Trish is eating her leash....

[LabLuver22]

A couple of days ago, I couldn't find Trish's old "house" leash , so I started letting her wear her nice leather leash around the house. (Guiding Eyes policy is that she has to be on a leash or in her crate at all times to keep her out of trouble) I was on the computer and heard Trish chewing something soft. Since I had supplied her with several Kongs and soft Nylabones, I assumed that she was chewing on one of her chew toys. Finally, I looked down on her, and she had chewed several inches off of her leash, breaking the handle!

Since she wasn't chewing the leash when I looked at her, I couldn't correct her, so I took her leash off and closed the computer room doors. But now, even though I've found her house leash, she's decided that chewing her leash is far superior to chewing designated chew toys.

I've tried soaking her leash in vinegar. I've tried correcting her in the act (she'll just go at it again unless I take it away right then and there). I know that not only chewing leather is destructive, it's dangerous because it can cause stomach problems. The morning after she ate part of her leash, she threw it up, but I'm still watching her very closely. So far, she's had no trouble urinating or defecating.

Any ideas? Is commercial bitter apple more effective than vinegar?

[oc_spirit]

Personally I find Bitter Apple to be more effetive but it really depends on the dog and how tolerable it's taste buds are and whether or not they like the vinegar/bitter apple. You could also try putting a chain leash on her and then any time she puts her mouth on it give a soft jerk, the clanging of the metal on her teeth isn't very enjoyable. Then when you go back to a leather or nylon leash you could do the soft jerk thing again and if you need more emphasis you could have a bottle of vinegar/bitter apple and spray it directly into her mouth. Remember to reward her when she chews on appropriate toys!!!

Cheers!

[GreenleafGreyhound]

You could also use a martingale and attach a lot of tags onto her collar. Whenever she reaches for the leash (be it nylon or leather), you gently "pop" the martingale, making the tags clang around. We all know that clanging tags are the most annoying sound in the world

[LabLuver22]

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to try some of those things with Trish....

[ChiChi]

om, i would be very upset with brody! lol, but thank god he doesnt chew on his leash! and i hope he wont do it in the near future!

[flyndog]

i agree with OC about trying a chain lead, but that's where the agreement ends. Why not put the dog in her crate if you can't watch her and correct her? It sure beats squirting your dog with vinegar, or jerking a chain through her teeth.
Kit

[Carrie]

you could have a bottle of vinegar/bitter apple and spray it directly into her mouth.

jerking a chain through her teeth.




Actually, you could just try keeping the leash away from her and giving her another toy. I wouldn't make a big deal out of that.

If she plays with it when you're walking with her, just distract her and show her that the leash isn't a toy and take it out of her mouth. Show her something else to do to get her mind off it and reward her when she keeps clear of it. It's just puppy stuff and she'll get over it after a while.

[oc_spirit]

Carrie, I don't understand the shock, it's not cruel at all and it's not punishment, it's just making things uncomfortable for the dog. Is she getting hurt? Will she be crying and avoid people after the experience because of it? If you don't want to spray the stuff into her mouth you can soak the leash in it for the same effect.

As a dog trainer I've had to deal with this problem many times and these are the two methods I have always used and are yet to fail (not saying they are 100% reliable with every dog in the world but they have worked so far). Remember there is a second part to this and it is rewarding the dog when it's chewing on something appropriate.

Cheers!

[flyndog]

Why would you need to use aversives for this behavior?

[Carrie]

O.C... I'm a dog trainer too and a horse trainer. I just use different methods which work well. I tend toward showing the dog what I want and rewarding rather than showing the dog what I don't want too much. I think vinegar and any other discomfort is unnecessary and works against the trust and partnership relationship that I strive to have with my animals. I don't like them to ever worry about what I may physically do to them next, even if it's mildly uncomfortable or unpleasant. That is my philosophy. No, it may not be horrible or extreme, but I find it totally unnecessary and in fact, would make backwards steps instead of progress. Of course, my dogs are told "no" and spoken to firmly. They even have to sit in a thinking chair sometimes. LOL.

In this type of example, where the puppy is playing around with it's leash, to me, that is not a big deal and most certainly doesn't call for any discomfort to the dog. I've been working with dogs and horses for over 40 years and they all do goofy things which can be worked out gradually without any negative association, just positive which makes for a happier animal, in my opinion.

In fact, Lyric, at 17 months of age still gets very silly and when we're ready for a leash walk, grabs it in his mouth and does the head banging thing, shaking it and bouncing around. I don't scold him or anything. I just pick up the leash and say, "let's go for walkies." And he just forgets about it. Or I'll get a stick or something else to get his mind off the leash, which I don't want him to rip. But if I told him, "NO" and made a big fuss out of that, it would dampen that wonderful enthusiasm he has and as a working dog, I don't want to squelch that engery and drive. Of course, he has to behave and he does. He stops that stuff pretty much on his own while we are changing subjects. He's still young and in a little more time, I'm sure he'll lose interest in some of those crazy behaviors. I'm a firm believer in letting a pup be a pup for a while as long as their manners are being incorporated along the way. He's actually quite mellow for a young Doberboy.

[oc_spirit]

I don;t think you're really understanding this philosophy here, I don;t punish the dog, I've never hit a dog or done such a thing and am a positive reinforcement trainer, this is simply making things uncomfortable for the dog so it chooses on it's own that "Ok this is fun to chew and i get love, and when I chew this it has an icky taste so I'll stop" This is easier explained vocally than typing for sure! LOL Let's put it this way, Saying "No!" means don't do that! and THAT"s what would dampen a puppy's spirit if said while the puppy is playing, having icky taste simply is a result of the puppy chewing the wrong thing and so the puppy learns it's not a toy....do you get it now?

This is kinda ironic as I'm a horse trainer too! LOL Started with horses and dogs at the same time way back when I was 8years old (same place too). Now I'm a co-trainer at a stable and work with rescued horse ( a lot of them have very abusive pasts) getting them to trust people again and form a partnership so they are rideable. I also train the odd young horse but personally I like the rescues better LOL

Cheers!

[flyndog]

Are we talking about quick fixes here? In the long run it is more effective to intervene with a diversion for this behavior. If you can't intervene, then put the pup in a cage until you have the time to dedicate to its training. Labluvver, why don't you call the Guide Dog folks and ask how they would prefer you handle this?
Kit

[LabLuver22]

Ok, I'll do that.

Thanks for all your help, everyone.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

I'd have to agree, using diversions for this type of behavior is more effective in the long run and have had great results with doing it myself.

[oc_spirit]

The first time I tried diversions failed miserably but it could've just been the dog....It was a Border Collie pup and the pup learned that if it chewed on it's leash the owner would get a toy and they'd get play time so anytime the pup wanted to play it's get it's leash, drag it to where the owner was, and chew frantically on it until she noticed which would send her running for a toy to "divert" the pup then come running back say a loud "No!!!! Bad dog!" then get it to play with the toy and reward. The pup still got it's play time and that's all it wanted so it still got rewarded.

My version isn't a "quick fix" especially if you use the soaking of the leash method...

Think of it this way...a kid walks into a room and finds a loaded mouse trap, it thinks it looks like a really cool toy so the kid picks it up and starts to play with it. Of course this triggers the trap and the kid's finger gets stuck. What does the kid learn? Mouse traps arent toys. Did the parents reprimend the kid at all? Of course not, there was no need...

Cheers!