espencer
Posted : 3/22/2007 12:29:28 PM
ORIGINAL: fisher6000
Espencer,
Perhaps I am being vague.
What I am saying is that all dogs chew. Example: I work in a park. My dog is a very lucky dog. He comes to work with me and runs around in a park, often with other dogs, for eight-to-ten hours every day. He gets more than enough exercise, and he also gets a lot of mental stimulation because I work with training him throughout the day.
And you know what he does when he comes home? To unwind from his busy day at work? He chews. For a good fortyfive minutes, like a little fiend. He is doing it right now. He chews while I read this forum. Every evening. And when he was younger, if I didn't coat my computer in bitter apple and offer him a bully stick, he would have chewed my computer.
What I am saying is that asking "why does my dog chew?" doesn't yield any extra information. He chews because he's a dog, and because dogs chew things.
What I am saying is that you would look at my dog and tell me that he needs more exercise, but in reality he is chewing because he's processing his busy little day and he's probably a little overtired, and will be sacking out cold soon. So what I am saying is that when you ask "why," you don't necessarily get good information. You get an opportunity to state your opinion, but you lose an opportunity to observe what is actually happening.
I wonder about asking "why?" about normal dog behaviors because the dog cannot answer you. Therefore, many answers to the question "why" are about what humans think about dogs, and not about actually observing the dog. I also wonder about asking "why" because it leads to pathologizing normal dog behavior, and to strange expectations for dogs. My dog is not sitting at my feet chewing on his hoof right now because I have created a "time bomb." He is chewing because he enjoys chewing stuff. It's my job to teach him to what he can and cannot chew, not to tire him to the point that he is incapable of chewing anything, as if that were possible.
Agreed, mine does chew too, i, like you, give her a "chewie bone", what i do different is that she knows my furniture is mine, since is mine then i'm the only one able to "chew" it if i would really wanted to, no need to buy sprays, but thats my case. If the OP's dog has enought excersice and things to do during the day then maybe she just needs to buy a "chewie bone" and teach the dog that the only thing he can chew if he feels the need to chew something (changing the bone every time it gets soggy of course)
I would call that a "healthy chew", if the dog is doing it for another reason other than the need of chewing (like the need of burning pet up energy becuase there is not any other way so far to do it) then the OP would need to do something extra too