My 8month old gsd has got into a terrible habit of chewing the skirtingboard. We have tried bitter apple spray and even put vicks on the walls but nothing seems to stop her. Vicks will stop her for a day and then she’s straight back to it. She is walked (off lead with ball thrown) for at least an hour before being left and is alone for no more than 3 hours. She has no distress at being left (no noise, sits calmly and waits for us to leave) and is an angel in every other way, she is excellent with all commands. She has kongs, nylabones, soft toy, and more recently a ‘root’ chew that we had hoped would fulfil her wood need with her when we are at work but still goes straight for the walls.

She is literally eating the house and I am concerned she is going to do herself some real harm.

She has never been crate trained as when we first got her she seemed very distressed to be in an enclosed space (large play pen) and, to be entirely honest, I don’t feel it is very fair to leave any animal in a cage for 3 hours while I am at work but I’m concerned this is going to become necessary. Any ideas/advice to train her out of this behaviour would be greatly appreciated as I have hit a brick wall!

I had a Bearded Collie with the same habit.  I had visions of her eating doors as the habit grew.  In the end I covered the wood liberally with fresh mustard.

She loved it!  And would wait to see me add more mustard before licking it while she was salivating.  Beardie drool on your woodwork is not a pretty sight.  I never did find an answer but she eventually just grew out of it.  I assumed that it was related to teething.

My Shetland sheepdog used to do the same. We bought her a deer antler chew on and that did the trick. She is miss nearly 3 and seems to have grown out of it.

> She is walked (off lead with ball thrown) for at least an hour before being left

This is likely to be part of your problem!  Ball throwing ramps up the adrenaline, making it harder for a dog to settle when the walk is over, even with interactive toys around.  They are more wired than they otherwise would be.  Adrenaline takes a while to settle too, so if you're doing this regularly, the problem is being compounded.

Also, at 8 months old, ball throwing is the very last exercise your dog should be having - it's one of (if not the) highest impact exercises you can do with a dog and can do real damage at any age, let alone when the skeleton is still growing (as it will be until around 18 months).  Add to that a breed that is very prone to joint problems, and it's a recipe for serious injury and lifelong problems.

I tried mustard on a pedal bin to stop a GSD I had emptying it. She loved it. At least the noise of her licking it off alerted us to what she was doing. She wasn't left in the room with the bin just managed to sneak in when she thought we weren't watching.

Could you do a slightly shorter walk and then spend 15 minutes or so training at the end or even back at home? This can really help to wind dogs down after exercise especially the higher energy types.

She always gets command reinforcement whilst she’s out and quite often some distance training also.

Thank you, that is an interesting idea I hadn’t thought of. She does however have an hour with my partner after walk before alone so I don’t think she’s still be hyped up. An idea we may give further thought to though

Adrenaline doesn't drop in an hour, it drops over several days.  So it can still be there through that hour and the rest of that day and the next day, and maybe the day after, and if she's then getting ball chasing the next day, the adrenaline from that is being added on and pushing the overall level higher.

All that aside though, it is a completely inappropriate and potentially very damaging exercise for an 8 month old dog, more so a GSD, so purely from that POV, I'd be putting that ball away.

I think crate training is good, get a very large cage. A dog being in it for 3 hours isn't so bad if she's had a walk/run and left with some nice toys. Its for her safety too as what would happen if she ate skirting board that got stuck in her mouth whilst you were out or anything else for that matter. Saves your home too.
We have always had our pups crate trained and left in them whilst we were out for a couple of hours or more as long as the cage is big enough, safety all round and knowing they can't do any damage. I used a camera I could access on phone so could see what was happening when I was out... most of the time the dog was sleeping!
Remember its only whilst they are babies not forever.

My 1st GSD started to eat/trash the carpet then the wood underneath from the bottom couple  and the top step of the stairs.
We worked it out that I could go out  be it for ½ hr or 3½ hrs (working part time irregular hours during mornings) ONCE a day with no problem but if I dared to go out a second time without him I was in trouble
He grew out of it as he got older but there are still teeth marks on the steps!

Pups chew, we used to just put up with it, knowing they would outgrow it, in the days before cages.

I think you're right, 3 hours is definitely too long in a cage, especially when you'd probably have to put her in there overnight too to stop chewing so that becomes 11 or 12 hours - half the day in a cage. So, I agree, no cage, put lots of toys down, put things in front of the favourite chewing points - boxes, bins, sofas and she'll outgrow it soon enough.

> I think you're right, 3 hours is definitely too long in a cage, especially when you'd probably have to put her in there overnight too to stop chewing so that becomes 11 or 12 hours - half the day in a cage.

