Dog chewing the cars..

Vertakill · 30-08-2010 1:29pm #1

Ok, posting this mostly on my mothers behalf.

Basically, she's got a bunch of dogs but the latest dog she has, a Siberian Husky/Malamute cross, chews everything.

She's only about 7 months old now and she's more of a Siberian Husky build than a Malamute.
She's lean and very agile and has, what seems like, an unlimited amount of energy.
She's fed dried Eukanuba puppy food twice daily (morning and evening) and she's about 20kg now.
She's very destructive (obsessed with anything plastic/rubber) and carries a 'bold' or 'cheeky' facial expression most of the time, which may sound ridiculous to some readers but I'm not exaggerating..

Her litter mates are owned by my brother which are 2 males and they're both quite placid and calm for the most part.

She's walked usually every second or third day and she's let off the lead in a field with 1 other dog to run as much as she likes, which probably still isn't frequent enough.
She plays mostly with 1 much bigger dog (a 50kg female Malamute) throughout the day in the garden so she get's a little bit of exercise doing that.
But obviously, in between the playing, she finds time to chew the living crap out of the bumpers and side skirts of all the cars in the garden and it's becoming a really serious problem now... as in, possibly time to rehome the dog kind of problem.

She's locked, unsupervised (but she can see people through the kitchen door as it's all glass), into a back garden which is approx 1/5th of an acre big, which currently holds 3 cars - 2 of which are fairly new and quite expensive.

She's probably done at least 1k worth of damage to them now despite applying anti-chew stuff (which I think she likes the taste of) onto the plastic/rubber parts of the cars and having a million chew toys to chew on. Recently we've blocked different parts of the cars with wheelie bins and stuff like that but she just chews another part of the car.

We've got a fairly large enclosure to lock her into whenever needed and it's where she stays overnight in a large custom-made dog box to sleep in with the other Malamute. But it's obviously cruel to leave her locked into the enclosure for long periods during the day. It does separate her from the cars, however...

I think I've covered every bit of information that I can think of there, and other than walking her more, is there anything else other than that that could be done to prevent or deter this?

mymo · 30-08-2010 1:41pm

My first thought was, walked every 2nd or 3rd day??????
No wonder she's doing this, she's probably bored and frustrated. Can you give her even 30 mins of a walk daily? The daily walk is not just exercise, its mental stimulation too. If thats lacking then it often comes out as bad behaviour.
You have a large garden, if you can't get out walking every day is there any chance of setting up some kind of assault course type thing and training her to jump over, go under, around etc, as well as the usual training commands, sit, stay, fetch etc.
I have two dogs(smaller than yours and lower energy) and I hate to think what they'd do to my house if they didn't get out at least once a day(currently 3-4 walks a day).

Vertakill · 30-08-2010 1:49pm

mymo wrote: »

My first thought was, walked every 2nd or 3rd day??????
No wonder she's doing this, she's probably bored and frustrated. Can you give her even 30 mins of a walk daily? The daily walk is not just exercise, its mental stimulation too. If thats lacking then it often comes out as bad behaviour.
You have a large garden, if you can't get out walking every day is there any chance of setting up some kind of assault course type thing and training her to jump over, go under, around etc, as well as the usual training commands, sit, stay, fetch etc.
I have two dogs(smaller than yours and lower energy) and I hate to think what they'd do to my house if they didn't get out at least once a day(currently 3-4 walks a day).

Your first thought was literally the exact thing I said to my mother when this topic was mentioned.
The only way to be fairly certain about this, in my eyes, was to walk it at least once a day - but that's not always possible at the moment.
I bring her for 30-40 minute jogs (giving her breaks/water at regular intervals) whenever I can that usually have her conced out when she gets home.

The dog was originally gotten as a companion/playmate for the big Malamute that we have, because when she was a puppy, she was a little bit destructive too (for probably similar reasons).

She does tear around the garden with the Malamute at the moment so it's not as if she's completely idle while she's at the home but I completely agree about more walks being needed.

