Ripple is now 4 months old and I am trying to expand the range of training I do with him, one of the things I keep reading is using a mat to place him on for various things - unfortunately Ripple is a mat eater (particularly Turtle mats the more expensive the better!). Is there a particular type of mat to use which he won't eat or should I just wait until this phase passes and do something else for now?
Hi Steffi Rather than a mat, could you perhaps use a place board initially? You can still use it for mat training but it is a bit less likely to be chewed. Try a search for placeboards and you should find plenty of information on using them - let us know if you can't find anything.
Vet bed is pretty resistant. Mine did like to have a bit of a chew on occasion, and I've replaced it once in a year, but even the old bits, which I kept around, only have a couple of small holes in them. If you're just doing it for training purposes, though, just ensure you take up whatever you are using and put it away after your session.
You can get carpet squares very cheaply (off cuts) and use those, pop them away when not training. If he tries eating the mat when you are training, offer him something better; usually the training is getting the dog to sit and then to go onto the mat so work on that.
We have vetbed at home too and so far Ella hasn't destroyed it ☺ When we went to puppy school they also suggested using a mat for some training, particularly daily checks of eyes, teeth, paws etc. but we didn't end up using our vetbed for this as we didn't want to confuse the purpose of her mat. As it was the middle of winter when we got Ella, we had already started training her to come inside and sit on a towel folded in half so that we could dry her off and clean her paws. We decided to continue using a towel for the other stuff too so that she learnt that the towel folder in half on the floor meant calmly sit or lie down on it. We now use this when worming or when we needed her to stay still so that we could check a cut on her head. Of course we have to put the towel away as soon as we're done otherwise I'm sure she'd destroy it pretty quickly☺
Thank you for all the suggestions. Ripple has vetbed in his crate and has already eaten a hole in a brand new piece of it - my previous vetbed lasted through two labs. We use a carpet mat for his food bowl which he picks up and throws around as soon as he's finished eating, he has a towel which he sits on every time he comes in and that has been chewed. I will look into place boards they sound like a good idea. I can also see I need to make him realise there is something better than chewing anything I use; getting him to lay calm in one place would be a bonus too!
Another Vetbed fan here. Durable, washable, versatile. Tip. Don't leave it laying around upside down, the back is more nosh able than the front. If only I was a tidy person. Sigh
I'm a big fan of proper placeboards for training. Although I can use a target mat for some things, and Charlie has a good settle mat, even at 2.5 years, he can decide (if he gets a bit over enthusiastic or over excited) to pick up a mat and go for a hoolie round the field with it. I took him to a pet dog training class last Saturday, and they were using foam type target mats, he promptly attacked them and tried to rip them up. Mind, of course, most dogs are more sensible. Anyway. A large, heavy robust placeboard is the thing for Charlie. We've had the best time ever training them, and now using them. Great fun. Barbara started a placeboard thread a while ago (I'm trying to get people interested ) so if you want to let us know how you get on..... http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/n...aining/11023-place-boards?p=255659#post255659
