Well my little Bella Boo has cost me over half my rental deposit , the greedy landlord, who I'm currently in dispute with, is charging me £600 to replace the living room carpet ( no it's not made of silk..) as her love for a good dig and scratch has led to disaster. Apart from that no other major issues , she's left in the kitchen with skirting boards during the day. However on close inspection there is the odd nibble ( nothing I can't cover up) but now I'm thinking ahead ... 2 weeks today I'll be in a brand new 3 bed house with a beautiful kitchen. My plan is baby gate at bottom of stairs , no going up there too many carpets, downstairs enough room ( and tiles and laminate) for her to roam and not scratch and the pen will protect my gloss kitchen cupboards .... For how long I don't know .... I need to preempt the nibbles and I know people don't agree with Vicks etc but I need to do do something as I cannot crate her for 4 hours , I just won't. So she'll be safe ( so will the cupboards) but I need to prep the skirting boards ..... Fairy liquid will that work? I know there was a thread re baby gate ever being removed... Will she be allowed to roam the Kitchen avec cupboards one day too ...?
I used Grannicks bitter apple spray to good effect with my two. I tried three different sprays and that was the only one that worked. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but it may be worth a try? She will grow out of it, but it may take a while.
Well.....I used washing up liquid liberally laced with chilli powder. Worked for us Very wary about Vick and uncertain toxicity. Wish you good luck with the move - what are you going to do with Bella on moving day?
Thanks Fiona, just ordered a big bottle to try, the chew stopper from pets at home worked but only for 2 days at a time, how often did you need to re spray? Also does it pong?
Bella is going on her holibobs to Filey for a few days with her best friend Rosie and my step dad hope she'll not be too freaked out by the move, I'll keep taking her out to the loo etc .... I'm debating a spending area or just letting the new lawn just die ...
Sounds great. I love the idea of a spending area but going back to going out for each loo stop is definitely not on my priority To-Do list
It doesn't really have a smell at all; certainly not one I'd notice when standing - and I'm only short It does need reapply, probably once a day I'd say, but I think the main thing is that it breaks the habit. She goes to chew - "Yuck, that tastes bad, I won't do it again!". Next day, "Oh, I might have a chew on that - yuk!". Third day, "I remember I used to enjoy chewing that, let's give it a go..... eugh!". Over time, you'll be replacing the memories of the nice sensation of chewing something with the memories that she's tried it and didn't like it. Alongside, make sure she has plenty of cool things for chewing on. Forego one of her meals on the days you're out and give it to her frozen with water in a load of kongs. A pile of those will keep her busy for a while and she'll probably need a good sleep once she's finished
Every day? Ahhhhh. What about fairy liquid re appliance? She has 5 Kongs a day, with lunch allowance, usually frozen too, and is out for 3 hours with dog walker, so no real time to be bored, but just pre empting
I'm too OCD, I still go out at EVERY loo break to check our 'be cleans' and 'go poops' I panic she might not go or forget to as she messes about some times so I won't let her back in until she's gone as I worry she'll get an infection.. I've just re read this, oh dear god, I need a life
Might as well train a spending area then as she'll be on lead out there until the divider fence is put up anyway .....
How old is she? If still young, a puppy care service to give her a break from the crate can be cost effective (certainly cheaper than £600) - I think I paid about £10 for quite a long visit (that's 60 visits for £600, 3 months of working days) and if she has a pen or a crate, then 4 hours is no big deal when she is older.
I used the bitter Apple spray successfully ,but I can't remember what brand ...we were lucky we only lost one skirting board. Good luck with the move x
Good point Julie. Lilly loved her crate. We take it up to my SILs for holidays and she loves her little cave even now. She didn't mind at all using it as she voluntarily went in at work time....even once we left the door open and often she was in it when we came home too. This was before she was given complete free range and developeda liking for snoozing the day away on our double bed perusing the world going by from our window.....
CDM Hi our house is covered in sharwoods chilli powder and Ziva hates it makes her sneeze when she go near
She goes out for up to 3 hours per day with the dog walker at ten quid per day. She hasn't been crated in months ,mjust kept safely in the kitchen, the carpet munching happened at night when I was home .... Just want to protect the skirting boards in case
So how old is she? If she is going out with the dog walker for 3 hours, presumably over a year old. In which case, 4 hours in a crate is nothing - it's not problem at all for an adult dog providing the crate is a good size. Safe for dog, and safe for your kitchen...
She's 8 months and it's an hour group free run / walk and hour either side for pick ups / drop offs and feeding, drying off time etc. I don't want to have to go back to the crate unless I really need too, she didn't settle well as a pup it created lots of distress for her so she has been in half the kitchen with a baby gate for months. The same set up will occur at our new house but I want to prep the house in case she wants a nibble.
If you have the space, a puppy pen is a good idea. If you buy enough panels, you can sort of "line" a room with them (it takes seconds to slot the panels together so you can remove it quickly when you need your kitchen back). Charlie still has one like this: image by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
