NWR: Help with my dog!!

OK, I need to preface this by saying that our puppy is a GREAT dog. She doesn't bite, doesn't bark, isn't hyperactive, is very friendly AND most of all: when she does something WRONG and we see her-- we correct her with a can of coins and she NEVER does it again. She's very good about listening, BUT:

That brings me to my problem: she has been chewing on the bottom of the kitchen table's chairs and ripping the paper off the bottom of the chair (underneath where you sit)... and we have yet to CATCH her doing it so she doesn't understand (we are assuming) that what she is doing is wrong. We don't know what to do. We bought bitter apple and sprayed it which did not seem to work b/c she did it again this morning.

What do we do?? Any suggestions-- beat her?? HELP!!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

bitter apple doesnt do anything

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

I was going to suggest bitter apple, but saw it didn't work for you. I would ask your vet. Good luck!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

hmm - of course i'm only making an assumption, but is it possible that she is bored? also, is she a puppy?

b/c if she's a puppy, they go through a chewing stage and the best way to get through it is to isolate them when you can't watch them (ie kitchen and leave them with toys).

or she might be bored. in which case, she might need more outside time or play time.

if she's not bored, then try to teach her not to chew by showing her another way. so if you play with her and she tries chewing your shirt, hands, etc, then take sweet breath (like binaca - but safe for dogs) and just quickly spray it in her mouth. she will associate the chewing with that feeling. she'll start going NUTTY when you spray it, but she'll be fine - mostly it's shock. and esp if you catch her doing it, then try to quickly do the spray without her knowing that you are doing it. when you do it act all surprised and say 'oh my goodness, what happened?' praise her, get happy, etc.

ALSO - bitter apple did NOT work for my dog. so my doggy trainer recommended this and it worked.

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

i never knew shaking coins made dogs stop doing something..you learn something new every day...

maybe shake the cans next to the chairs while she's watching? I have no idea...sorry!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

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Posted by neener1211

i never knew shaking coins made dogs stop doing something..you learn something new every day...

maybe shake the cans next to the chairs while she's watching? I have no idea...sorry!

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OMG the cans work like a charm!! (Maybe every dog is different b/c I cannot see a pitbull being afraid of the noise from coins lol) but Char is terrified of the thing. She sees it sitting on the counter and she will start to back up and shake! One time I had to pick her up and I needed to take the can with me so I picked it up in another hand and it just happened to brush up against her body-- holy crap she went nuts and jumped OUT of my arms and ran away!! LOL! She acts like we beat her with it daily.

BUT the only problem is I have never caught her in the act of THIS-- so it's hard. I tried shaking it after the fact but she just looked at me like huh? what am I doing wrong?!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

awwww poor thing!!!! well at least that is a safe way of making her not do something...what time of the day does she normally do this to the chairs...maybe one of you should just hide out in the kitchen and wait for her to do it? I know, that might take forever....sorry, I don't have a dog, so I have no other way of helping!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

i agree with isolating her....

bitter apple worked for my dog, but if that's not working for yours.. i'd say to try isolating her when you can't watch her.

i found a few links too...
stop chewing
another one

hope that helps!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

I don't have a dog, nor did I ever have a dog, so I don't really have any advice, but good luck with this situation!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

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Posted by STBMrsDaniRella

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Posted by neener1211

i never knew shaking coins made dogs stop doing something..you learn something new every day...

maybe shake the cans next to the chairs while she's watching? I have no idea...sorry!

---

OMG the cans work like a charm!! (Maybe every dog is different b/c I cannot see a pitbull being afraid of the noise from coins lol) but Char is terrified of the thing. She sees it sitting on the counter and she will start to back up and shake! One time I had to pick her up and I needed to take the can with me so I picked it up in another hand and it just happened to brush up against her body-- holy crap she went nuts and jumped OUT of my arms and ran away!! LOL! She acts like we beat her with it daily.

BUT the only problem is I have never caught her in the act of THIS-- so it's hard. I tried shaking it after the fact but she just looked at me like huh? what am I doing wrong?!

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if she is biting the bottom of the chairs , when you are not home, why dotn you leave the cans like tilted against the chairs, that way when she goes near it the can will drop & she will hear the pennies.

