Lab eating/chewing everything in the house

I had the same exact problem, only it started at puppyhood, and has gone off and on for nearly two years now. Mine is much bigger than a Lab, and he knows his size, and it took me forever to get him to realize that he was not above me, and that the training wasn't going to stop until he started to follow my commands.

Everytime he chewed something he was not supposed to, I stomped my foot hard, said no very very firmly, gave him his own toy, and walked away. His chewing was not him acting out or looking for something to play with, it was OCD. Not many people realize how serious it can be in dogs, but it was ruining my home, and his teeth and gums, and it needed to stop. We got him hard, indestructable toys (well, for the most part) and also bought toys that could be filled with treats. Oh my hardwood, I coated his favourite spots in tobasco and pepper. It smelled a bit, but he refuses to chew them now. The only problem we are dealing with at the moment is him licking and nuzzling the side of the sofa. But, it doesn't harm much, and it's a dark sofa so he leaves no marks.

This whole schpeal worked perfect for me, and this particular dog of mine is, as I said, much much much larger than a Labrador with a much more dominant personality, and he took to it pretty well enough to ease my checkbook. Good luck!

Oh boy, I could have written your post 5 years ago.  I have a Lab also who is a rescue and I went through a futon, couch cushions, leather jacket, duffel bag, etc before I finally realized I need to confine him when I wasn't home!

First:  anything on the floor is fair game for the dog.  So remove anything that doesn't belong to her that you don't want her to chew on.  Put shoes away, keep pillows on the couch, etc.  Buy your dog a toy box and put her toys in that box, and she will get the idea of what is and is not permissible based on that...however this is only a fraction of the "battle".

While she is learning, do not let her out of your sight while you're home.  You should leash her to you so that you can be there right away to correct misbehavior.  Correcting misbehavior doesn't just involve a "NO!" but also a redirect.  If you see her chewing something inappropriate, redirect her to her toy box and ask her to drop the forbidden item.  Make it a game and then immediately trade her for the "good" item.  ALWAYS praise her for dropping what she isn't allowed to have and either give her a treat or a proper toy for a trade.  That way she will not resist giving you what she has. 

If leashing her to you isn't a possibility, either clip a leash on her and let it drag, or just make sure you can restrict her access so that she can only be in one room at a time (the one you're in) so that you can catch her in the act.  It's so important for dogs to be able to make an immediate association to something they are doing wrong.  Getting upset after the fact will never do any good.  If, for example, you come home and find your couch destroyed, getting mad at her then will not cause her to associate your anger with the couch, it will cause her to associate your anger with you coming home.  Bad things happen when Mom comes home.  That's what you want to avoid.  If you find destruction and you weren't there to catch it, oh well - you'll have to wait until next time to address the behavior.

That said, yes, do crate or confine her to a dog-proof room when you are not at home or cannot watch her, so that she never has the opportunity to do something bad outside of your presence.  If you have a room that is "safe" for her, like a laundry room or basement where she can't get into anything, I think it's fine to just baby-gate her up in that area when you can't be there.  Otherwise get yourself an extra-large crate and fill it with her bedding, a few toys.  Whenever you need to crate her, toss a treat in the rear of it and make it a fun game for her to go down and settle.  Try not to ever send her to the crate as a form of unishment for something that she's done.  (You can send her after you've given a reprimand/redirect but not as a direct consequence).  She will probably whine and cry in the crate when she wants out, and its important to ignore her until she settles down.  When she does settle down, pop your head in there and give her big praise for being quiet and another treat.  She'll get the idea that she's only rewarded when she is quiet and NOT when she cries.  It will take a little while to accomplish this. 

Another thing is that the advice about really great indestructible chew toys is very good.  However I would also venture to guess that your Lab needs copious amounts of HARD exercise.  A tired dog is a good dog.  Try to work her out each morning for 30 minutes before you go to work - get a frisbee or a ball - and again immediately when you get home.  My Lab required no less than 2 hours of exercise per day in the beginning for him to become manageable.  Also remember she is adjusting too, that will cause her to want to work out her anxiety and dogs often do that by chewing. 

