April 19, 2011
I got my dog from the Humane Society. She chews up paper and wood. Do you have any advice, and if so, which type of muzzle would be best for her?
Full Question:
Hello,I have been perusing your web site, as I am wondering what to do about my dog's chewing problem. I got the dog from the Humane Society, treated her for heart worms, and figured the worse was over. However, she chews up paper (in any form--newspapers, books, mail, etc.) and wood (furniture, namely the coffee table).
The dog in question is a 20 month old weimer/chocolate lab mix who lived most of her life at the Humane Society. I also have a four year old weimer, and the two get along very well. I have a doggie door, which both dogs use. Therefore, it's hard to lock out the problem dog without locking in my weimer--who has always had access to the doggie door.
I hate to kennel the dog during the day while I am at work, but I'm thinking my options are either the kennel or muzzle her. Either way, we're looking at about 10 hours at a time while I'm working.
Do you have any advice on the two options, and if so, which type of muzzle would be best for her? I assume like most dogs that she will grow out of this, but in the meantime, a lot of property is being destroyed--to include my brand new coffee table.
Thanks so much for your time.
C. B.
Cindy's Answer:
I would use a crate or kennel. Muzzling the dog doesn’t address the core issue (the dog has too much freedom and no supervision). This isn’t an issue of “growing out “ of a behavior. At 20 months old this dog is an adult and the behavior has more to do with no leadership or foundation in manners than age.
The first thing you need to do is to establish clear leadership with your dog. This is achieved by restructuring your dog’s daily life and controlling all privileges through our groundwork program. Please read this article first.
Pack structure and how to live with a dog in your home are the very first issues to deal with whenever you add a new dog to your family or have problems with an existing dog.
Dog doors work well for some dogs but we don’t like them. We want dogs to look to us for their privileges, and a dog door allows the dog to do as he or she pleases and come and go as they want to. It’s not conducive to establishing leadership, especially with a dog that has no concept of this to begin with.
I think the article and video will help you a lot.
Cindy
The first thing you need to do is to establish clear leadership with your dog. This is achieved by restructuring your dog’s daily life and controlling all privileges through our groundwork program. Please read this article first.
Pack structure and how to live with a dog in your home are the very first issues to deal with whenever you add a new dog to your family or have problems with an existing dog.
Dog doors work well for some dogs but we don’t like them. We want dogs to look to us for their privileges, and a dog door allows the dog to do as he or she pleases and come and go as they want to. It’s not conducive to establishing leadership, especially with a dog that has no concept of this to begin with.
I think the article and video will help you a lot.
Cindy
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