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

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Posted by Audreygirl

hmm - of course i'm only making an assumption, but is it possible that she is bored? also, is she a puppy?

b/c if she's a puppy, they go through a chewing stage and the best way to get through it is to isolate them when you can't watch them (ie kitchen and leave them with toys).

or she might be bored. in which case, she might need more outside time or play time.

if she's not bored, then try to teach her not to chew by showing her another way. so if you play with her and she tries chewing your shirt, hands, etc, then take sweet breath (like binaca - but safe for dogs) and just quickly spray it in her mouth. she will associate the chewing with that feeling. she'll start going NUTTY when you spray it, but she'll be fine - mostly it's shock. and esp if you catch her doing it, then try to quickly do the spray without her knowing that you are doing it. when you do it act all surprised and say 'oh my goodness, what happened?' praise her, get happy, etc.

ALSO - bitter apple did NOT work for my dog. so my doggy trainer recommended this and it worked.

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Wow, thanks for all the info!! Well, she is a puppy but she is seven months old. Here's the odd part: she went through her teething and chewing phase-- she lost ALL her baby teeth and the adult teeth have been grown in for quite some time now (about two months or so). So it's odd for her to go through all that teething and stuff-- and now after it seems like it's all done-- she starts chewing?! Weird!But then again her 'teething' phase was never that bad-- she barely bit anything at all. I gave her a few bones here and there and she was fine. I thought I was so lucky lol to have a dog that barely went through a teething phase-- guess I was wrong
With the boredom thing-- she must be some spoiled dog if she is bored! LOL! Vinny gets up at 6am everyday and takes her out-- feeds her, plays with her, spends time with her until he leaves for work at 7:15-- just as I'm getting up-- I take her in the bathroom with me, talk to her, play with her while I'm getting ready and then we hang out until I leave for work at 8:30... THEN my FMIL usually gets up and hangs out with her until around 10-11 and then she'll go out for a little while, sometimes she will come home and take her out-- walk her around the yard, etc. Then I get hom at 3:30 and take her for a walk around the neighborhood, in the backyard, play with her, etc. I don't know how much more interaction a dog could get-- I have friends whose dogs are home for 6-8 hours at a time straight! Then when 6pm rolls around she gets dinner and then FFIL and Vinny come home-- then Vinny plays with her like A LOT, runs her around the yard, all over the house like crazy EVERYDAY until like 10pm. Sometimes he gives her a bath-- he grooms her constantly-- he is an obsessed dog owner. A lot of times she'll run errands with me in the afternoon. She gets a RIDICULOUS amount of attention-- so I'm really baffled
The bitter apple is definitely not working and i have not caught her in the act to try and replace her chewing with something else. I even took her to Petco yesterday and let her pick out rawhides from the raw hide bar to chew on instead and she left them in the corner for the chair this morning So the next step is to call the Vet-- I don't know what else to do b/c this is not making sense-- she's such a good dog

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

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Posted by tonimike

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Posted by STBMrsDaniRella

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Posted by neener1211

i never knew shaking coins made dogs stop doing something..you learn something new every day...

maybe shake the cans next to the chairs while she's watching? I have no idea...sorry!

---

OMG the cans work like a charm!! (Maybe every dog is different b/c I cannot see a pitbull being afraid of the noise from coins lol) but Char is terrified of the thing. She sees it sitting on the counter and she will start to back up and shake! One time I had to pick her up and I needed to take the can with me so I picked it up in another hand and it just happened to brush up against her body-- holy crap she went nuts and jumped OUT of my arms and ran away!! LOL! She acts like we beat her with it daily.

BUT the only problem is I have never caught her in the act of THIS-- so it's hard. I tried shaking it after the fact but she just looked at me like huh? what am I doing wrong?!

---

if she is biting the bottom of the chairs , when you are not home, why dotn you leave the cans like tilted against the chairs, that way when she goes near it the can will drop & she will hear the pennies.

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Good idea Toni-- we only have two cans right now (one for upstairs and one for down lol so we don't have to bother taking it with us) but I will make some more tonight and put them all over the place!! That might work b/c she won't even WALK near the cans! That's it-- I'm taking it to the NEXT level!!!!

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

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Posted by hayleyandsteve

i agree with isolating her....

bitter apple worked for my dog, but if that's not working for yours.. i'd say to try isolating her when you can't watch her.

i found a few links too...
stop chewing
another one

hope that helps!