My mothers knees may not be able to handle it but she'll have to suck it up at this stage. She loves the dog but, understandably, my fathers getting sick of his 2yo car getting chewed up whenever he leaves it in the garden!

mymo · 30-08-2010 1:57pm

If your mother isn't able to walk the dog more how about training?
10 or 15 mins training a couple of times a day will mentally tire the dog out.
Its no substitute for a good walk but it may help a little.

Vertakill · 30-08-2010 2:15pm

mymo wrote: »

If your mother isn't able to walk the dog more how about training?
10 or 15 mins training a couple of times a day will mentally tire the dog out.
Its no substitute for a good walk but it may help a little.

That could definitely be implemented yeah.

I've just been told that when her mother was a pup she used to be a little too crazy as well, so my brother changed from puppy food to adult food and it calmed her down a little.

I originally suggested changing a few things to combat the problem which were, feeding her approx 10-15% less per portion (but changing of the food might work too) and walking her more.
The energy gained from the puppy food compared to the energy burned up throughout the day (including walks) are not balanced enough I don't think.
And changing the anti-chew spray for a different product since it looks like the dog likes the taste. :rolleyes:

Currently, she's wired to the moon. It just seems abnormal how pepped up she is throughout the day. And we've had a lot of dogs throughout the last 20 years - breeds that are much more energetic and lively than the husky breeds - that were never this destructive.
If she's brought for a very long walk, she'll come home and sleep for about an hour, where she's fully pepped up and up to divilment again.
She runs our big female Malamute into the ground until it nearly collapses with the tired, and the Malamute is only about 6 months older than her.

She's 7 months now and, visibly, it looks like she's stopped growing so I imagine she'll just fill out from now on with adult food and maintain her size, rather than have her topped up with energy that she's not able to burn off throughout the day from the puppy food.

mymo · 30-08-2010 3:25pm

There's someone on here under the user name ISDW (Irish sled dog welfare) that may be able to advise you on a good food, try sending a PM, 7 months maybe bit young to change to adult food, but different brand may help.
ISDW may be able to advise something else to help, although I think you know yourself exercise is the big thing that would make a difference.

helimachoptor · 30-08-2010 3:28pm

2nd or 3rd day is crazy for a puppy, short regular walks to burn off the energy!

suziwalsh · 30-08-2010 3:37pm

More walks and free runs....perhaps doggy daycare one day a week where they get to play with tons of other dogs. Also tea tree oil is a great deterrant for dogs chewing things. Husky x mal mix high high energy.....maybe a dog walker?

Zapperzy · 30-08-2010 3:58pm

At 7 months old she is too young for 30-40 minute jogs, her joints are still growing and can be damaged by long, hard exercise on hard ground. The rule is 5 minutes per month of age so that would be 35 minutes a day preferably on softer ground rather than footpaths. At the moment a walk every 2nd or 3rd day is not enough, she needs daily exercise as well as mental stimulation by training her at home.
She's probably bored stiff being locked in the garden all day with no stimulation, can a door not be left open so she can wander in and out of the house and be around her family.

Give her something she is allowed to chew as she is still only a puppy and could be teething. Wrap a tea towel (or facecloth) into a knot, soak it in water and freeze it, chewing it can help dogs when teething. Have a look at nylabones and kongs also.
Can the cars not be cordoned off using the barriers used around building sites? It may look a bit unsightly but it's better than a chewed up car. You could also try smearing chili sauce or something similarily hot and spicy onto the areas that she chews.

Also eukanuba isin't the best of quality food. Try slowly switching her onto something like burns or james wellbeloved. Low quality food is full of additives, preservatives and colourings, had my dog on pedigree for a while and he was wired to the moon. Im not sure really what age to say to change over to adult food, I would have thought 7 months was too young but I could be wrong.

Vertakill · 30-08-2010 5:42pm

suziwalsh wrote: »

More walks and free runs....perhaps doggy daycare one day a week where they get to play with tons of other dogs. Also tea tree oil is a great deterrant for dogs chewing things. Husky x mal mix high high energy.....maybe a dog walker?

