Q. I have a 1 and a half yr old female pit bull. My problem is I can't get her to stop chewing and eating on wood! What can I do to deter her from doing this?
A. Hi therei! Cassie from HEX here. The first and most important thing with a one year old pit bull is physical exercise - and I don't mean just letting them out in the backyard. They need a lot of mental stimulation, walks, structured exercise, you can play games (like this one: http://www.fullbullsne.org/.../the-find-it-game-great...). There is going to be basically NO solution to this issue without addressing the physical exercise/mental stimulation part. Bored dogs do a lot of stuff like this, and for some dogs, a 45 minute walk a day is nothing. I can tire my dogs out better at times with a 20 minute training session than a 40 minute walk - it appeals to their intelligence and gives 'em some brain work. When our dogs are chewing excessively like that, it's usually because (not usually - basically always) because they have too much pent up energy and they have to expell it somehow... You can leave her alone with ONE or two safe chew toys (like Kongs, stuffed with food - although I have one pit that can rip through even the black Kong). There is a product called "Bitter Apple" you can spray on your woodwork, although it isn't enough to deter certain dogs. Also, is she spayed? If she isn't, I would get her spayed - how is this relevant? Because a dog that isn't fixed is likely getting pretty frustrated around that age, especially if there are other un-neutered/un-spayed dogs in the area. Without addressing the exercise and possibly the spay, this is going to be a tough one to fix, but otherwise, it's not so bad Utilize gates/crates, shut some doors, to the areas she's been targeting, and remember this, too: you cannot effectively correct a dog after the fact, so if you didn't catch her in the act, don't even bother - you are likely to make it worse.
Almost forgot to mention - often the issue with this, in addition to what I said above, is actually a deficiency in diet. Nutritional deficiencies manifest in weird ways with dogs eating weird stuff.. I LOVE the raw diets that are out there and has made huge improvements in health and behavior in dogs simply by making sure they are getting what their bodies need... www.preymodelraw.com has a lot of cool info on that.
Hope this was helpful! Thank you to our partner organization Full-Bulls NE at www.fullbullsne.org for hosting this weekly Q&A, and please visit HEX Dog Training at www.facebook.com/hexdogs and give us a like!
Cassie-Leigh Stock, owner, HEX Dog Training
www.hexdogs.com
A. Hi therei! Cassie from HEX here. The first and most important thing with a one year old pit bull is physical exercise - and I don't mean just letting them out in the backyard. They need a lot of mental stimulation, walks, structured exercise, you can play games (like this one: http://www.fullbullsne.org/.../the-find-it-game-great...). There is going to be basically NO solution to this issue without addressing the physical exercise/mental stimulation part. Bored dogs do a lot of stuff like this, and for some dogs, a 45 minute walk a day is nothing. I can tire my dogs out better at times with a 20 minute training session than a 40 minute walk - it appeals to their intelligence and gives 'em some brain work. When our dogs are chewing excessively like that, it's usually because (not usually - basically always) because they have too much pent up energy and they have to expell it somehow... You can leave her alone with ONE or two safe chew toys (like Kongs, stuffed with food - although I have one pit that can rip through even the black Kong). There is a product called "Bitter Apple" you can spray on your woodwork, although it isn't enough to deter certain dogs. Also, is she spayed? If she isn't, I would get her spayed - how is this relevant? Because a dog that isn't fixed is likely getting pretty frustrated around that age, especially if there are other un-neutered/un-spayed dogs in the area. Without addressing the exercise and possibly the spay, this is going to be a tough one to fix, but otherwise, it's not so bad Utilize gates/crates, shut some doors, to the areas she's been targeting, and remember this, too: you cannot effectively correct a dog after the fact, so if you didn't catch her in the act, don't even bother - you are likely to make it worse.
Almost forgot to mention - often the issue with this, in addition to what I said above, is actually a deficiency in diet. Nutritional deficiencies manifest in weird ways with dogs eating weird stuff.. I LOVE the raw diets that are out there and has made huge improvements in health and behavior in dogs simply by making sure they are getting what their bodies need... www.preymodelraw.com has a lot of cool info on that.
Hope this was helpful! Thank you to our partner organization Full-Bulls NE at www.fullbullsne.org for hosting this weekly Q&A, and please visit HEX Dog Training at www.facebook.com/hexdogs and give us a like!
Cassie-Leigh Stock, owner, HEX Dog Training
www.hexdogs.com
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