She Eats anything that is wood

    • Gold Top Dog

    She Eats anything that is wood

     Hi all,

     

    Eva has been staying at my MIL house in the country side and she has been doing really amazingly good with everything (staying at the house, going pee outside and just generally good). But we have one HUGE problem...Eva eats any and all wood including my MIL stairs and deck, and the wood railings. Eva has TONS of toys and she gets a bone everyday from the butcher shop to chew on (her teeth look amazing), but for some reason she still chews on all the wood. The vet suggested not giving her all her toys and changing them up every once in a while so she doesn't get bored with them, but its not helping. My MIL also tried bitter spray and diluted hotsauce on the wood and that didn't work either. I'm worried about Eva getting sick from eating this painted treated wood. Oh and Eva also goes for a 2 hour walk everyday and she also has tons of playtime outside with my MIL older dog.

    My MIL also tried putting bitter spray on a wood block and Eva chewed it, the vet said if she had a bad experience with the wood she would stop, but nope!

    So does anyone have any suggestions? I really don't want Eva chewing up all the wood in my new house once I get it . Thanks! Smile

     

    I also wanted to add Eva is supervised and does not have free roam of the house/ outdoors. This morning when I was there she started chewing on the stairs right in front of me!

    • Gold Top Dog

    Lol, I was going to suggest the bitter spray. My dogs are now eating wood chips that are inside of my mom's plant. Maybe the wood just feels good on her teeth?

    Have you tried Kongs or Nylabones?

    • Gold Top Dog

    How old is Eva and what breed?

    A walk is great exercise but it's possible she needs more vigorous exercise. Yard exercise can't really be counted, especially if it's with an older dog. Most likely, Eva is terribly bored. She has gotten into the habit of chewing wood and now she can't stop.

    If she is always supervised, it shouldn't be too hard to stop her, but I think she's doing it because she's bored.  

    • Gold Top Dog

    Yep Eva has both of those toys among many others like it Smile

     Eva is about 9 months old and she is an ACD X (not sure what shes crossed with, the vet said American Eskimo, but I don't think I agree). Unfortunately my MIL is not very young so she is only able to do so much. It doesn't sound like much can be done while Eva is away from my care, but what would you suggest I do once I get her home if long walks and chew toys don't seem to help? 

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    oh a cattle dog mix eh? Yeah, she needs a lot of exercise and mental stimulation. Cattle dog mixes are usually very good at frisbee, agility, fly ball, etc. They have the drive to learn complicated routines and the energy to back it up. Invest in a few frisbees, some tug toys, a chuck it or 2 and so on. Get yourself a trick training book and start to teach the dog tricks, like weave through your legs, get the remote control, drop dirty laundry in the laundry basket, turn on and off lights, find things, etc. on top of the normal tricks like shake, wave, roll over, touch and so on. Try to do all of this by free shaping instead of luring with food. This makes the dog think for itself and teaches the dog how to learn. A 10-15 min free shaping lesson will really tire a dog out. Especially a drivey high energy dog.

    You can also teach it things using a frisbee - how to go around your back and out to catch the frisbee. leap over your knee to catch the frisbee, low catches, long catches, etc.

    You absolutely don't need to do all kinds of vigorous activity yourself if you learn how to tire a dog out by making it think and exercise itself (chase, fetch, etc) 

    • Gold Top Dog

    Wow all of that sounds like it might be alot of fun for her and for me. I keep saying I want to stay in shape with my pregnancy, and this will help lol.
    Thanks for the ideas I can't wait to try these tricks with her, sounds like she might like it alot Smile

    Would you by chance have a book or video you would recommend for this kind of training, it's all very unfamiliar area to me. Thanks again!Smile 

    • Gold Top Dog

    What I learned lessened that habit along with maturity...Is giving a nice big carrot stick, or a cored apple(seeds contain arsenic), and also peanut butter jars that are still containing the last of the peanut butter- 

    The vegies that are crunchy are good for the teething, and I think some of the wood eating may be related to a great need for fiber.  Animals like monkeys do this in the wild to rid the intestine of parasites and it works quite effectively.  But carrot sticks are probably a nicer option than say your house shingles or kitchen table, Lol.

    Also, the peanut butter jar keeps dogs busy for a while- also great if you don't want your company pestered by puppies...throw them one of those and they will be quiet for a while!