Suggestions to stop eating furniture?

[jsl4980]

Hi,

My 10 week old Beagle/Brittany mix has created a habit of eating my furniture lately. She has a lot of toys (including a kong, rope, balls, many annoying squeaky things). Her toys are always rounded up in our living room which is the room she spends almost all her time in.

She loves to eat my couch which is on 2 inch legs so she can just get under it to eat the cloth bottom. She also likes to eat our coffee table. I purchased "Bitter Yuck!" spray which does taste disgusting and stopped her from eating power cords, but doesn't stop her from eating the couch.

I'm going to build a boarder around the bottom of the couch made out of hard wood so she can't eat through it easily and I'm going to replace the coffee table with one that I don't like as much. Does anyone have suggestions for preventing or curbing this behavior?

[trainingrixie]

A convincing no, and then distract her by giving her one of her toys and praise for her chewing on that. at that age, they don't know their toys from the furniture, so just keep a close eye and be CONSISTENT. When Trixie was that little..she wasn't real interested in her toys, but LOVED frozen wash clothes. maybe try that? keep us updated on her progress, and PLEASE post some pics, she sounds adorable

[litlone873]

Don't forget lots of exercise and not just play time, but a nice walk around the block (for starters since she's still a puppy). Usually dogs get desctructive if they are bored.

[jsl4980]

I'm sure the chewing and destructive behaviors come from having too much energy. We do take her outside to run and chase things and tear sticks apart, but it never seems to be enough for that little puppy. I know she will be destructive, I would just like her to destroy her toys and not my couch.

Any suggestions for correcting her? I don't want to push or pull her away from the furniture or she'll think I want to play and then bite my hands. We just started training, should I bribe her with treats to 'come' and 'sit' and 'play' with something else?

Some ideas I've read on this forum today included taking some toys away and rotating her supply, so she doesn't have the same 10 toys all the time and get bored with them. So rotating 6 toys might make her think some of them are new.

[trainingrixie]

remember...excercise and play are two different things. structured walks/training are excercise and will actually tire your dog out, whereas free play is fun and very good for your pup, it won't wear them out as much.

also, as far as correcting, a firm no, followed by diverting her attention (preferably a toy of some sort so she knows what is acceptable) is all that is needed. there really is no instant fix. any truly effective method will take some time.....patience is key in raising a puppy along with consistency. Puppies don't know their toys are toys, you have to show them that.

ps. do not allow her to bit eyour hands. she will not be a pup forever

[c0_re]

Sorry somtimes I come off as a jerk but I'm really trying to help(hey someone had to tell me all this stuff at one time too), with that said.........

Originally Posted by trainingrixie

remember...excercise and play are two different things. structured walks/training are excercise and will actually tire your dog out, whereas free play is fun and very good for your pup, it won't wear them out as much.

THIS IS 100% TRUE

It's amazing how many dog owners say "but but we have a big yard for her to play in"

Back Yard Play=Chucky Cheese
Structured walks=Training, bonding and excersize.

Do you take your kids to Chucky Cheese to tire them out and settle them down?

[jsl4980]

That sounds like some pretty great advice. If someone wouldn't mind clarifying things for me a bit more - what exactly do you mean by "structured walk"? I have no fence so my puppy is never off her leash. Should I plan out a standard route and walk with her on that same route every day?

We just started training a bit. She finally learned her name, we're working on 'sit', 'come', and 'leave it'. Is there any other training you would recommend teaching early?

[Novel]

down (laying down) is good for puppies as is stand (standing up from a sit or down). Watch is great for lots of reasons and is the command used to make the dog look at you. Heel as part of the walks, a specific position at your side, their shoulder at your leg, is the main part of my "structured walks" although I admit, I take my dogs out to just run and run and run.
You can also teach Stop, Stay or Whoa depending on the word you prefer. All mean stop moving instantly.