I disagree - providing the crate is used as a place where the puppy/dog sleeps, I think it is perfectly fine for it to be there for 3 hours at a time, and over the night. Look up how many hours the puppy and the adult dog sleep a day, you'll be surprised

It would be wrong to put the puppy in the crate for 3 hours when it is not ready to sleep though, as this is likely to result in anxiety frustration barking howling and so on. Therefore when we crate train small puppies they only only go there to sleep, and let out the moment they wake up. This way they become to associate the crate as the place of calm and peace and safety, a place to sleep, rest and recover.

Three hours left in a cage is not acceptable in my opinion. How on earth did we manage before the cage idea came across the Atlantic? We were more vigilant and also accepted that having a puppy meant some inevitable chewing so we left chew items and blocked off the precious or dangerous bits. It wasn't rocket science.

The idea of a dog and a kennel to provide a den to sleep, rest, hide from cold, chew a bone in, is as old as anything... Once it became more common to keep dogs inside as opposed to outside, and the guard dog became a pet dog, the kennel became a crate to provide a den to sleep, rest, be warm and cosy, chew a bone in.... nothing new here to come across the Atlantic imo.

Brace yourself monkeyj - I agree with you!

Ideally dogs would spend no time at all in a cage but sometimes, circumstance requires it and provided they have had sufficient stimulation/exercise before they go so they aren't frustrated, and providing the cage is very big relative to the dopg, then 3 hours is ok in my book.  Less is always better, of course, and if possible a secure area is preferable but a few hours in a cage is not the end of the world - most dogs will just sleep in it anyway.

In all honesty my mali can spend twice that in hers in one go, if I've got a block of work in, and she's fine - no ill effects at all.  I must say I don't like it and I'm trying to sort a bigger area for her but for a few reasons, it's taking a while but I'm not worried about her in the meantime.  It's not an everyday occurrence and she'll still take herself in there to snooze in the evenings, if she needs a break from the others.

As far as how did we manage - life is busier now.  Very different to how it used to be, much more demanding, and it's not uncommon for every adult in the home to need to work (as I do, and there's only me here), so cages have become more commonplace.  They can certainly be misused but sometimes, as in my home, they are a godsend and absolutely necessary.

> put lots of toys down, put things in front of the favourite chewing points - boxes, bins, sofas and she'll outgrow it soon enough.

Someone I knew put puppy panels across stretches of skirting until pup was past chewing.

I know someone who did that too.  I'd forgotten about her til you said that.  She bought a couple of plastic puppy pens online and connected all the panels together so she had a flexible barrier running right round the room the dogs was in.

Facebook Replies:

Carol Chapman says:  Have you tried painting the area with clove oil, it worked for us

Debra Hindson says: Garlic

Margaret Weddick Says: Mustard!

Chris Dawkins says:  one of my gsd's was crated as a puppy when out and at night and then at 8mths allowed out but decided chewing the radiators and polypies to them was far better . Back she went crated and she loves her crate it's her den and comfort place . You have to train it and not see it as a negative , feed in there , treat in there . She is now nearly 7yrs and is still crated as she knows when we go out that's her place to sleep . I tried all the deterrents to no avail. Also it alleviates any distress you are showing by coming home and walking in to anything chewed and your home being destroyed and eroded. Instead you come home and sort yourselves out and then let them out and treat for being good etc etc and all is happy . I also had my first gsd who chewed door frames , plasterboard skirting etc she wasn;t ever crated as I never knew much about them , caused so much stress and to her too . My 2 long coats have only been crated as puppy's and after 6mths have total freedom and never chewed. the 2 short coats were /is hyper dogs and always on red alert . Hope this helps . All in the crate training

Brace yourself monkey I agree .made me laugh

Facebook reply:

Alison Gardner says:  We give our timber dog frozen treats, he’s 8 months old and hates us going out messing in the kitchen despite the fact we have another dog. I have changed his diet and he has a raw frozen treat given to him just before we leave. Working so far, no mess and a happier dog he was chewing everything in the kitchen before!

Facebook reply:

Sarah Carlile says:  Clove oil and water in a spray bottle!

I say thank goodness for crates, I remember the good old days when I used to leave the puppy in the utility room while I was out shopping/picking up children/dentist etc. and coming home to ripped up coats, chewed skirtings, holes in plasterwork, scratched doors, demolished dustbins. If a puppy is trained to use the crate as a comfortable rest area not a prison and not left in for countless hours then they are brilliant for preventing that "What have you done now" moment as you open the door. They do not suit all dogs but must have saved lots of people's sanity when the pupster is going through the chewing phase of its' life.