Taggart is chewing wood!

He is eating the deck and Bruce is not happy. :( Bruce designed and built this deck.
When we catch him doing it we make him stop, but we are not outside with them ALL the time.
I just did the poop scooping (which hadn't been done in a LONG time :o) and even his poop looked like wood. He is chewing on the step, one of the posts of the fence and another step to the hot tub.

Any suggestions on how to stop this? Bruce put the Phooey (like bitter apple) on it but with the rain it doesn't last. Plus I think the taste doesn't bother Taggart. I had put it on Zoee's collar tag thingy and he still pulled it off. Is there anything that can be put on the wood?
I have attached some pictures of the damage.

Thanks.

Puppies like wood :) Just provide him with alternatives, i.e. Kongs, Bully sticks, marrow bones, RMBs, dehydrated tracheas (yep, they're out there), compressed rawhide, etc. With all those goodies, he's not going to want to chew wood.

As always, supervise when chewing. If you can't supervise, don't give him the opportunity to chew anything (example - crate/babygate him).

Yeah, while he's inside supervision is easier. But during the day while Bruce is working or not home they sometimes stay outside. That's when he chews. I guess I'll just have to get MORE outside toys. :D I actually don't have too many. It's just that outside toys tend to ruin quicker in the elements. I'll just find inexpensive ones. I need to take Zoee on a trip to Petsmart for training anyway. ;)

We were so spoiled with Zoee. She was never a destructive chewer and we got her younger than Taggart.

Keva is 2 and she still loves chewing wood. Luckily she has left the deck alone, my dad would be really angry about that especially since we just re-did it. But the trees, forget it. She and Skya eat them together. :rolleyes: I think she would choose chewing a stick over a rawhide sometimes. We have a ton of toys outside too. Luckily the tree they have chosen to "eat" is already dead. Really I think you just won't be able to leave him unsupervised outside, even if he has stuff inside to chew the temptation is there. Well that is if he's like Keva (hope he's not and he outgrows it or realizes that wood isn't as fun to chew as rawhide, etc.). She's also chewed up the fence trying to get to the boxer that lives behinds us (they want to play). Nebo has occasionally chewed on a tree branch but that's about it....he is not even close to as destructive as Keva has been, he doesn't even dig holes.

When he's outside, can you keep him in an ex-pen? That way, he can't reinforce this bad behavior. Remember, wood-chewing is self-reinforcing. Everytime he gets the chance to chew on wood, he rewards himself and he'll do it even more.

So you really have to nip it in the bud: 1) Prevent him from chewing wood at all 2) Provide him with alternatives. You can get creative and stuff with #2 (i.e. I know folks who hang stuffed Kongs from tree branches - talk about FUN!). Just make sure that #1 is met ALL the time, and the behavior will soon disappear :)

You might try just cover the edge of the wood with metal or something else he won't want to chew.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Giselle

Provide him with alternatives.

---

Alternative: Give him a big bowl of Cedar Shavings. (Breath otta smell good, too.) :p

Or, maybe he's Part Beaver?

;)

Thanks for the suggestions, but unfortunately they won't work for us.
I'm sure Bruce doesn't want to put metal on his deck. And we do not have an ex-pen large enough, besides he'd probably jump over it anyway.
I did think about somehow blocking off the deck, but that would require more fencing (meaning $$) and someone to do it. I know Bruce wouldn't want to or probably even know how to do it. LOL
It's just going to have to be more supervision, PERIOD. He's going to have to check on them more often while they are out there. Honestly, I haven't caught him too many times chewing. So I think there may be hope yet. And I'm still going to get more outside toys.

Thanks again everyone. I was hoping there would be something I could put on the wood to deter him.

