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Klynn7

Blaine, MN

MH
Posts:84

01/22/2010 9:28 AM
Randi is 7 months old now and is the perfect puppy! I am struggling in 2 areas though: #1) She eats her crate mats. We have learned not to get her the nice fluffy ones that she would be most comfortable with. Now we just use cheap towels and old blankets. She chews holes in them while we're gone during the day. This isn't all the time, but yesterday she was only alone for an hour and a half and put a huge hole in the blanket. Is this something that we just have to deal with? Any suggestions on what we can put in there for her so she's comfortable for long periods of time but she won’t destroy? #2) She plays rough. She goes after the little dogs, and she doesn't mean to hurt them, but she likes to wrestle and doesn't really see her size I guess. I take her to the dog park and I'm yelling leave it all the time whenever she's taking off towards a little dog. I know she's just a puppy and this will die down after a while, but I don't want her to be "that dog" at the park! I'm hoping that her gun training will help some of this. She was supposed to go on the 18th but because there is so much snow on the ground they wouldn't take her yet. Any suggestions?

-Korbey Randi Stella "We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot

Splat

Illinois (Northern)

MH
Posts:3134

01/22/2010 12:42 PM
I have never tried the no chew spray but maybe that would work on the towels in the crate....also make sure there is something in there to keep her busy besides chewing the towel...maybe a kong toy filled with something....someone on here mentioned filling a kong and freezing it so the fill lasted longer....

Klynn7

Blaine, MN

MH
Posts:84

01/22/2010 12:47 PM
Yeah, we've tried that. She always has something with her to chew on. I almost think that maybe whatever we leave in there some how gets mixed up in the blankets and she "digs" to get it out? I have no idea. She doesn't chew on ANYTHING that's not hers. We did have to take away any plush toys because all she wants to do is chew now. I read one of your earler posts about rawhides and actually just bought a deer antler for her. I did ask my vet about rawhides and he said that they're fine as long as you watch them when they get smaller to make sure they don't choke. Maybe I'll try the spray. I even found a non padded crate pad that I thought for sure there was no way she'd destroy because there was no stuffing in it....WRONG.

-Korbey Randi Stella "We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot

Texas Belle User is Offline

Austin, TX

MH
Posts:7841

01/22/2010 1:54 PM
The no chew spray is bitter apple and you can get it at the pet store. I works pretty good, but you may have to apply every day. I will warn you it didn't phase my oldest girl. She was and is a power chewer. Mine have never been bad about chewing their beds when they were young as they had a preference for my leather furniture. I have noticed that if there is a distinct edge or corner on something they go for that. They also will start chewing on their toy and when it gets close or in something else the chewing sometimes transfers to the new thing which as you said may be what is happening here. Have you tried stuffing a kong with peanut butter or her food and freezing it and then leaving that in the crate. The deer antlers are what I leave in the crates for my dogs. They love them. Also you can use a rubber mat in the bottom of the crate (but she may still chew it) or just leave beds out all together. Another option (although it may be a bit messy inside the house) is to put straw in the crate. My boy absolutely thinks he is in heaven when he gets a straw bed. That is because he sleeps in a barrel with straw when he is at the trainers. I think he associates birds, training and straw beds together.

Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna) Yellow Rose GSPs "A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato

Klynn7

Blaine, MN

MH
Posts:84

01/22/2010 2:25 PM
I have tried the kong thing, but more when she was smaller. Like I said, she doesn't do it all the time, only once in a while but she does REAL damage when she does. Hopefully the deer antler will do the trick. She does go for her gun training on Feb 1st so I might wait until she gets back in April to try out some new options. I'm hoping that she'll just love being a good dog so much while she's training that she'll be PERFECT when she gets back! Yeah right...I know. I can hope though right? I ordered the antler and had it shipped 2-day so we'll see how it goes on Monday. thanks for the tips. Do either of you have any regarding my other issue and the rough play with the smaller dogs? Right now that's my primary focus. We don't have a big enough yard for her to really get the exersize she needs and since it's been so cold here (MN) I've been taking her to an indoor dog park and just letting her loose.