She's got 3 other dogs to play with so she does get a little stimulation outside of walks.
The tee tree oil is a welcome suggestion and I'll give it a go, thanks!

Zapperzy wrote: »

At 7 months old she is too young for 30-40 minute jogs, her joints are still growing and can be damaged by long, hard exercise on hard ground. The rule is 5 minutes per month of age so that would be 35 minutes a day preferably on softer ground rather than footpaths. At the moment a walk every 2nd or 3rd day is not enough, she needs daily exercise as well as mental stimulation by training her at home.

7x5 = 35. I go for a 30-40 min jog across a field, not hard ground. She regularly stops whether I like it or not to sniff around, or wade in the river. I also bring a bowl and a bottle of water for her so don't worry, she's well looked after. And I only bring her once every 8-10 days or so if she hasn't been walked that day.

I know a walk every 2nd or 3rd day is not enough, I said that very thing in my first post, twice.
The only reason I mentioned how often she's walked is to give the whole picture of the dog so people wouldn't have to guess.

Zapperzy wrote: »

She's probably bored stiff being locked in the garden all day with no stimulation, can a door not be left open so she can wander in and out of the house and be around her family.

True, she probably is quite bored at times but there are 3 other dogs in the garden with her. 1 of which is a 14 month old female Malamute that plays with her non-stop until the Malamute gets too tired (she's a lot bigger).
The problem is the 7month old is so full of energy, she wears out all the other dogs and she's still buzzing with energy after they're all laying down.

We've got 3 cats and 2 toy dogs indoors, and as I said, she's literally wired to the moon so letting her indoors is a complete no-go. Everytime she's gotten in, she's left a trail of destruction behind her as she belts through the house skidding on the floor boards. She's just so highly strung and the only time she's still is when she's asleep.

Zapperzy wrote: »

Give her something she is allowed to chew as she is still only a puppy and could be teething. Wrap a tea towel (or facecloth) into a knot, soak it in water and freeze it, chewing it can help dogs when teething. Have a look at nylabones and kongs also.

I'm 99% certain she's not teething and she literally eats (as in, consumes) nylabones after a matter of minutes so we had to stop giving them to her. She's got an array of different little toys that she's gradually eating around the garden so she's never stuck for something.... but a few more probably couldn't hurt provided she doesn't consume them again.

The kong is a good suggestion tho and I imagine it'd be hard for her to eat that too easily!

Zapperzy wrote: »

Can the cars not be cordoned off using the barriers used around building sites? It may look a bit unsightly but it's better than a chewed up car.

That's a decent suggestion and it may need to be employed if nothing else works!

Zapperzy wrote: »

You could also try smearing chili sauce or something similarily hot and spicy onto the areas that she chews.

Good idea! I might test it out on the dog first before I recommend smearing it on the cars because she seems to eat literally anything put in front of her!

Zapperzy wrote: »

Also eukanuba isin't the best of quality food. Try slowly switching her onto something like burns or james wellbeloved. Low quality food is full of additives, preservatives and colourings, had my dog on pedigree for a while and he was wired to the moon. Im not sure really what age to say to change over to adult food, I would have thought 7 months was too young but I could be wrong.

I'd definitely suggest James Well Beloved, but I've just been told it ran the guts out of our Malamute when we tried it. I've also just been told that Burns is typically only gotten from your vet for dogs with digestive or health issues?
But, Eukanuba is quite high quality. Are you sure you're not mixing up Eukanuba with another brand?
It's interesting that you had a similar situation with Pedigree, but that's a much much cheaper and low quality dog food.

I, personally, honestly think there's something in the current food she's eating that's driving her crazy with energy.
My brother who has the mother of the dog, has just explained that after bringing the mother to the vet to find out why she was so crazy, he told her (at 7 months old) to take her off puppy food because the high protein levels were driving her mad.

