[izzybear]

Hi,

We have a 15 month beagle that is super destructive. We assumed it must be a puppy phase but now she's over a year old. She chews on everything that she can get her teeth on, shoes, paper, the corner of a wall! She also loves stealing items from the table and running off with it. We say No! everytime we found her chewing on something she's not suppose to but it does not appear to get through to her. A minute later..she'll be at it again.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

That's a picture of her during one of the rare moments when she's calm.

****Mods...can you move this to the correct forum? Thanks***

 

[Murphys Dad]

1st... Welcome to the BW pack!

2nd... Rule number one with all dogs: If you don't want it chewed, keep it out of the reach.

Do you give Izzy something to chew on in place of the chewed object in question?

Have you done any obedience training with Izzy? Its vitally important that you do.

Does Izzy get regular exercise? A tired beagle is a happy beagle.

 

[silleb]

Joe Makes some great points.

Ben was very destructive when we first got him (at eight months old). He had been understimulated in his previous home and kept crated for a majority of the day.

We did all of the above with great success. Ben still can get playful and steal things...but he is no longer destructive. He is not crated at all anymore and we totally trust him to behave when we are not home.

 

[Murphys Dad]

When Jersey was a puppy she was very destructive as well. I can't even remember all the things that she destroyed. It was probably about a year that I took all the books off the bottom shelf of the book case. I kept my ironing board up to keep shoes and other items on and out of her reach. It wasn't the best home decor, but it worked. We stocked up on the toys and made sure she knew exactly what was hers to chew. It helped a LOT. It didn't solve the problem, but it was a great help. When she would chew the wrong thing, we'd give her one of her toys to chew on. The best thing we ever did though was to do obedience classes. That worked better than anything else.

 

[kgh]

Don't forget the old tried and true advice - A tired Beagle is a good Beagle! It really does work. Maybe a doggie friend to help wear some energy off, ie, dog park or doggie day care or play date.

 

[Zookeeper]

Yep, yep, yep, totally agree with Joe and Silleb.

Duke was destructo-monster as a pup. We did what we could to minimize the damage by keeping things out of his way (though he still found his way to things like the corner of my antique stereo and our china cabinet). Then we took him to puppy school to teach the ever important leave it and drop it commands.

Once Duke hit a year old, the destructiveness slowed a lot and now at 2, he's not at all destructive. He does steal things still (so does Violet), but they only steal them to take them outside, not to chew on them.

 

[Brien]

When your dog chews on something you don't want them to, say No, take it away and then give them an appropriate chew toy. Be consistent and you should see an improvement over time. But don't expect it to stop completely anytime soon.

 

[jassy]

I think Maggie started to improve with her chewing at about 15 to 18 months. As you can see from the previous posts most of us have gone through this stage. I am a big believer in obedience training also. Even one basic class makes a big difference.

 

[ecemom]

When Rocky was about to come live with us I went out and got him an assortment of toys...rope, stuffie, Nylabone, Kong, so that I could substitute the right kind of toy for what he was chewing. For example, he chews wood, we give him the hard Nylabone, he goes for a cushion, he gets the stuffie. He's only 4 months and has a lot of chewing left to do, but he's pretty good about chewing only his things. He also likes water bottles and paper tubes....silly boy

He is kept pretty active too...I have the advantage of being home with the kids and puppy for the summer so he gets lots of playtime and in the evening he's pooped!

Keep at it...it's bound to get better!

 

[Quinn&Grayson]

We got Fooey, which is like Bitter Apple. That really helps keep the puppies from gnawing on baseboards and cabinets. Now, they sniff around for any spot they can find that hasn't been sprayed...except we sprayed EVERYTHING!

The only downside to Fooey is that it is oil based, so it sticks to the puppies' fur and rubs off on us. If you've ever used that No Bite nail polish that is supposed to stop you from biting your nails, it tastes like that.

 

[brandyb]

Welcome!!
I agree, a tired beagle is a happy non-destructive beagle. Caesar was very destructive until about a year ago (he's now 3). But even still, he needs to be excerised both body and mind, and if he wants it and he can grab it - it's his. Any activity where your beag has to think and concentrate will tire her out. Make sure she has appropriate chew toys that she likes too. And like Joe said, if you don't want it chewed, keep it out of her reach.

 

[izzybear]

Well, we do try to keep things out of reach... we'll leave things on coffee table and she'll either jump on the couch then get to the table or if she's feeling brave she's just jump straight onto the coffee table and take whatever her heart desires. She has plenty of chew toys (ie. Kong, stuffed animals, raw hide) and we do try to replace things with a chew toy when she takes something that isn't hers. I guess we can be more consistent tho. We also have bitter apple (which we can't spray everything)but she has learned that if you lick it a couple of times the bitter apple wears off...

As for exercise she gets a 45 min walk each day and play time with other dogs on the weekend. Should we give her more daily exercise?

She did take a obedience class when she was a puppy (12 weeks) where she learn all her basic commands (sit, down, leave it, drop, etc). We're thinking about putting her in another class to see if that helps.

 

[angelaH]

A big welcome to BW. Please buy some chew toys or try empty tolet rolls!!! ours go mad with paper rolls. Put everything else out of reach.

 

[Sephly]

i think the second class might help, also maybe walk/excersice the pup before she's left alone (if thats the case?) that way she's tired and will most likely then not, sleep while your away.

 

[bubbles]

You can also try noise diversion--place some stones or coins in a tin can with a lid. When she goes for something she is not supposed to shake the can and yell no. This will startle her (hopefully) and helps to emphasize the NO. When she retreats, make sure to praise and give her a toy. Most of all--be consistent.