Bogie and his chewing problem

[Ladybug06]

In May our Jack/Beagle will be 6 yrs old. He has always chewed all of his toys up in less than 1 minute. I found a hard ball with a bell inside. He loves to play ball with it. After he gets thru playing catch, he starts chewing on it. In his lifetime he has gone thru 6 of them and he is getting faster about chewing them to pieces. His last one only lasted two weeks. I got him two doggie tennis balls yesterday and they are demolished. He goes thru rawhide bones in less than a week.

I have started a job outside of the home and he is having to stay by himself during the day. He doesn't tear up anything. I also changed his food because he is too heavy. He is now on Nutro (Max) weight control food. I have noticed that he is drinking a lot more water and is begging for food constantly.

Could he have a behavior problem and does the drinking a lot mean something other than a change in food....Diabetes maybe?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Seravieve]

Instead of changing his food, you could just limit how much he eats. I dont know whether you free-feed or if you feed on a schedule, but feeding on a schedule would be an easy way to lower & maintain his weight, because you'd know exactly how much he's eating.

With the toys, my dogs do the same thing. They've destroyed the 'indestructible' Kongs and Nylabones and even Rhinobones. The toy that seems to last is a purple squirrel (http://www.amazon.com/Premier-BB-SQRL-Squirrel-Medium/dp/B000A61GNO) that I got on Amazon. It's been almost a month and it just barely shows any damage, even being chewed on by three large dogs. Some dogs are just more determined than others to get the job done. I'm not sure if they'd be too big for your dog, but racquetballs seem to hold up well too. 3 in a container for $4 at target/walmart.

[Ladybug06]

Thank you for answering me. I don't free feed. He gets a serving in the morning and a serving in the afternoon. He is starting to calm down a little. I will check on the walmart toys. We also have a pet shop here and I will check on their supply too. The thirst has settled down some. Glad for that. I was worried. I really think he is just mad because I took the ball away and haven't replaced it and also the fact that I am gone all day long.

[pomtzu]

I have a 13 yr old Pom that is the ultimate toy destroyer - so much so - that I've nicknamed her "Jaws". Stuffed toys are demolished in record time - she just has to get that squeaky out, and then the stuffing too. Even the tennis balls or hard rope toys, she can demolish in no time. I think she prefers her toys in pieces, and has a toy box full of "body parts" from all the different stuffed toys. And she plays with them all - so if she's happy that way - then so am I!