Puppy nearly burned down house.. HELP!

[ramanth]

My cousin in law has a 14 month old Brittany Spaniel named Snowy. She's a very sweet dog but there is a problem.

She likes to chew electrical cords. Dale has completed puppy obedience with her. Drowns the cords in Bitter Apple and disiplines her when he catches her in the act. Nothing is phasing her. She licks up the Bitter Apple like it's a treat and ignores the disiplines.

She is crated when he is not home and during the night.

Yesterday evening she began barking (she hardly ever barks) and it alerted him to the fact that she chewed through yet another lamp cord and sparks were flying everywhere. He doesn't know how she didn't electrocute herself and if she hadn't of barked the house would of likely caught fire.

In his last message to me he said:


I know shes a puppy, but my main problem I have is finding a way to disipline her. I have tried every technique I know and that the instructor had told me at the class. It just doesn't sink into her head, she just thinks it's a game always. She's such a friendly dog, everyone likes her, but I am just getting fustrated. thanks, Dale

Any suggestions?? Snowy is not the first dog Dale has owned. He had a Brittany before Snowy, but he passed away of old age a few months ago.

[mr.chiwawa]

Has he tried cord covers? They are made of a heavy duty plastic and on the backside has a sticky tape. They slip over the cords then can either be stuck to the wall or to the floor wherever. My aunt had a similar problem with her springer spanlie but not to the point where she could have cought the house on fire. But needless to say she brought the cord covers which you can buy at a home depo or a lowes and they worked the dog got too frustrated that she couldnt get through the plastic to the cord itself that she gave up on it. It is all I could think of. Hope it helps.

[LoudLou]

We had to use Hot Sauce or Cayenne Pepper with LOUD Louie... as he liked Bitter Apple also.

[signorelli21]

heres a place i just found that has all kinds of different wire covers, ranging from nylon to kevlar- https://www.wirecare.com/wirecarephp1/wc_product_company.php?prodline=ES

[angelchampy]

Wire covers are the way to go. I had the same problem. My dog couldn't get through the covers, got frustrated and stopped. It wouldn't hurt also to put some of that hot sauce on the covers as an extra precaution as was mentioned. This is the only thing to do. Eventually, after the dog has stopped, maybe they can take the covers off.

Let us know how they make out. :D

[Freedom]

This works for cats; not sure if it works for dogs.

Vaseline. Rub it over the cord. They don't like the taste / smell / feel on their mouths and tongues. Only down side: as it is sticky it will attract every dust bunny for miles around! Most of my cords are behind furniture and out of sight so that is OK by me. Periodically I will wipe a cord clean and then re-apply the coating of Vaseline.

[ramanth]

Thanks guys! I've passed the suggestions on to Dale. If anyone has anymore, feel free to post.

I'll let you know if any of these work. :)

[Karen]

You are going to think this is silly, but go to http://rabbit.org. Why? Certain bunnies have a "Cords need to be cut and moved away from the wall" mentality. He can buy plastic tubing at Home Deport to run the cords through very cheaply, cardboard papertowel tubes are also good ... and "hiding" or making impossible to get at electric cords works very best of all!

[jennielynn1970]

My cat, Finae, has a thing about electrical cords. Except her fetish is only ones that are plugged in. She's sooooo ODD!!! I've done everything to dissuade her, but to no avail. I've gone through about 10 irons and numerous lamp cords. I also have to watch where I leave out my laptop charger. She's a pain! I don't know if she likes the feeling it gives her or what. She's tamed down the last year or so, but I still find little nibbles here and there. :rolleyes:

[k9friend]

On the Pet Show (radio talk show) Warren Eckstein developed and recommends his own product, YUK. It's supposedly even better than Bitter Apple and organic so it won't hurt the dog. You can get it at some major pet stores like Pet Smart, Pet Co, places like that. Maybe small chains might even carry it.

[freckledimple]

Ferret.com has cord covers made by Marshall's. They are supposed to have a chew deterent in the material. Also, try giving the dog A LOT of chew toys. Good luck.