Hi, Jake is an 8 month old male chocolate Labrador who loves to chew. I've bought him many many toys, chew sticks etc. I brought him home at 8 weeks old and since then he's left a constant trail of destruction behind him. Up to now he has started to strip 3 walls of their paper, ate 2 carpets, 1 laptop cable, numerous socks and various other pieces of underwear, several shoes, remote control, several door frames and radiator caps, bowls, plus many more little things. His latest was the cat flap, not only did he chew it but he pulled it off the door on both sides. I leave the back door open during the day for Jake as we have a fairly large garden which he likes to run about in. Oh and not to mention the fact that he has destroyed the garden, he has turned the plants into stubs, he chewed two roses bushes to about 2 inches high. I don't see how he gets bored, he has many toys, we play tug of war, we throw the ball for him, we go over some of his commands, he gets walked daily. Even after a good walk he gets home, rests for 10 mins and then runs around the house like a mad thing, running and bouncing from sofa to sofa and room to room. He is an absolute lunatic, my question is, Jake is 8 months old now, how much longer can I expect the chewing everything in sight to last. I love my daft chocolate lump to bits but his chewing is driving me insane.
Re: Jakes trail of destruction Oh dear, I do feel for you! We acquired our dog as a rescue when he was around a year old....and he drove us mad with the chewing, too. And the racing around, and grabbing purloined items, etc. I have to say that over the last couple months that has started to diminish...partly due to maturity, I think, and partly due to him starting to feel settled here in his new home. There are lots of others here on the forum who have been and are struggling with this....it amazes me how much these dogs can chew!! For us it was constantly exchanging "forbidden" items for his chew toys, changing chew toys regularly so as to keep the interest high, exercise, and patience. I hope he settles down soon. In the meantime....hang in there....
Re: Jakes trail of destruction I know that this makes me a bad person but I found your post to be hilariously funny. I think it was the rose bush stubs that got me. Jake is an Olympic-standard chewer. Our dog, Obi, came to live with us at 9 months and before that he was a pretty determined chewer. He was not in Jake's league, but he chewed quite a bit of his kennel, destroyed his dog brushes, a broom, a range of bowls and assorted garden fittings. After we got him he did not chew much at all, only toys. And this, at about 10 months: Since then, his chewing has dropped right off and now, at 20 months, he hardly even chews toys anymore.
Re: Jakes trail of destruction !!!!!!! Wow!! I bet Obi had to flutter those black-eyeliner eyes pretty hard to make up for THAT one!!!! How long did that take, Rachel????
Re: Jakes trail of destruction For a long time I had actually harboured a desire to re-cover that chair, so in a way he did me a favour..! When I got home and found it he was so pleased I didn't have the heart to be cross. It did cost $2000 to fix though (you can't tell in the pic but he had also chewed one of the arms and it needed a bit of fiddly work).
Re: Jakes trail of destruction Holy moly!!! We keep consoling ourselves that at least Simba hasn't eaten a chair yet......
Re: Jakes trail of destruction Charlie has huge respect for Obi, he hasn't managed a chair - yet. My boy is a chewer - and the solution for us is separation of dog and chewable items. We just don't leave him where he can chew. That means if he is left, he is on tile or lino (I would never leave him on carpet or floorboards, he would just eat the floor) and in a metal pen. All items he can nick are stored (eg he has forced us into clear desk policies!). I have a strong canvas cover for the car that goes over the doors, everything. And a gated area in the garden with no plants (sorry about your rose bushes - I'm hoping my will survive the hard puppy prune and regrow next year...). He is pretty good now at not chewing when told when he has free range of rooms we are in, he will leave things, and I know when chewing will be irresistible and have a stack of various edible chews ready. Rawhide is definitely the best but he eats it (just attacks it until he has swallowed everything) so I feel I have to limit it. When will it stop? I'm just hoping it will!
Re: Jakes trail of destruction My Choc boy - Aquired at 20 months was and still is a chewer. He is around the 22 month age now and thought soon he will grow up :-\. Just got a bill from British Gas when he chewed their newly installed fandango box thingy to let them know how much I use remotely. : He is getting better, but had some bad news when my trainer said that Chocs mature sooo much slower then their Y & B bretheren. Maturity comes around 2 1/2 plus can anyone confirm this and really make my day!! ??? Really know where your coming from though. Just go for the minimalist look and put everything away.
Re: Jakes trail of destruction [quote author=zigisla link=topic=3282.msg35345#msg35345 date=1384415577] Just go for the minimalist look and put everything away. [/quote] Minimalism is good. If you are trying to train teenagers as well as dogs, they don't have to lose too many possessions before they finally learn to pick up after themselves...
Re: Jakes trail of destruction I don't think there's any difference between the colours when it comes to finally reaching developing a more zen-like attitude. I've known some pretty frantic yellows and blacks.... People seem to take delight in telling you, often with a bit of a superior tone, that your dog is going to be a nutcase till it's 8. I think that in reality they vary hugely but most of the Labs I meet seem to be fairly sensible by the age of 3 or 4. That said, most of the dogs I meet are at our dog club where they have had the benefit of training and a high level of human and dog socialisation.
Re: Jakes trail of destruction Whilst all dogs vary, and we probably shouldn't generalise, I have found in labs, that destructive chewing (rather than puppy teething) tends to peak around the end of the first year. And to subside steadily until by two years, many labs have stopped doing it altogether. I don't know if this gives any hope to the OP. Personally, I almost never de-crate a Labrador before the first birthday, and I have had several that have been crated at night and when I am out of the house, until about two years of age. I don't believe it is that closely linked with boredom, though obviously boredom relievers do help to some extent. Some dogs just seem much more inclined to do it than others, even given exactly the same environment.
Re: Jakes trail of destruction [quote author=editor link=topic=3282.msg35365#msg35365 date=1384420524] I have found in labs, that destructive chewing (rather than puppy teething) tends to peak around the end of the first year. [/quote] Argghhh....it might not yet be at the peak? Lordy...
Re: Jakes trail of destruction [quote author=ClareJ link=topic=3282.msg35355#msg35355 date=1384419092] [quote author=zigisla link=topic=3282.msg35345#msg35345 date= If you are trying to train teenagers as well as dogs, they don't have to lose too many possessions before they finally learn to pick up after themselves... [/quote] ;D This was certainly true in our house!!!
Re: Jakes trail of destruction I to have a chew monster, has anyone thought about christmas decorations, are these all going to have to be out of reach ? Bit difficult if you want a christmas tree, think of those lethal fairy lights, mmmm.
Re: Jakes trail of destruction Hmm, yes, tricky.... We are going to be at the parents-in-laws' place and they always have a massive tree... Hmmmmm.......
Re: Jakes trail of destruction Hmm...think its the lovely parcels UNDER the tree you might need to worry about Even Lilly has been known to explore these and she's never had a really bad Rep as a chewer!
Re: Jakes trail of destruction Hi all, thanks for replies, glad to know it's not just Jake that chews everything in sight. Sounds like we have a few more months at least with his antics. Dreading putting the Xmas tree up, Jake has a bit of a thing for lights/lasers and shadows. Wonder how many times the tree will be dragged over.