As far as the structured walks, the emphasis is on their behavior, not your route. In fact, vary it as much as possible. They must stay in a heel, not lagging or pulling (which is the tough one) interacting with their surroundings in an appropriate way, including people and other dogs and animals. A well disciplined dog will sit when their walker stops to talk to another person and greet kindly a passing dog, if allowed to do so.

In no way do I expect a puppy to act like that, but its great trainging and bonding, and you can work towards whatever goals you set for you and your puppy.

Lastly, you have a very energetic and active breed of dog. Your pup will ALWAYS need lots and lots of exercise in order to act appropriately.

[Rivsky]

Originally Posted by jsl4980

That sounds like some pretty great advice. If someone wouldn't mind clarifying things for me a bit more - what exactly do you mean by "structured walk"? I have no fence so my puppy is never off her leash. Should I plan out a standard route and walk with her on that same route every day?

We just started training a bit. She finally learned her name, we're working on 'sit', 'come', and 'leave it'. Is there any other training you would recommend teaching early?

A structured walk is walking on lead with you. I personally wouldn't be walking the same day everyday - BORING! I think JSL is talking about Ceaser Milan's methods here.

You can teach your pup absolutely anything early and mental stimulation is just as important as physical - just remember to keep the sessions short and fun. You can teach a pup to drop, leave it, shake hands, wave, roll over - the possibilities are endless!

[anaconda]

You could also try distracting her with homemade toys. Cardboard boxes, plastic bottles... use your imagination. Make them interesting but hard(ish) to destroy. I give my dog Finn the huge bags that his food comes in, with food and squeaky toys inside, and the opening taped up. One of his favourite toys is a builder's helmet that we found in the street. He's had it for over a year.

Still, good long walks in the country off-leash is your best option to tire her out. If you can go somewhere with rabbits, even better.

[Novel]

Unless your dog has excellent recall (coming when called) do NOT take him OFF LEASH anywhere. Beagles love rabbits, much more than they like returning when called. To keep your pup safe, keep him on lead until he is trained in recall.

[IceyBlueSibes]

You've recieved great advice so far.

I'd like to add that whenever my dogs become very roudy, or start getting into things (garbage, cat box, etc), I know it's time to take them on walks. If I keep up with that, they are very content in the evenings and they are much happier.

Keep the walks exciting and vary the places you go.

Another idea would be swimming. If you live near an area she can swim in.

If not, try buying a kiddy pool, or one of those larger flexible plastic kiddy pools. Throw some different toys in for her to retrieve. My dogs love to play or swim in the water. Try a sprinkler -- my oldest husky Sheiba LOVES to chase the hose if you squirt it with your thumb.

[trainingrixie]

I just thought I'd add my experience last night to this thread to emphasize the importance of a walk....especially a pup in her "teenager stage." Well, I drove to town to take Trixie for a walk...I like going there because we meet other people/dogs, and there's traffic lights so I make her sit and wait. Plus she had to show off her new pink bandana with skulls on it! ANYWAY...about 15 minutes into the walk the sky opened and it began pouring!!! Silly me just cleaned out my car and never put my umbrella back in, so we had to hurry to the car to get out of the rain. I waited a few minutes to see if it would stop, but it didn't so we went home. Well, it rained ALL night, so the girls would only stay out long enough to potty and that was it. We played lots of fetch and the like, but that's just not as exhausting to Trixie. We also played under the towel...she has her special towel, and I throw it over her body, and she wiggles out and attacks it, then tries to burrow in it....Let's see....what crazy stunts she pulled last night:
Tried to eat my blanket
got my shoe
got my mom's shoe
Wouldn't leave poor ol' shelby alone
Major zoomies EVERYWHERE
barked to be petted....which i did, a lot
barking to get me to play...which i did...a lot
she was up at 5:15!!! She hasn't been up that early since she was a tweency little thing...she almost sleeps past 6 nowadays

[Novel]

LOL... You got to love those puppies!! Zoomies....

[calgal]

While she's in the "Piranha" stage, I would never let her run around the house. Confine her, watch her and give her nice femur or knuckle bones to chew on.