She's reached the size she's going to end up as so she doesn't need any extra proteins/fats/energy for growth anymore so probably within the next month or two when the food runs out, she'll be switched over.

mymo · 30-08-2010 6:17pm

Burns dog food is not just available from the vets, they have it some petshops, and online where you can get great deals buying couple of bags at a time. They will send a free sample to if you email them.
I know Mal's can have dodgy tums so might be worth getting a few different foods gradually.

Amzie · 30-08-2010 9:02pm

Vics Vaparub works brilliantly to stop them chewing.. My dogs kennel was getting destroyed with all the chewing and I put loads of this on and he hasn't chewed it since! try it:D

Vertakill · 01-09-2010 9:14pm

Amzie wrote: »

Vics Vaparub works brilliantly to stop them chewing.. My dogs kennel was getting destroyed with all the chewing and I put loads of this on and he hasn't chewed it since! try it:D

Interesting idea - I'll try that too!

Zapperzy · 02-09-2010 1:13am

Vertakill wrote: »

7x5 = 35. I go for a 30-40 min jog across a field, not hard ground. She regularly stops whether I like it or not to sniff around, or wade in the river. I also bring a bowl and a bottle of water for her so don't worry, she's well looked after. And I only bring her once every 8-10 days or so if she hasn't been walked that day.

Sorry my idea of a jog was running along a road with no stopping, what your doing should be fine.

Vertakill wrote: »

I know a walk every 2nd or 3rd day is not enough, I said that very thing in my first post, twice.
The only reason I mentioned how often she's walked is to give the whole picture of the dog so people wouldn't have to guess.

True, she probably is quite bored at times but there are 3 other dogs in the garden with her. 1 of which is a 14 month old female Malamute that plays with her non-stop until the Malamute gets too tired (she's a lot bigger).
The problem is the 7month old is so full of energy, she wears out all the other dogs and she's still buzzing with energy after they're all laying down.

We've got 3 cats and 2 toy dogs indoors, and as I said, she's literally wired to the moon so letting her indoors is a complete no-go. Everytime she's gotten in, she's left a trail of destruction behind her as she belts through the house skidding on the floor boards. She's just so highly strung and the only time she's still is when she's asleep.

I'm 99% certain she's not teething and she literally eats (as in, consumes) nylabones after a matter of minutes so we had to stop giving them to her. She's got an array of different little toys that she's gradually eating around the garden so she's never stuck for something.... but a few more probably couldn't hurt provided she doesn't consume them again.

The kong is a good suggestion tho and I imagine it'd be hard for her to eat that too easily!

That's a decent suggestion and it may need to be employed if nothing else works!

Good idea! I might test it out on the dog first before I recommend smearing it on the cars because she seems to eat literally anything put in front of her!

I'd definitely suggest James Well Beloved, but I've just been told it ran the guts out of our Malamute when we tried it. I've also just been told that Burns is typically only gotten from your vet for dogs with digestive or health issues?
But, Eukanuba is quite high quality. Are you sure you're not mixing up Eukanuba with another brand?
It's interesting that you had a similar situation with Pedigree, but that's a much much cheaper and low quality dog food.

Eukanuba is what I would consider a medium quality brand but definetely not high quality. Have a read of this: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=113&cat=all Thats for large breed puppy food but most of the eukanuba range get pretty much the same review. It's much better than the likes of pedigree but there is still better out there.
I think your mixing burns up with hills science plan? A lot of vets stock hills for various different health issues but burns can be gotten both online and in some petshops.

Vertakill wrote: »

I, personally, honestly think there's something in the current food she's eating that's driving her crazy with energy.
My brother who has the mother of the dog, has just explained that after bringing the mother to the vet to find out why she was so crazy, he told her (at 7 months old) to take her off puppy food because the high protein levels were driving her mad.

She's reached the size she's going to end up as so she doesn't need any extra proteins/fats/energy for growth anymore so probably within the next month or two when the food runs out, she'll be switched over.

Dog chewing the cars..

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