I know everybody says that a pup shouldn't be off leash even in the house so you can administer corrections according to the 1.5 sec rule. The problem I found is when you take your eye of the pup (at least mine) she will chew the snot out of the lead and in the blink of light. she has gone through 4 leads some expensive some not so expensive and she is only 6 mos.

I guess the only drag I could use that she won't kill is a chain but would that be hard on the floor and walls?

I have used a water gun and a beer can filled with pennies for when she jumps up on furniture or people.

Is there anything else I could do? I hope I don't have to resort to keeping her in the crate all the time.

I don't know if this will help, but I have a cheap, cotton six-foot lead that I saturated with "bitter apple". I soak it in the stuff and then let it dry. It tastes terrible so the pups won't chew it. It has seemed to carry over to my other leashes as well. They associate chewing the lead with that terrible taste so they just don't do it. I know it probably won't work for all pups, but it's worked pretty well on mine. I hope that helps.

You could try heavily spraying your drag leash with Bitter Apple or some other non-toxic, foul-tasting-to-dogs substance to keep your puppy from chewing. I've read other members who do this with success. Some dogs, however, love the taste of Bitter Apple so you may need to see what works for your dog.

Whoops...Kristel types faster than me

Yes I've done the bitter apple on some things like the couch and carpet edges and the kids play structure ropes. Not leashes "Doh"! <insert Homer here> How long does the BA work for? Does it have to be slathered on everyday for example? Usually how I use the BA is when I see her licking (starting to work at it) at something that I would lay down the Law that is Bitter Apple.

Geoff, I like Sarah and Krisel's ideas. This seems to work reasonably well with our dogs too. If they like the bitter apple flavour there are other flavours you can try. Your local horse tack shop may yeild some suitable products with other flavours too.

Something else that I do when my pups are very young and learning the 'house rules' so to speak is that I will take the lead and tie it to my belt. When I do this I just carry on with my normal routines (dishes, office work, tidying the hosue, or whatever).

This accomplishes a few of things all at once. First they learn to follow a tug on the lead and to stay with me. Subsequently I find it really improves bonding as well. The pup becomes more aware of my movements and actions and is in time far more responsive to the leash (and me as well). Because the leash is attached to me, the pup is never out of reach for corrections (when or if needed)... including corrections for chewing on the leash. Even when I'm not concentrating on the puppy I am always aware of where he is and what he's up to. The puppy quickly learns that I know and see all <lol> (or so he thinks). Gradually I can take the leash off for very short supervised sessions in confined areas (ie: limited to a room) and then as he becomes more reliable I can increase his allowable area (ie: more rooms and greater distance from me). When I can't be watching over him he's tied back to my belt... well at least until he's more realiable (and responsive to voice).

I find this helps b/c they really learn what is expected before having free run of the house (with our without a drag line).

Anyway, not sure if this will help your situation but it works like a charm for our pups.

Good luck!!

 Quote: Mel Woolley

Geoff, I like Sarah and Krisel's ideas. This seems to work reasonably well with our dogs too. If they like the bitter apple flavour there are other flavours you can try. Your local horse tack shop may yeild some suitable products with other flavours too.

Something else that I do when my pups are very young and learning the 'house rules' so to speak is that I will take the lead and tie it to my belt. When I do this I just carry on with my normal routines (dishes, office work, tidying the hosue, or whatever).

This accomplishes a few of things all at once. First they learn to follow a tug on the lead and to stay with me. Subsequently I find it really improves bonding as well. The pup becomes more aware of my movements and actions and is in time far more responsive to the leash (and me as well). Because the leash is attached to me, the pup is never out of reach for corrections (when or if needed)... including corrections for chewing on the leash. Even when I'm not concentrating on the puppy I am always aware of where he is and what he's up to. The puppy quickly learns that I know and see all <lol> (or so he thinks). Gradually I can take the leash off for very short supervised sessions in confined areas (ie: limited to a room) and then as he becomes more reliable I can increase his allowable area (ie: more rooms and greater distance from me). When I can't be watching over him he's tied back to my belt... well at least until he's more realiable (and responsive to voice).

I find this helps b/c they really learn what is expected before having free run of the house (with our without a drag line).

Anyway, not sure if this will help your situation but it works like a charm for our pups.

Good luck!!

This is what I do with every new dog ---- adult, young, or whatever.

I agree that it works like a charm.

I do what Mel does too; tie them right to my belt. Then there's that much more of the leash that's unavailable too. I now have two very large adult dogs that follow me from room to room like they're still tied to me, but it's all good I've soaked the leash every couple of days to begin with, and then less frequently as they get the point. We also use this stuff called "wraplast" on the horses so they don't chew off their leg-bandages and dogs seem to hate it too. It's NASTY though so try bitter apple first for sure. Sounds like you've had good luck with it for other things.

I tried the idea of attaching the leash to me it is a great idea for sure. I lost at least 2 of my chewed leashes this way when I sat down to a PC or in front of the tube and let her sit out of my mind for 10-15 minutes. I gave her chew toys too when I sat down. In hindsight I'm sure the Bitter Apple would've stopped that, I can't believe I missed the Bitter Apple on the leash idea after she destroyed the first lead. That'll learn me!

My dog thinks that Bitter Apple is just gravy for whatever he's chewing! (Have you ever tasted that stuff? BLECH!! My dog must be mental!)

I did the tether thing as well, but I had to do some training to keep him from chewing the leash. I don't know why, but he was pretty easy to train not to chew the leash. Training him not to chew wood....that's another story!

I hope the Bitter Apple works for you, because tethering your dog to you will be something you're really glad you did, IMO. Throwing a can of pennies or anything like that won't work on some dogs. My dog was sitting next to a shopvac today when it was turned on. Very loud, very sudden and he acted like he couldn't care less.