Oh, some Taggart stats: He is 8 months old today (approx) and he weighs 40.7 lbs.

chicken or rabbit fence as a temporary deterrant? angel alex would chew on wood and chance he got, and yes, i'd find it in his stool too.:eek:

:) How about some chew bones or some raw hides for the baby.. A new couple moved in across the street from me about 6 months ago.. They have just got the most adorable new bloodhound puppy.. Well two days ago I saw he was chewing & distroying their young peach tree.. Of course the puppy looked at me like please dont tell on me..:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joycenalex

chicken or rabbit fence as a temporary deterrant? angel alex would chew on wood and chance he got, and yes, i'd find it in his stool too.:eek:

---

That's something I'll have to discuss with Bruce. We shall see. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lvpets2002

:) How about some chew bones or some raw hides for the baby.. A new couple moved in across the street from me about 6 months ago.. They have just got the most adorable new bloodhound puppy.. Well two days ago I saw he was chewing & distroying their young peach tree.. Of course the puppy looked at me like please dont tell on me..:D

---

I bought a small cuz for him today. And Bruce got rawhide bones (which I am not a fan of) for them for Xmas. But we haven't given them any. And I usually don't let Zoee outside with treasures like that. Also, that's something I would require to be highly supervised. I'm paranoid of them choking on the rawhide.
I also have the green knuckle bones that Zoee chewed on as a puppy. He's not very interested in them, but I should just throw one outside for him. I just need to find the second one first. :p

Thanks guys!! :D

Frozen Kong? Sort of Dog Chewing 101 and you may have already tried it, but it doesn't hurt to have a couple lying around in the yard. Plus, it's completely safe to leave them with unsupervised, provided you don't stick something like a cooked chicken bone in it :p

I was also thinking about just using chicken fencing to blockade the wood. If nothing else, you could lay it over the parts that he likes to chew. That would make it more difficult (but not impossible) for him to chew the wood itself. What I'm thinking is: if you give him the option of a frozen Kong vs. wood with chicken wire over it, I'd be willing to bet that he'd choose the Kong over the wood. But who knows! Puppies are a different kind!

Wow, I bet Daddy isn't happy at all......Boomer and Cassie both like wood. Cassie used to chew the shrubs my husband tried to plant but as she got older, she left them alone...Their wood chewing is mostly pencils my kids leave out....I'm a city girl, and I don't know hardly anything about horses, but a friend of mine who has a small barn and a horse was horsesitting once, and the guest horse either chewed or rubbed or something on the wood of the stall. Her husband was not happy, either....Is there some sort of horse product out there that would prevent a horse from doing this? If there is, maybe it would work on a dog.....

Do you have access to a tree or trees that you could chop off big branches for the dog to chew? I know we did that with one of ours and it kept him happy forever.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Giselle

Frozen Kong? Sort of Dog Chewing 101 and you may have already tried it, but it doesn't hurt to have a couple lying around in the yard. Plus, it's completely safe to leave them with unsupervised, provided you don't stick something like a cooked chicken bone in it :p

I was also thinking about just using chicken fencing to blockade the wood. If nothing else, you could lay it over the parts that he likes to chew. That would make it more difficult (but not impossible) for him to chew the wood itself. What I'm thinking is: if you give him the option of a frozen Kong vs. wood with chicken wire over it, I'd be willing to bet that he'd choose the Kong over the wood. But who knows! Puppies are a different kind!

---

A Kong!! Darn, why didn't I think of that?! I even bought a second one so they would each have one. In fact, the new one is still in the bag. Duh!!! Today I put the cuz and one of the knuckle bone things out there and he was playing with those. I noticed that they like to play together, so I am going to get this ring I saw today and they can play tug with it.
The idea about wire over the areas is a good idea too. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by boomersooner

Wow, I bet Daddy isn't happy at all......Boomer and Cassie both like wood. Cassie used to chew the shrubs my husband tried to plant but as she got older, she left them alone...Their wood chewing is mostly pencils my kids leave out....I'm a city girl, and I don't know hardly anything about horses, but a friend of mine who has a small barn and a horse was horsesitting once, and the guest horse either chewed or rubbed or something on the wood of the stall. Her husband was not happy, either....Is there some sort of horse product out there that would prevent a horse from doing this? If there is, maybe it would work on a dog.....

