Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there. We currently have three dogs- 5 year old male English Bulldog, 3 year old male Bullmastiff and a 11 month old female English mastiff. We recently had the female spayed. However, I am at a loss with my female. She is a very sweet girl but has a bad chewing problem. We often go to bed and wonder what will be chewed in the morning. Recently she chewed the corner of one of our stairs (we only been in our house 9 months) all the way through to the frame. She's chewed numerous shoes, my kids' toys, papers, 7 out of 10 vines in our backyard, hoses, etc. My Bullmastiff went through a phase where he chewed some vines in our backyard but that was about it. We just don't know what to do. Our house is a good size and the backyard is decent for them to all run around in. We've tried the bitter apple spray and the kong toy with the peanut butter filling . So is leaving her outside all night the olny solution at this point? I just feel bad I guess because the other dogs would be inside, but at the same time I don't want my house destroyed. HELP!!! What do I do?

Three things come to mind:

1) Crate her when she can't be supervised. Crates are safe, provide a den-like atmosphere that most dogs just sleep in, and give you the opportunity to make sure she doesn't have access to chewing up things.

2) Boil the kong in chicken broth to enhance it's flavor so it's more appealing once the peanut butter is gone. Get the black one that can handle this "abuse."

3) Find something appropriate for her to chew. Every chew toy has advantages/diadvantages and should be supervised when being eaten, but really a dog needs to chew so make it a pleasant experience. I personally liek usin bully sticks for my dogs- dried bull parts (I know gross, but they love them). Rawhide is my second choice for my extreme chewer. Not the little sticks either, the big long rolled ones that are a foot long and 2 inches thick that they have to really work on and get mushy.

This should help. A dog left in the back yard is going to deveop behaviors far worse than chewing.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

i was kind of cautios about leaving her outside too...she'd probably just chew more things out there...i have mixed feelings about that because we live in AZ and i don't think a dog should be left outside all of the time because it is so hot (nighttime may not be so bad)...my husband says that that is what big dogs like that are for and shouldn't be inside all of the time...they do have a doggy door and the freedom to go out whenever they want...since we have never crate trained her, do you think it will be a hard adjustment for her/us? would we put toys in the crate for her to chew on?

Here is a link that should be of some help to you. I think in your case crate training would be the best way to go. I agree with the other poster... leaving the dog outside can lead to a variety of other problems.
Crate Training

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

I agree with everyone that posted. I had a female lab that chewed an entire couch and brought down a 8 ft christmas tree and chewed some precious ornaments to sherds also. I almost went nuts! What helped with her was I bought her a bunch of toys and tried to catch her in the act so I can firmly tell her that she shouldn't do that anymore. Also with me bitter apple didn't work also. But than again I had a female coco. lab. You also have to be very very consistent with her. I really hope it gets better for you.

We have a 1 yr old Bullmastiff named Roc that chews and chews and chews. I have lost several books, including my babybook, two pairs of leather boots, a leather backpack, pair of rollerblades, many many outdoor plants in my flower pots, tons of kid toys, etc, etc, etc. We have caught him chewing on the sofa, kitchen chair leg, coffee table corner, fish tank stand, etc. We have found that keeping tons of doggie toys and rawhides around the house helps. Also being consident with training. Everytime you see it, tell him no. Then give him a toy or rawhide and let him know that is a good boy for chewing on it. It really helps. Roc seems to chew on thing mostly when he is alone and bored.

Even our Chihuahua went though this stage when he was a puppy...

Venus