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THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

i know it's frustrating, but honestly, it just sounds like she's still going through a mouthing phase. especially b/c she's still a baby!!! only 7 months. and also b/c it sounds like she definitely stays busy/active throughout the day.

the bitter apple did not work for audrey at all!!! the sweet breath seriously worked wonders!!! it's tough at first to do it b/c you dunno exactly how to do it without them noticing it's you. and also the first time you see their reaction you think they are injured, but they are not. it's really just b/c it's so strong and so shocking that they start going cuckoo. but once you do it and they start making the connection the bad behavior stops.

like you said about the can of coins, that's how audrey is with the sweet breath. if she's not being good, as soon as she sees it she starts going NUTTY. lolol.

if you're not home, then definitely try to isolate her. maybe get one of those dog pens that is basically a round fence that can go in your home. they come in various sizes and it still makes the dog feel like they are free, but within a confined space.

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

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Posted by STBMrsDaniRella

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Posted by neener1211

i never knew shaking coins made dogs stop doing something..you learn something new every day...

maybe shake the cans next to the chairs while she's watching? I have no idea...sorry!

---

OMG the cans work like a charm!! (Maybe every dog is different b/c I cannot see a pitbull being afraid of the noise from coins lol) but Char is terrified of the thing. She sees it sitting on the counter and she will start to back up and shake! One time I had to pick her up and I needed to take the can with me so I picked it up in another hand and it just happened to brush up against her body-- holy crap she went nuts and jumped OUT of my arms and ran away!! LOL! She acts like we beat her with it daily.

BUT the only problem is I have never caught her in the act of THIS-- so it's hard. I tried shaking it after the fact but she just looked at me like huh? what am I doing wrong?!

---

My Pitbull is soooooooo scared of any noises, you clap you hands, drop something...ohyeah, she freaks!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

Thanks Audreygirl!!! I was pissed this morning so I put her in her crate. But I have a pen that I can put her in-- it's a little roomier. Why on earth she would want to go from the big, open kitchen to that is beyond me but maybe that will make her realize?

One question: Where did you get the sweet breath? Is it for humans but safe ON dogs or do you get it at pet stores??

THANKS!!!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

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Posted by kismet8601

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Posted by STBMrsDaniRella

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Posted by neener1211

i never knew shaking coins made dogs stop doing something..you learn something new every day...

maybe shake the cans next to the chairs while she's watching? I have no idea...sorry!

---

OMG the cans work like a charm!! (Maybe every dog is different b/c I cannot see a pitbull being afraid of the noise from coins lol) but Char is terrified of the thing. She sees it sitting on the counter and she will start to back up and shake! One time I had to pick her up and I needed to take the can with me so I picked it up in another hand and it just happened to brush up against her body-- holy crap she went nuts and jumped OUT of my arms and ran away!! LOL! She acts like we beat her with it daily.

BUT the only problem is I have never caught her in the act of THIS-- so it's hard. I tried shaking it after the fact but she just looked at me like huh? what am I doing wrong?!

---

My Pitbull is soooooooo scared of any noises, you clap you hands, drop something...ohyeah, she freaks!

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WOW!! amazing!! Well, I guess it could work on other dogs then-- that's great! What a baby lol

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

it's for humans - i got it at rite aid or cvs or something. but NOT binaca - binaca is not safe/good for dogs. sweet breath spray is safe for dogs b/c there is no or trace alcohol in it. and it's seriously only ONE quick spritz. so whatever is in that tiny spritz will not harm the dog. and my dog is small - a cavalier - and it's okay for her.

also - if she is confined she will naturally begin behaving better b/c of the limits being imposed. my friend has a boxer and she was also acting out and he got her one of the pens and it makes a huge difference in her behavior (ie she loved making a mess of the garbage, messing up the made bed, etc). and b/c it's not a crate, she is confined, but not really 'locked up.' lol.

something like this is what you can use for the pen: Pen

this is the sweet breath spray i use: any flavor is good. spray

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

PERFECT!!! Thank you!!! and we already have a pen like that only we keep it open b/c we have a huge opening in the foyer that no regular dog gate is big enough for... so we stretch it out across there but we can just close it up and put her inside!! THANKS!!!!! I OWE YOU BIG TIME!!!

Re: NWR: Help with my dog!!

great!!! good luck. i can almost guarantee that she will get over this. she's still just a puppy - i wouldn't worry too much.