I have a 15 month old staffy and in the last couple of months she has started chewing furniture pretty much out of the blue. From the moment I got her as a pup she was never a big chewer of things she shouldn't be chewing. She loves to chew her own toys and has a fettish for socks, pens etc, but other than that she's been brilliant.

She was crate trained from day one, but after her first season I elected to get rid of the crate, so that was about 7 months ago now and I haven't had any problems. Could leave her on her own and she'd fall asleep and wake up when I get back. She's never left alone for long periods and has her own toys available which she still chews loads.

But for some reason she's moving onto stuff that she shouldn't be. It started when she realised she could pull books off the book shelf, then she nibbled a chair and the other day I can in to find she'd torn the side off and arm chair. Foam everywhere.

Thing is it seems to be a curiousity thing. She will actually do it whilst I am watching her. She walks past something, thinks "that looks fun" and starts wrecking it. I will tell her to stop and she will, but the next time she walks past it she'll be at it again.

I'm not one to hit dogs so I'd like to know if anyone has any tips as to how I can get her out of this. The load noise thing stops her, but doesn't prevent her reoffending. She seems to understand that she shouldn't be doing it, but she can't stop herself.

Thanks

Stu

spray/coat items with Vicks vapor rub or Bitter Apple spray you can get from pet shops.

It may also be that she needs more to chew, you can provide interactive toys such as a stuffed kong which she has to work hard to de-stuff and it will keep her busy for a while, some dogs will fall asleep for a few hours after a good session with one of these :D

Lindsay
X

Kongs are great and if you fill one with stock or chicken mush and freeze it it lasts ages. I find exploratory chewing is a sign of not enough to do. You can give her a corn flakes box with permitted chewies or treats in layers of paper or cardboard tubes so she can dissect it. We use heart wrapped in knotted cloth for this. There are also ways of keeping bored dogs amused with little training sessions during adverts on TV or playing hunt the toy in the house. Our tactic was to employ the dog with good stuff while denying access to forbidden stuff like kids shoes or toys and using the Bitter Apple on immovable objects. YOu may never need to pick up socks or find your own remote again :)

Hi
Citronella oil has worked for me....smells more pleasant than Vicks Vapour Rub, but that's just my personal preference! Available from Boots!

i used fabreeze on upholstery and furniture polish on wood .the smell put our staffy  off chewing these pieces of furniture.