hi a friend who bought a puppy from my last litter has been having ongoing problems with him chewing everything clothes all his bowls and everything else he sees she put flowers in her garden they other week and the very next day he dug them all up again, his mum was the same but i managed to cope with her ive spoken to her tonight and shes going to let her mum take him for a few days as she really dont know what to do. ive always said i would take any of my puppies back as i dont want them to go to anyone. she has a little girl the same age as mine 2 and half and she works part time like me. any advice on what she can do would be great.

It is natural puppy behaviour, dogs need to chew.

I guess the first question is why is he chewing bowls and clothes? Is he left alone for long periods, is he ignored a lot with the toddler around, if he is, he will find his own entertainment, dogs get bored of their toys after a few minutes, they need interaction, maybe the dog just isn't getting enough?

When your pups owner is out at work part-time does she leave a knuckle bone or a kong to keep him occupied, is he contained in a safe area? Boredom often causes chewing, I've always been able to leave a pup/adult for a couple of hours with a knuckle bone to chew it keeps them occupied and then they generally sleep too.

If the owner is home when these 'offences' happen she needs to distract, remove what he is chewing and replace with a bone or kong and tell him good boy when chewing what she gives and a No! when chewing something she doesn't want him to.

Re: The digging, again perfectly natural behaviour, some breeds are worse than others for this, but once again, supervision, a quick Off! or No! when he starts, dogs love digging for roots of flowers and plants, I'm sure many of us have had a few things dug up :-) again if just left to wander around unchecked he will find his own entertainment. I know some make sand pits for their dogs if real diggers and hide things in them for the dog to dig out and find, giving him an area of his own to dig at his hearts content, so this could be done, but it sounds to me that this pup just needs more attention and more control. I bet he will be really good at the mum's as she will give him this. 

Working part time with a toddler sometimes a dog just does not get the right attention, you can do it but often others can't and often have the misconception that a dog will train itself. Your pup is just doing normal puppy things, the only difference between a well behaved pup and one doing as it pleases is the dogs trainer, if it isn't being trained, it will do as it pleases, why souldn't it, it is a dog. :-)

Your friend needs give the dog more supervision and remove all items she does not wish him to chew until he is out of the puppy stage and well trained. Don't let her tell you he is a 'bad' or uncontrollable dog, she's not doing her part that is all, you may well end up with this dog back, or maybe the mum will keep him, to me she does not sound as though she has the time for a pup, there is no such thing as a well behaved pup, just a well trained and occupied one.

hi carrington thanks very much for your reply i have mentioned all this to her if she listens then thats a different story i did explain all this to all the ownwers who have bought a puppy and she said that it would be ok. ive spoken to my partner and he have agreed that if she still cant cope then we will have him back. thanks again

Hiya,

Chewing can happen for lots of reasons.  At eight or nine months a lot of dogs can go through a real chewy phase again as that's about the time their adult teeth are settling into their gums and can cause some discomfort.  Dogs chew as a calming behaviour when they are stressed or they chew and dig to give themselves something to do.

As already suggested when she's around she should be able to manage the siuation, if she hasn't already she should teach him a relaible leave so that she can ask him to leave something and then redirect him onto something appropriate.  Having plenty of appropriate chewing toys around that he can have access to is important, no just one thing in one room but something in each of the rooms he has access to.  Kongs, nyla bones, you can get soft but durasble rubber toys with ridges on that are good for chewing.  He should be redirected onto one of these after being asked top leave something she doesn't want him to have.

There shouldn't be things lying around that he can do damage to when she isn't with him and he should be left with something to occupy him.  Is he getting enough training and one to one play time. Does she take him out for regular walks? Does she give him brain work in the way of interactive toys?

With a dog that digs I wouldn't be giving them unsupervised access to the garden.  If she feeds him kibble she could sprinkle his kibble around the garden to give him something to do and also to have him occupied in the garden without digging.  She could give him a little sand pit in the garden that he is allowed to dig in and redirect him to that if he starts digging when supervised.  Sounds possibly like a pup that is entrertaining himself.