I have DEFINITELY been where you are at!   Please continue to ask questions and feel free to PM me anytime.  Let us know how she is doing!

Oh - I would strongly recommend the book The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson.  It really helped me in understanding how my dog thinks and processes commands. 

Make the crate a happy place to go.  Stuffed Kongs can be your best friend.  As long as she is not an SA dog, crating can help you immensely.  And, it will keep her from having surgery to remove a section of your couch from her gut. []

Thanks for all the great responses!!!!
 
Roxi doesn't get into things when we're there..... She ONLY does it when we're gone or at night....
 
My brother said that dogs get like separation anxiety and that's what's causing her to do this....
 
I think it's cruel to keep her in her kennel for 8 hours overnight, take her potty and for her walk, then lock her back in it for another 8 hours while we're at work..... But I think we're going to have to do something about this.....
 
She has lots of toys, ropes, kong balls--she has all that, but evidently thinks the birthday invitations and the corner of my coffee table are much more fun.....

I don't agree that its SA.  I also thought my boy had SA when he was in destructo-dog phase.  She is just bored.  You need to tire her out, which means more than just a potty and a walk in the morning.  It will seriously be worth it to get up 30 minutes earlier and run her in your yard with a frisbee or a ball.

A frozen stuffed Kong in the crate when you leave for work should keep her occupied for about an hour.  I used to put peanut butter and yogurt in the kongs, freeze and then toss one in there when I was ready to go.  If she does have SA, this little goodie will help with that and give her something to do other than freak out that you're gone.

Is there any way you can hire a petsitter to come and run her during the day while you're gone, or a neighborhood kid who would like a job for right after school?  A kid you trust who would exercise her for you and put her back in the crate before you get home? 

Is there any way you can just gate her up with you in your bedroom at night?  That way she won't have to be crated except for while you're at work?  Or will she get into stuff while you're right there sleeping?

Some exercise before bed would help that too.  These Labs need hard runs at her age!
 
Edited to address the comment about it feeling "cruel" to keep her in a crate that long.  I really understand how you feel about this.  However, it's much more traumatic for the dog to have to deal with you getting angry when you get home and find stuff destroyed, OR to be so overwhelmed with a big house and no one home for stimulation.  The crate provides a den for her to call her own, and structure.  Dogs LOVE LOVE LOVE structure and routine.  Trust me, you are doing her a big favor.  I know it leaves you with a guilty conscience but try to let go of this, because it is not the truth.  Just make sure you are giving her enough exercise and time for training when you ARE home. 

That does seem like a lot of crating to me.

JMO
Paula

If potty-training is no longer an issue, I see no reason to crate at night. Just dog-proof your room enough that she won't be able to sneak a chew at anything quietly and gate your room off, or the room and the hallway, or just shut all the doors to the other rooms in your house--however the layout of your house makes most sense. I don't know about you, but I am awake in about a nanosecond if I hear any unexpected dog-related noises in the night. And keeping an eye on dog-proofing is just part of being a dog owner anyway. My guys are confined during the day when I'm at work, but because they are free roam at night I do sort of dog a quick visual sweep of each room before I go to bed at night--no dirty dishes at dog-height, no bags of dog food laying around, gate to the cat room closed, nothing chewy and valuable laying around on the floor or at dog-height. It becomes second nature. I know what is most tempting to my dogs and what they won't even give a second glance to.

Crating or confining when no one is home though is a good option for the safety of your dog as well as your stuff. I have learned this the hard way with very pricey vet bills and a lot of emotional trauma. With a good work-out before you leave for work and another one when you get home followed by an evening of happy family time and training, a typical work day spent in confinement for most dogs just involves a lot of napping. When I work from home Conrad actually spends a good bit of the day in his crate anyway, with the door open, voluntarily, snoring away.

Doesn't sound like SA though. Seperation Anxiety gets misdiagnosed by novice owners a lot but when you encounter what a true SA dog it's not "OMG my dog chews everything" it's more like "OMG MY DOG IS POSESSED CALL THE EXORCIST RIGHT THIS SECOND!!!" This sounds like boredom, not enough exercise and a lack of structure.

