast in a kong. And it's great to hear that others grow out of bed chewing... I had no idea that having a puppy would be so emotionally exhausting - the mix of fun, love and worry is very draining at times. Thank heavens you're all here to ask and I love reading other posts because they answer many of my questions.
VERY well described! I give Twiglet a Millie's Wolfheart lambskin chew once a day after her third meal (she's on four) as they are gentler on tummies than other chews and no chemicals are used in their production.
