daltor Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 hi - i posted before about this problem but nothing has improved. in fact it's got worse. we rescued a 6mth old boy about 6 mths ago (we are now his 4th home). his previous owners crated him all day (8.00-5.30) & we gather he generally received little attention or exercise. he is now 12 mths old & is neutered. unfortunately he tries to eat anything & everything be it animal, vegetable or mineral. he has cost us over £1k in damage to our cars (now sorted with a crate) & furniture. for example this week alone he ate his padded bed (the 4th one), two 400g loaves (bags & all), 1.5kg bag of guinea pig pellets a 0.5kg bag of hay, 4 small ctns of tomato ketchup, my son's lunch (twice) and some of my wife's shoe polish etc etc.......... we try to keep everything out of his way but he is very big & is able to apply the additional reach of his long legs.with good effect. leave anything within reach on the kitchen worktop or elsewhere & whoosh it's gone. we have 2 girls & they are both a dream but this guy - phew!!. my question is, has anyone tried muzzle training - we are extremely reluctant to do this but we feel that someday he is going to do himself harm. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 I have heard of people using muzzles when out on walks to stop them eating everything but not as an all day thing. We had this problem with Ice. He is also incredibly tall and can reach most places. We literally have to keep everything in cupboards, can't leave anything on the counters or tables at all or else he would eat it or destroy it. In rooms where we couldn't keep everything out of the way we kept the doors closed so he couldn't get in. Thankfully these days he generally only goes for food related things but we still have to be careful that no food is left out at all. I even shut him out of the living room when my youngest son eats something as he has been known in the past to try to help himself straight off the plate. He never tried it when I'm in the room but as soon as my back is turned, he'll strike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daltor Posted June 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 emma - thanks for your reply - glad you only have one half of our problem :-) - loathe the idea of a muzzle but thought someone here might have used it with positive results - perhaps he will just grow out of it - otherwise, he's a great pup lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulG Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Baby proof the kitchen with those safety catches one of my dogs was able to paw the bottom doors open you will also need to keep other pet food in sealed containers as some animal other foods might be toxic to dogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I would be getting in a good dog trainer/behaviourist to help you work through the problems. My thoughts are that he won't really understand the muzzle and aversion training seldom works. What is his current exercise and training regime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare70 Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I feel your pain One of my boys used to chew everything, shoes, tables, chairs, flooring, plugs, litterally anything. I found we had to be extra vigiliant with him and confine him to an area when we couldn't watch him. He was 4 months old when we rescued him and we are his fourth owners, so I kind of know what it's like. He's almost 2 now and has grown out of it, hope that gives you some hope I wouldn't personally use a muzzle as it prevents the dog from cleaning itself etc. Also it would more than likely send him cranky. Do you give him kongs filled with treats, this is a good way of keeping him busy, or the occasional raw bone? Lots of exercise and mental stimulation help tire huskies out and then he'll be less likely to eat your house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daltor Posted June 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I would be getting in a good dog trainer/behaviourist to help you work through the problems. My thoughts are that he won't really understand the muzzle and aversion training seldom works. What is his current exercise and training regime? he gets about 8 mile per day & comes to work with us - we know a dog trainer but we can't afford £30/hr - knowing him he'd be as good as gold - he hasn't been too bad today he just sneaked two baps from the toaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daltor Posted June 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Do you give him kongs filled with treats, this is a good way of keeping him busy, or the occasional raw bone? Lots of exercise and mental stimulation help tire huskies out and then he'll be less likely to eat your house this guy is high octane - 8 miles every day, kongs, antlers, the lot - our other two pups are even fed up with his antics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare70 Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I've recently bought myself an easy walker, it's a device which attaches to my bike. I take one of my boys out on it as often as I can, though it's too warm here at the moment. When we go out we cover about 5 km which isn't that far, though given my boy likes to run most of it I find it really tires him out. The easy walker is just an attachment from bike to dog and doesn't mean they have to pull, your boy is still too young to do this. It's another tool I have to exercise my dogs and so far it's working really well, maybe it's worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) deleted Edited June 13, 2015 by Jase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn Penn Turpin Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Baby proof the kitchen with those safety catches one of my dogs was able to paw the bottom doors open you will also need to keep other pet food in sealed containers as some animal other foods might be toxic to dogs It's amazing how smart they are . Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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