Labrador Chewing
by jessica
(slidell,la)
Question
We adopted a 1 yr old lab from the pound three weeks ago.
Just this past week he has been chewing up everything. He chewed up the handles on our riding lawnmower and chewed up stuff that was in the shed.
He seems to be very stubborn at times. We are trying to train him to sit and lay down without having to give a treat each time also.
My main concern is the chewing. If we cannot get this stopped we will not be able to keep him as he is destroying everything.
What do you suggest?
Answer
With regards to the chewing problems, a lot of lab owners experience this and you should try buying a chewing deterrent
For the training issues I would advise carrying on with the treats in the program. He has only been with you for 3 weeks and he still needs time to adjust to his new surroundings.
He might not have received any training until now and patience is key.
Remember when training always to use positives, treats, kind words etc, never shout or smack when he has done wrong.
If he does wrong a firm ‘NO’ and ignoring him for a little, i.e. no attention will work wonders.
Labradors are very intelligent dogs and will soon learn when they do wrong. I’m sure your lab will be eager to please and will pick up things quickly.
I hope this helps, please ask if you need any further help.
Lab chewing
by Debbie
(Fort Worth, Tx)
Question
I have a wonderful 11 mos old yellow lab that we got at 5 weeks old.
She is very smart and is a good family dog.
The only problem we have with her is the chewing of any and everything.
She knows when she chews something she shouldn’t and will look at you and lay down. It appears that she is ashamed of what she has done.
We have bought tons of chew toys and bones which does not seem to help.
How do we get her to stop chewing our things?
Answer
I remember our lab, Tasha, going through this phase 🙂
What we did was buy some chewing deterrent
There are some dogs which actually like the taste of this stuff, but it is not the norm 🙂
It is completely safe for the dogs and will not stain any of your furniture or anything else you decide to spray it on!
bad habits?
by ashley
(michigan)
Question
I have a six month old black lab, and while he is a good dog I am a bit worried about some of his habits? to date he has eaten 2 whole socks and a pair of panties. I dont mean he chews them up … no he actually swallows the thing whole!
Thankfully we have been lucky enough and he has thrown everything back up but i am afraid that as he gets older and bigger that these object might get down to a point where they cant be thrown up or past through.
I know you are probably thinking well just keep objects like picked up, and certainly agree but there are those times when you leave on behind or im in the shower and he just helps himself to the hamper… just those what if moments.
Answer
I had to laugh when I read your question. I have memories of my lab doing the exact same thing when he was small!
You are right, you can’t keep everything out of the dogs reach. At some point it will find something to swallow, even if its out in the garden. The trick is to just try your best 🙂
My dog grew out of the habbit at about a year and a half, but before then he would try swallow everything in sight.
I had to make sure any toys I gave him were big enough that he couldn’t fit them down his throat.
How do you stop them from digging holes?
by Siobhan
(jhb)
Question:
Teddie is an 8 month old black lab.
At first he started chewing stuff and throwing the dustbin over, then one day he saw my son digging in the sand, and now my garden is full of holes even though he knows its wrong, when he sees me or my husband walking that way, he pulls his head and tail down and walks away.
I don’t know what he wants, and I can’t get him to stop.
Any suggestions?
Answer:
This sort of behaviour is quite common with young labs. They have a lot of energy and couple that with their intelligence, they get bored easily and look for ways to entertain themselves.
You need to teach you dog what he can and can’t do and all this will take a bit of time.
Try allocating him a section of your garden that he is allowed to dig in (Keep his toys in this area). This way you praise him for digging in the right place and reprimand him for digging in the wrong place.
One comforting thought is that the majority of labs outgrow this phase before they are 2 years old.
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The best way to get your lab to stop digging is to cut off their tail. Just make sure you cut it off far enough..right up behind their ears! JUST KIDDING!! We live in Florida and the weather is always HOT! We have raised 4 labs, two lived 17 years, one is now 7 yrs and one is 7 months. They have all dug holes in the summer; it is their way of cooling down. They dig then lay in the cooler, damper sand/soil. My husband used to say that he had a working relationship with his labs; they dig all week long and then on the weekends my husband worked to fill up all the holes. We purchase a cheap kiddie pool at Wal-Mart every spring; keep it in the shade, change the water daily and the boys LOVE IT! You would be surprised how often during the day they will go and cool down in their pool. At the end of the summer if it is ragged and has split edges, toss it and wait for spring to buy them a new one. You will find that this will ‘curb’ some of the digging but not all of it, after all it is hot for us outside and we don’t wear a fur coat all summer.
Chewing everything all of a sudden
Question
I have a lab/beagle mix who is 1 year old. He definitely had his puppy chewing and destroyed many things, but over the last few months (and the use of a crate) he stopped chewing things he wasn’t suppose to.
We could leave anything out and he wouldn’t touch it. Now, all of a sudden, he is chewing anything he can drag outside.
He has chewed up shoes, remotes, and shirts. He gets a walk daily or a trip to the dog park.
He plays outside in the yard mostly the rest of the day (except when we are at work, he is crated-but is let out around noon for 20-60 minutes each day.)
I don’t understand the change of behavior.
Any suggestions why?
Answer
This is natural for labs, they are hunting dogs and love the whole retrieving game.
There are a number of ways we stopped the chewing everything in sight for our lab. But it did take time and a lot of consistency and patience 🙂
Have a lot of toys which are ok for your lab to chew. The key thing here is not to leave them lying about the house if not he might associate everything that is lying about i.e. shoes etc as an acceptable chewing things.
If he starts chewing something he is not supposed to, never start shouting ‘no, no’ or anything similar as he might read you as being excited at the play and he will carry on.
Also if you start trying to pull something from his mouth he might read this as being a game also. A kind of tug-of-war.
Always keep calm and use a stern voice telling him ‘No’ and ‘drop it’.
Your body language is very important.
He needs to know that these things are not his toys and he is not allowed to play with them.
You must give him the allowed toys.
It is a very good idea to play some games with him, like to retrieve and drop. He will greatly enjoy this game. At first you might have to make use of treats until he gets used to the drop command. But if you keep at it he will eventually do it without a treat.
Remember patience and training is what will help. The good thing is that labs are very intelligent dogs and with consistency they will learn.
I hope this helps! Best of luck.
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Dexter has been really good for months – he has plenty of toys and has plenty of playtime with us and is never left for long periods. However recently he has chewed the edge of his fabric bed and today he has chewed the doormat in the utility room. He had been left for about 1 hour after just coming back from a long walk and he had a box of his toys in the utility room with him. It is a mystery to us why he should suddenly do this.
