Hello all! I have a 7 month old Labrador puppy called Millie who is absolutely beautiful! We have had her since she was 9 weeks old. We work full time but have our neighbour pop in every 1-2 hours to check on her and it has been like this from the start and works well. She has always been a chewer since the start and we did try to crate train her but she hated it and I was too soft and gave in easy (I know... my own fault!!) She gets free roam of the kitchen and living room and she has always had access to this. She started off by just chewing shoes, so we got a shoe cupboard, then she started chewing the cables off my hoover so we moved the hoover out of reach, then she went under cupboards and chewed the wire from the fish tank which tripped the electrics so we have ensured all wires and electrics have a block in the way to stop her reaching them. She started chewing wall paper off the walls but stopped doing this... her biggest love at the moment is our sofa!!!!! We have cameras in the house now which we can watch live which is a life saver as today I went on the camera and saw she had literally destroyed the whole sofa, down to the wood!! Still useable but looks a mess. She had just been left 10 minutes prior to this. She has chewed the arm of the sofa before so we ensure it is covered by a blanket and a sheet and tucked under the legs. She had managed to pull the sofa away from the wall and rip the sheet off. She hasn't chewed for a few weeks and I thought we had cracked it. She only has 1 baby tooth left so I cant think this is the reason she is chewing. She is the most happiest dog too and never looks stressed or barks when we are not there (I know this because of watching the camera) She has that many toys to play with all available to her I have lost count. I have used pet repellent spray and this doesn't work. Ive given her stuffed kongs and bones and even made something sellotaped up and stuffed with treat and she gets into them all within the hour. I am really running out of ideas!! I am not too bothered as the sofa is ruined now anyway I am more wanting some advice if there is anything else I can do or a bit of hope to know that it will stop soon so I can finally start thinking of buying a new sofa!! Thanks for reading x
Hi and welcome! Boy you have one heck of a chewer, huge empathy for you. There are a few on the forum mind, so you are not alone. I have a 3. 5 year old chocolate lab who was a terrible chewer as a youngster, don't quite trust him now either! It is good that you have someone pop in every couple of hours to check all is OK, Millie probably benefits from the visits. What does your neighbour do with Millie? At 7 months old, pups do need to be mentally as well as physically stimulated. Just something to think about. I know you have tried the crate, it might be worth considering again. Mine absolutely love their crate! It does depend though, how the crate is introduced, and how the time is managed. Even our older fosters have grown to relax and enjoy peace and quiet in their crates. Have you considered a dog walker? They would take Millie out (taking in consideration her age..) maybe a short walk in a park, maybe in a group so she can stretch her legs a little and enjoy a different environment for a while. So a few things there to consider.
Thank you for replying. My neighbour goes round for about 20 mins at a time to play with her and then takes her to her house from 11am-2pm and walks her inbetween. I think she is just a naughty puppy!! I will have to start walking her in the mornings but she is usually extra hyper after a walk more so than before one which is strange. Thanks for your help
Can you confine your pup to one room? My pup, 9 months, is in the kitchen when I'm out and overnight, and there is a baby gate to stop her getting out. When I'm home she has free run of downstairs but I wouldn't leave her alone with free run for more than probably half an hour, and she'd have to be fast asleep, as I wouldn't trust her not to get up to mischief.