Keys to successful crate/confinement* training: slow and steady wins the race (start not with hours in the crate but seconds), tire out before crate time, whatever your dog's favorite stuff in the whole world is (for some dogs it's toys, for mine it's FOOD of the most delicious kind) gets given to them in the crate and nowhere else. If your dog is anything like mine are, they will be pushing you out the door in the morning and standing in their crates expectantly the second they see you finish that second cup of coffee.


* Dog-proofed room works just as well as a crate for most dogs as long as you don't have a baseboard-chewer or a door-chewer-througher.

We take Roxi to the dog park about every other day. We can't play frisbee or ball or anything in the yard, because she has to be on a leash or she RUNS away...... we put her on like a 25ft cord thing, and she slipped out of it and ran away twice already.... so we have to keep her on a leash..... so it's hard to play ball or run with her unless it's at the dog park where she's fenced in!!!
 
We're looking at fencing in our back yard, but then we're afraid to leave her alone out there, what if she gets out!!! Then we have a whole new set of problems!!
 
 

I'd hazard a guess and say then that her destructive behavior is a result of pent up energy. Your dog breed is quite active in general and will probably continue to find ways to entertain herself if you don't give her enough exercise I'm afraid. In such circumstances crating will not fix the problem - it will just likely manifest in other ways. Not having a yard is tough; it means you have to work extra hard to keep her exercised and stimulated. Walks, runs, agility lessons, teaching tricks, etc. I can't think of another way to address this.

Good luck
Paula

Fence, stat!

My dogs are older than yours and of naturally lower-energy breeds and it was still driving them crazy to not have a yard for the few weeks in between when we moved in to our new house and put up our new fence. One thing we did in the interim was we found a tennis court in the neighborhood that no one really ever seemed to use and that was fully fenced and I took them there once or twice a day to run around off leash (always scrupulously cleaning up after them and just picking up in the court in general, to be a good neighbor). But that was a temporary solution and when we got our fence up I could feel the dogs' relief at finally having their freedom back.

Remember though that even with a fence most dogs do not self-exercise. They need someone to play with them or they tend to just sit around waiting expectantly for something interesting to happen.

Do you bike? Would your dog be a good candidate for [linkhttp://www.springerusa.com/]a springer?[/link]

I'd also suggest an obedience class if she isn't in one already - it will help her bond to you and it will teach a reliable recall.   
 
Can you jog with her in the morning, or like houndlove suggested, bike with her?  If I didn't have a fenced yard I don't know what I'd have done with my boy.  Luckily though he is so frisbee-focused, he will never run away if we're retrieving so I was able to take him to open fields and ponds to play - but as soon as that frisbee went away, LEASH!

LOL well, being an overweight person, no, don't jog or bike   but maybe it's time to start!!
 
Maybe we will have to take her to the dog park in the mornings before work.... but will that last her all day??? Or will that last for a couple of hours and she'll be back to eating/chewing everything she can??
 
I can't hire a dog walker, our town is too small....

I think taking her to the dog park and running the crap out of her (fetch, chase, etc) will hold her for the day in a crate. Then when you come home in the evening take her out again for some exercise, or alternatively, to her agility/obedience/rally/flyball class and leave her out overnight (IMO crate in the day and crate in the night is too much crating), you might get a handle on this.

It is heartening to see that you are interested in adapting to her needs. I don't hear that often enough, so thanks.

Paula

We want her to be a part of our family. I don't want to lock her up all the time, I don't want to tie her outback and forget about her, I want her to be a family member. But I also want/need to do what's best for both of us. I know she needs exercise, but I dont' need my stuff chewed up!!!
 
I have to find a balance so we're both happy....
 
I've never had a dog, to be honest, never even wanted a dog, but then my husband and daughter saw Roxi in the Parade, and fell in love with her.... and now, it seems as though she has taken a liking to me!!
 
But I've GOT to get the eating/chewing thing under control.... I think she may do it out of boredom, she only does it when no one is around to 'stimulate' her....