Stop chewing my furniture!

Melion

Anyone got any tips on how to stop a dog chewing my furniture ?

I got a 5yr old Staff from the pound a few weeks ago and so far I've lost the side of a couch and now the side of an armchair. She gets an hour long walk twice a day and has the world of toys to play with and chew on.

I dont know what else to do. I know there's a spray that can be bought but I was told it's not very effective.

meoklmrk91

I assume she's doing this while she is unsupervised, if that is the case then I think crate training would be the best option. This is probably a learned behavior, possibly seperation anxiety that she has from her previous life, by crate training you are breakin the cycle.

RubyGirl

Crate training aswell I would second. You could try rubbing vicks vapor rub on things, I found it good.

DBB

Whilst crate training is great for these problems, you have to tread with extreme caution in doing so. It is really important to figure out if your new dog is suffering from separation anxiety, separation fun, or if there is a medical reason for your dog eating the furniture.
A dog with separation anxiety will tend to show other symptoms, like panting, sudden hair-shedding, a "strained" face", sweaty footprints, uneasy behaviour particularly before you leave, barking or whining, inappropriate elimination, destruction (often somewhere around the doorway she last saw you leave through), and way over-the-top greeting when you arrive home.
If you place such a dog in a crate before you leave, without going through an extensive introductory process, and implementing a behavioural program to help her control her anxious emotions, there is a very real danger that the dog could damage herself badly in her panic to get out. Dogs suffering from genuine separation anxiety often have concurrent claustrophobia and noise phobia, it could be a big mistake to confine her without addressing the emotional issues. Separation anxiety is probably the most difficult behavioural problem to deal with, as it is deeply emotional problem, and requires a very slow, gradual approach to solve, which working owners simply cannot provide.
Separation fun is pretty much exactly what it says it is! The dog knows that it can do all sorts of fun stuff while the owner is out, but gets given out to when the owner is home. Such dogs tend to be not anxious about yor leaving or over-excited upon your return. This type of destruction can be dealt with using a crate or I prefer a puppy playpen as it gives you more options to give the dog things to do whilst you're out.
However, dogs who engage in separation fun can be quickly convinced to develop spearation anxiety as they come to fear the return of their owner, who for some reason yells/slaps/puts the dog out the back when they return home.. the dog doesn't associate the owner's anger with the trashed furniture, they just think their owner was randomly angry with them, making them anxious about the return of the owner.
Medical problems may include dental problems or other mouth discomfort, malabsorption or other digestive problems, or a source of pain. However, in this case you're more likely to see this when you're at home as well as when you're out.
Rescue dogs very often suffer from some form of separation anxiety, because the loss of a home, even if it wasn't the best home in the world, can be deeply, deeply traumatic for the dog. They become overly clingy in their attempts to not let their new emotional crutch (the new owner) out of their sight. They don't understand that you're going to come back, and indeed, this is part of the treatment to help her resolve this problem.
So, there's probably a lot more to this issue than meets the eye, and I'd suggest that you have a chat with a qualified behaviourist to decide what to do next with her.

Melion

It's really hard to know judging by that very informative post. She shows none of the "symptoms" of separation anxiety.
In the time I've had her I haven't even shouted at her let alone slap or throw her out the back. And she doesn't even sniff at the furniture while im home so that may count out medical problems.

I definitely think a behavourist is the way to go so.

DBB

Melion wrote: »

In the time I've had her I haven't even shouted at her let alone slap or throw her out the back. And she doesn't even sniff at the furniture while im home so that may count out medical problems.

Oops! Sorry OP, I didn't mean to suggest that you did any shouting or slapping! I more meant that if this is a contributing cause of the problem, it was baggage she brought with her before you got her.
I really hope that this is not genuine separation anxiety, from what you say it sounds that either it's not, or it's mild.
Things you can do, presuming it's not separation anxiety or mild SA, include putting her in a playpen. or putting the sofa in a playpen I know that sounds funny, but what I mean is that you use some sort of a barrier to protect the sofa or other vulnerable furniture. In most cases, it's easier to put the dog in the playpen!
Other things to utilise: an Adaptil Diffuser (previously called DAP) positioned as near her bed as possible, but safe from chewing, Kalm-Aid in the food, a deliciously stuffed Kong or two or three, a radio playing in the background, and a tired-out dog... the latter you seem to already be addressing!
But still, have a chat with a behaviourist, you may not even need a visit, just a bit of advice and help over the phone.

melmelmoore

Oh I could have written the the OP!

I have a staffie from the pound and he is very destructive. He hasnt done as much damage in one day but is slowly getting there. He has all the corners off the dining room table and all the chairs chewed as well and the crossbar under the chairs. He has started on the skirting boards and window sills now.

He is well exercised, gets out for walks and we cycle with him too. Cant leave kongs as I have another dog and they would fight over food. He well may be malnorished, I am planning on changing to raw but cant yet as I have a full bag of food to get through first that I cant afford to loose.

Any ideas? Thanks

Graces7

melmelmoore wrote: »

Oh I could have written the the OP!

I have a staffie from the pound and he is very destructive. He hasnt done as much damage in one day but is slowly getting there. He has all the corners off the dining room table and all the chairs chewed as well and the crossbar under the chairs. He has started on the skirting boards and window sills now.

He is well exercised, gets out for walks and we cycle with him too. Cant leave kongs as I have another dog and they would fight over food. He well may be malnorished, I am planning on changing to raw but cant yet as I have a full bag of food to get through first that I cant afford to loose.

Any ideas? Thanks

I understand totally re the large bag of food! But maybe start to make the change to raw gradually? Yoiu can get large raw bones free from butchers... mind you that does not work with our two as they would come to blows over a good bone or three. But when you go out can you leave them in separate rooms with a large raw bone each?

We buy a whole chicken sometimes, eat just the white meat.. dogs get a leg each and cats a wing each,, raw of course.

By the way, if no one else has said this, a wonderful thing to do! Taking the dog from the pound I mean...

melmelmoore

Grace I thought it wasnt a good idea to mix raw and dry food?

Graces7

melmelmoore wrote: »

Grace I thought it wasnt a good idea to mix raw and dry food?

I read that but tend to be sceptical of these ideas. Any mixed meal, eg with us, will contain items that take different times to digest.

And you do not need to feed both at the same meal. Our dogs get a small raw meal in the early morning, then a larger warm supper; home cooked meaty vegetable stew type of thing. We never feed dried food for many reasons, but I am sure that some parts of the evening meal take longer to digest than others.

Some human dieticans speak re this too; eg the Hay Diet.

We don't eat processed food and do not feed it to our animals. The slow cooker makes it very easy .

If we fed eg dried at night and raw early on that would satisfy the latest quirks!

NB bones are hard work and keep them busy extracting small amounts of food... Great occupational therapy and a distraction from the furniture!

Rich11

You can buy this stuff in most pet shop its call stop bite or stop chew and you just spray a bit where the dog is chewing and it wont go near it again, worked for my dog when he used to
chew the skirting boards
those the dog have enough toys cause its mostly due to boredom