-Korbey Randi Stella "We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot

Texas Belle User is Offline

Austin, TX

MH
Posts:7841

01/22/2010 2:56 PM
Allot of the problem is she is 7 months old and basically a puppy in a grown up body. Honestly at 7 months they are also still a bit clutzy. Combine that with getting over excited and you end up with the situation you are describing. I would work on a settle or easy command. Also, before you go to the park be sure you do some obedience training. That will work her mind and at least tire her mentally. You might try games where she is interacting with you and not other dogs, like fetch. Also, get her around other dogs in a controlled environment (not the dog park) so she is not as excited about seeing other strange dogs when she gets to the park. If you can take her on a long walk before the dog park that will also help. Other than that you are going to have to watch her and keep her under control. That may mean you have to keep her on a leash or find somewhere else to take her where there are not so many dogs. In addition, you need to work a reliable recall where you can call her back to you no matter what. The challenge there is she is still a puppy and a reliable recall takes time. With a reliable recall though you could call her back to your side if she gets overly excited. Are there any other dog parks where the park is split between big and little dogs? Some areas have those too. Finally, you always always need to stay alert for not just her behavior, but other dogs behavior that may be bad for her. Just know that she will calm as she matures and she will get better.

Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna) Yellow Rose GSPs "A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato

Klynn7

Blaine, MN

MH
Posts:84

01/22/2010 3:33 PM
Thanks for the reassurance. It sounds like I'm doing what I can. The park does have a smaller area for little dogs, but their owners often opt to not take them in there which is causing my issue. Maybe today I'll take her in there since no one uses it and work with her for a little while before I let her run around. Since it's been so cold here (down to -25 with wind chill) until about last week, I have trained her to jog on the treadmill to help get some of her energy out since it wasn't safe for her to be outside in the cold too long. It actually works really well! She runs/jogs at a 5.0 at a 10% incline for 30 minutes no problem! As for recall commands, we have that down as much as we can for her age. She's really good about it, and I do leave it when I see her taking off after a smaller dog. We've been doing the park thing since we've had her so I know the drill about watching her and all that. She does great with the bigger dogs, it's just the little guys she struggles with since she's so much bigger. We go at the same time every day so it's usually the same dogs that she plays with perfectly. So we just need for her to grow up a little more....but I kind of wish she'd get smaller again. I'm itching for another puppy already but I think we're going to get a baby instead. Well we're actually off to the park now! Thanks again for all the good advise!

-Korbey Randi Stella "We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment." -George Eliot

Splat

Illinois (Northern)

MH
Posts:3134

01/22/2010 4:36 PM
I have never done the dog park thing...however it just seems that all the excitement and being a big puppy is mashing together...Maybe do some laps around the park with the leash on before setting her free... Right now in the winter I find it hard to get myself outside in the cold. We don't have any indoor dog parks so we just go visit petsmart and petco once a week. He doesn't get to run or anything but the stimulation of all the new things seems to really tire him out and he crashes pretty good when we get home!

erikacarrillo User is Offline

La Honda, CA

MH
Posts:229

01/25/2010 1:28 PM
The only bed that Koda hasn't destroyed is the Snoozy. It's not very padded, but she can't pull the stuffing in the bumpers out. http://www.petco.com/product/101409/Precision-Pet-SnooZZy-Original-Crate-Beds.aspx?CoreCat=certona-_-ProductList_Dog_1-_-Precision%20Pet%20SnooZZy%20Original%20Crate%20Beds-101409 Koda loves to play rough with dogs when she is in a confined space indoors, but outside she is looking for the ball. I took her to the beach when there was a french/english bulldog meetup, and she had no interest in them whatsoever because I had the chuckit in my hand. Some of the bulldogs would steal her ball when she dropped it, but she wouldn't go after them to get it back. She also won't go after a ball that isn't hers, but she will try to get the other dogs to chase her when she does have the ball in her mouth. I would try throwing the ball when she goes after the little dogs to distract her, but allow her to play rough with the big dogs as long as it's friendly.

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