---

Hmmm, that would be something to look into as well. I'll have to ask my sister or niece. They are the horse experts in my family. LOL Thank you! :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shepgirl

Do you have access to a tree or trees that you could chop off big branches for the dog to chew? I know we did that with one of ours and it kept him happy forever.

---

There are plenty of trees and bushes for him to get. In fact, before Bruce mows the lawn he must remove all kinds of twigs and things so he doesn't run over them. :p
I sorta thought chewing on wood would not be a good thing for their health though. I don't know that I'd want to encourage it. But for now I only want to discourage him eating the deck. :) I honestly don't care about the twigs and branches he finds.

So my solution for now is plenty of toys. :D I'm going to go get the Kongs set up to freeze so Bruce can throw them out with them tomorrow (providing it doesn't rain:().

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions!! :D

OMG!! I am very angry right now!! :mad: I made up the Kongs for the dogs this morning. I sent Bruce an email about it. It's raining outside today and I said he could still give them their Kongs in their crates when he left to run errands. I just talked to him and he gave Taggart a rawhide bone in his crate. :eek: I am so nervous about this.
He always gave his Cocker Spaniel, DJ, rawhides. But Taggart is a puppy, I'm freaking out that he might choke on a piece of it. Of course Bruce thinks I'm over reacting, but I can't help it.

I only give them carrots when I'm around to hear if they happen to choke. The other morning while I was getting ready for work I heard Bruce up in the bedroom. He came out and said he thought he heard Taggart throw up. He didn't, but earlier outside he had eaten something (as usual), so I figured it got caught in his throat. But at least Bruce was there when this happened. I am not going to relax until I hear he is home and Tagg is fine.

What do you think? Am I over reacting? (I would actually like to be told yes, LOL, but be honest.)

No I don't think you're overreacting, I'd be upset if my dogs had a rawhide unsupervised too. I do give my dogs rawhide sometimes but its always supervised...works nice to keep them busy during movies. I'm sure Taggart will be fine though.

Thank you Amy. :D Well, he is fine. He ate about half of the bone. And it looks like he began to chew on his bed in the crate. GREAT!!
That's why I'd prefer the Kong. It's not something he can "eat". He can chew, but not eat it. GRRR!!! I will make sure to get this through Bruce's head.

When I had my peke-a-poos years ago, I regularly gave them rawhide to chew on but I hadn't been paying attention one time and Charmin chewed the rawhide in the middle just enough so that it would bend. She swallowed the thing whole! She didn't choke on it but she really did damage to her insides when she passed it. She had to have surgery as a result. I felt absolutely horrible about it and I was always there to supervise their chew time after that. So, no, you're not overreacting. :)

Thanks Mary. :)
I put the other half of the rawhide on Taggarts crate last night when I got home from work. And when I got home from school it was gone. I don't know if Bruce gave it to him or he jumped up and got it. It wasn't really "out of reach". Darn it!! Oh well, he's okay. And I'm going to make sure he doesn't do this again.

i got nothing for you as far as the wood chewing...lol but the rawhide i agree should never be unsupervised, we never leave reilly alone with his, it is always when we are here and if he chews to much i take it up for another day.

Thank you Marti. That's right, I take it away when it gets to be so small they could choke on it. Well, he will not do that again. He knows how upset I was this last time he did it.

