Dog Chews Compulsively? (follow Up Q)?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
What do you do when your dog chews so compulsively that he hurts himself and breaks teeth, but still keeps chewing?
My dog is a 10 month chocolate lab/greyhound mix. When I got her in Feb., one of her bottom teeth (lower right canine) was broken and rotting. We saw her chewing mouthfuls of gravel at the H.S. “foster” home where we got her. We assumed that was how it happened. She had also chewed the end of her tail off and had several bald spots on her hind legs. The vet tested for mange, but she was negative. It was just from her chewing.
Well, the vet said that a.) The chewing was probably out of boredom (so we bought her tons of toys) and b.) That the rotting tooth should fall out on its own.
Her chewing has escalated to the point of literally chewing everything she can get her mouth around *instead of* her toys. She ate through our TV remote, several pairs of shoes, coat hangers, socks and underwear, chewed the handle of the toilet brush, etc. Assuming it was a correctable behavior, we started taking her to training. The trainer suggested a durable Nylabone (basically a heavy thick piece of plastic shaped like a bone). I was skeptical, but decided to buy it for her own good.
The first week with the Nylabone, she broke out one of her incisors and has to have the one next to it surgically removed tomorrow (the rotting one). She hurts herself, but she’s so “in the zone” that she keeps chewing. The vet didn’t offer much advice to get over the problem and the trainer gave bad advice. What do I do now, YA?
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The first thing I’d do is find a new one. A vet who leaves a rotting tooth to fall out on its own sure wouldn’t get the chance again to see any of my dogs! Rotten teeth cause all kinds of other very serious medical problems. I can’t believe a vet would actually do that!
She needs her teeth thoroughly checked and any dental work done that she needs. All my dogs have chewed Nylabones, if her teeth are breaking, there’s a problem with her teeth.
Is she a nervous dog? Does she chew on such a variety of things (that should be kept out of her reach!) because she’s comforting herself – either because of boredom and frustration, or because she’s uncomfortable in her surroundings?
Chewing on herself isn’t necessarily because of mange – it’s much more often because of food allergies. What kind of food is she on? Has she been tested for food allergies?
What did the trainer suggest doing with her? More exercise? Obedience to boost her self confidence? Agility? Socializing and more walks?
Edit – If she’s a compulsive chewer with no physical problem, you need a behaviourist, not a half-baked “trainer” who’s solution to an already stressed out dog is to tell her “no, bad girl”. A behaviourist can spend a bit of time with her to find out what’s causing this behaviour – a trainer can show you how to teach her to heel – that won’t help her!
You can give her all the toys in the world but how much exercise does she get each day? And how do you respond when she chews something she isn’t supposed to?