She's a chewer!!

[Roger]

Hello all, I need a little advice. I have a 10 month old bulldog who loves to chew. She is crate trained and housebroken. The only problem is that I cannot leave her alone in the house (or even our playroom where the crate is) without her chewing and damaging things (ie leather sofa among other items). She has lots of nylabones and chew toys which she loves and uses, but still will chew other things when we are not around. This requires her to be in the crate longer than I would like during the day. We do spend lots of time with her, walk her, play with her nonetheless she is not in the crate for long periods of time (except at night when sleeping)
Will this behavior lessen as she gets older? Is this just still a puppy thing that she will outgrow? At what age can I expect her to mellow out a bit in regards to such things. I would love for her to have free reign of the house eventually, but I cannot afford to keep getting leather repairs on sofas, etc.
Any advice is appreciated. All this being said, we love her dearly. We would not trade her personality for anything.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Hi Roger...I feel your pain! Jake has just turned a year and has had free run of the house since he was 6 months old. The last month or so he has turned into a rebellious boy! Chewed AND eaten many things! I would crate her. For her own safety and your piece of mind. They DO outgrow this...but she is still young and could do a lot of damage to stuff and most importantly herself! Don't feel bad, I don't think they dislike their crates and hopefully she will be free again n a few months!

 

[Sarah]

I would try a bitter or sour tasting spray. Brooklyn had long outgrown chewing furniture by 10 months old. It's probably a habit now. Make sure you are scolding her and let her know that it isn't okay.

 

[TheLost]

My older dog Ellie was a chewer when i adopted her at the age of 2. She 'ate' an entire couch the first week i had her. I tried using the 'bitter' sprays you get at the pet stores... she ended up eating an 7 foot ficus tree and dragging dirt/limbs/leaves all over the house (i think she liked the taste).

The best advice i can give is to stick with the corrections/training. Ellie's chewing was caused by boredom. After taking her to obedience classes (beginner through Agility.. she's not a bull dog ) she found other ways to work off the energy. But it took a bunch of time... and trips to the furniture store.

Molly, our new bulldog puppy, is teething right now. We've made good progress on her learning what can and cant chew on... but she's also is pushing the limits trying to figure out what she can get away with. I've never had a dog this stubborn .

~Brian

 

[kazzy220]

It's something that is different with every dog. As a general rule the older they get the less destructive they get. After saying that I have a 7 year old Miniature Schnauzer who still chews things up. So we have had to start leaving her in the laundry room with the two youngest bullys. Last Friday she managed to chew and rip apart an entire dog bed!!!!

 

[gracoliv]

I agree with all above; Puppies love to chew and bored puppies/dogs chew even more. They also get very bored with nylabones and toys etc..that don't taste like food. Excersice, discipline and attractive alternatives is whats going to help alot. Life is excruciatingly boring for most dogs with working 'parents'.
Sleep 8 to 10 hours overnight, wake up & eat, go out for a pee or a 5 minute walk then 8+ hours by themselves, people eat & relax time; Repeat.
I try to make time in the morning before work to throw a ball around (they go crazy) until there tongues are hanging out a couple inches (takes about 10 mins).
I do it in the basement, then water, then outside pee trip. Then I leave them with a bully stick or stuffed kong or whatever. They don't chew anything.

 

[Alice Kable]

We are retired and are with our Bulldogs pretty much 24/7. Ruggles (AKA JAWS) is an extreme chewer. We have had to Ruggles proof the house. We have no loose pillows on our furniture, no area rugs, no dog beds. We covered plywood with carpeting to put in their crates. Ruggles is our 6th Bulldog and all of the others grew out of the chewing phase. He is 5.

 

[LariP]

I can't add any advice. Will just repeat what I've heard. A tired dog is a happy trainable dog.
Oh and I'd love to see a pic of your little angel.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Bea out grew her chewing on non-approved items - but not before she ate grandma's ugly dining room table (which worked for me). By the time she was a year old, she figured it out. I used bitter spray for the things she couldn't seem to leave alone - which worked great.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[2BullyMama]

We trained our bullies not to chew what was not theirs... used a spray bottle with water and a firm NO... also, we remove from the mouth what we do not want them to chew and replace it with what they can have