The horses at my barn when they chew on the wood they get a no, well multiple no's. when that doesn't work we put Tabasco or lemon juice on the wood. lemon juice first, some horses like the taste and continue haha. bayley had a jumping issue on the side of our house. ran straight to the flower beds and leaps into the window, like a confused bird. As if she thinks its a hole she can leap through into the house. well after like 2 weeks of sounding like somebody trying to break in, she started just jumping up and putting her paws on the window and chewing on the little ledge surrounding the windows. I tried the dog stuff to keep them from chewing (the apple stuff). Didn't work, she was still jumping and minor chewing. After that, and convincing my mom that the Tabasco would work I just put Tabasco on it. She jumped up got a whiff and hasn't been up since. keep in mind this is after we chicken wired the entire bed, 4 feet tall and she was jumping it. we put hot wire and she just ran through it. shes just a weirdo :p
you can try it if you want. some people might disagree but it works. if it didn't the first time i wouldn't continue. we let her smell it when we put it on and a few hours later she tested it out when we were inside and like i said got a whiff and was done.
obviously try the kong toys and stuff first, maybe he just sees how nice the deck looks and wants a little destructive attention:eek:
good luck:)

You got lots of good advice! I second the stuffed/frozen Kong recommendation. :) I would also exercise the dogs for longer periods when you go out. A tired puppy is much less likely to get into trouble. Part of the thrill of chewing is that it gives them mental/physical stimulation and is an outlet for their energy.

I just wanted to add, be VERY careful and dilligent about not allowing him to consume wood. I would go so far as to make it as negative as possible... even using a hose/spray bottle/sound aversion? And limit any unsupervised time. A friend of mine allowed her BC puppy to eat bark (their yard is covered in bark chips) as she pleased. It became an obsession. After a few months, she began having severe gastrointestinal problems, and it turned out that all of that wood caused an infection, which turned into pancreatitis. She has to have enzymes with every meal for life. It can really cause more problems than destroying a deck, for sure.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by boomersooner

Wow, I bet Daddy isn't happy at all......Boomer and Cassie both like wood. Cassie used to chew the shrubs my husband tried to plant but as she got older, she left them alone...Their wood chewing is mostly pencils my kids leave out....I'm a city girl, and I don't know hardly anything about horses, but a friend of mine who has a small barn and a horse was horsesitting once, and the guest horse either chewed or rubbed or something on the wood of the stall. Her husband was not happy, either....Is there some sort of horse product out there that would prevent a horse from doing this? If there is, maybe it would work on a dog.....

---

Horses chew wood out of boredom, or due to a mineral deficiency. I've heard of treating it with lots of roughage to eat, salt licks, vitamins, or even toys. I think the primary reason for dogs is boredom and a puppy's teething process. There is something called Chew Stop, I think, that people put on the wood... I'm not sure if it works for dogs, though?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bckrazy

You got lots of good advice! I second the stuffed/frozen Kong recommendation. :) I would also exercise the dogs for longer periods when you go out. A tired puppy is much less likely to get into trouble. Part of the thrill of chewing is that it gives them mental/physical stimulation and is an outlet for their energy.

I just wanted to add, be VERY careful and dilligent about not allowing him to consume wood. I would go so far as to make it as negative as possible... even using a hose/spray bottle/sound aversion? And limit any unsupervised time. A friend of mine allowed her BC puppy to eat bark (their yard is covered in bark chips) as she pleased. It became an obsession. After a few months, she began having severe gastrointestinal problems, and it turned out that all of that wood caused an infection, which turned into pancreatitis. She has to have enzymes with every meal for life. It can really cause more problems than destroying a deck, for sure.

---

Thanks for the info. And I'm sorry about your friends dog. :(
I have been checking the deck each day and it doesn't appear to be any worse. So I think the toys I got him have helped. When I check on them outside they are either playing together or he is throwing the cuz in the air and chasing it as it bounces around. LOL :D
I will be cleaning the yard this weekend so I will check the poo piles as I pick them up to see if there is wood in them still. I also plan on getting MORE toys for outside when I get paid next Friday. :)
Note to self: get toy boxes for indoors AND outdoors!!

When my dog,Bogie, was a pup, he chewed on the corners of our dresser and night stand. I put rubbing alcohol on the corners and he stopped. No more chewing. He didn't like the smell or taste of it. :)