hi
has anyone any ideas how i can stop one of my male shepherds from chewing? he is 14 mths old now,walked every day,runs around the stable yard with the others in the morning,gets lots of training and tlc from me but the minute i turn my back hes chewing somthing up.i have tried lots of things to stop him from telling him off,shutting him in when hes done it,they get chews and bones and ive tried giving him toys and not giving him toys!!!

any ideas welcome before i have nothing left!!!

Hi Vicki , have you tried giving him a Kong? Have a look here : KONGS. They can be bought at most petshops and pet superstores and filled with an infinite variety of stuff (Hudsons was filled this morning with a disgusting combo of grated cheese and pilchards) and can keep them occupied for hours.

Melody :)

Melody,

You must have one heck of a strong stomach and a lousy sense of smell! :-)

Stacey

Have to say I was heaving whilst filling it :D

hi melody
thanks for the idea of a kong i will try that!!he has got his own kennel and run outside where he goes into(quite happily)when i go out but i do not keep my dogs shut in during the day when i am around,so thanks for the good advice.
cheers vicki

He may be chewing because he's anxious when you are not around. This can be quite a destructive habit. Why don't you consider using a crate and keeping him secure and out of mischief when you have to leave him. Don't use it as a punishment (as in shutting him in when he's done it!) but more of a den which he can call his own space. Give him something in there that he can chew on to keep him occupied like the advice of the kong stuffed with something nice. You can vary the fillings - and leave him a toy. Alternate the toy that you leave him with so that he doesn't get bored with having them all around all the time. Put the rest away and swap them over every now and again.
Destructive chewing is a habit which can be managed - crates are very useful to assist :)
Lara x