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OK, I gotta find a fix for this crap...

5K views 36 replies 18 participants last post by  Carley's Mom 
#1 ·
I think both the dogs are guilty of this horrible habit and I don't know what to do. When they are left alone, they are getting into major trouble by attempting to eat some pretty off-the-wall things.

The more I try to prevent it, the harder they seem to look and the more bizarre the things they eat become. For example, they've chewed open a pack of disposable razors that were left on the counter and various other things in plastic packaging because, I assume, they think there is food inside. They even chewed up my sons pediatric asthma inhaler adapter- again because I think they thought it was a plastic container of food.

Once I became wise to this, I started to carefully proof each time I left to make sure nothing was out that even remotely resembled food packaging. Then, instead of seeking out anything in plastic, one of them decided to get a glass bottle of sesame oil off the counter, chew the top off and eat it. So, they obviously used their sniffers to find the ONE place in the house that had something edible in their reach.

So, after that I started leaving a towel draped over my bottles of sauces and oils and stuff so that they would leave that alone. Well, they left it alone but moved to the bathroom next time and ate a bottle of child's cold medicine and tried to chew up a bottle of hair detangler.

It's getting more often and more drastic and I don't know what to do.

HELP?
 
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#32 ·
I'm sure it's been said but this is REALLY dangerous. If you don't have room to crate them if they go around eating dangerous things when you're not home, then that's just not okay. One could die.

This could be anxiety eating, boredom, or any number of things hard or even impossible to diagnose over the internet. I suggest you contact a professional. I recommend people from here: Find A Force Free Dog Trainer and Pet Care Professional or here: Truly Dog Friendly Truly Dog-Friendly Trainers

They use up to date scientific and pain free methods.
 
#33 ·
I too have had expensive prescription glasses munched. I think this should be a thread - "The strangest or most expensive thing my poo has chewed/eaten." My Shandy laid at my feet one night and was happily chewing away at a bone. Wasn't thinking much of it until I went to turn the TV channel. It was the remote she was lip smack'n on.

I have basically baby proofed my house. It takes two seconds from it being a tube of lipstick to being a chewy - crating would have had to be a 24 hour chore. It never seemed to be a food thing but a curiosity/boredom thing. Elk/deer horns were a good distraction. But in the end it was just a matter of training. As in her training me not to leave anything and everything not glued down.

But in the end it could always be worse. My neighbors Bichon ate her visiting fathers $5000 hearing aid :shock:
 
#34 ·
I crate my dogs when I am not here. All except for Echo, the whippet. He hibernates when we are gone, but the poodles? No way would I trust them. ;) Bonnie is near two years old and I still crate her when I go anywhere. My dogs have large crates. I wouldn't crate them in a small one. As far as not having enough room for crates- well, they do take up a lot of room, but we tucked two in bedrooms and one on the side of a buffet. They all sleep in crates, too. During the day they often go in them to sleep. They love their crates. I wish you could find a way to buy two large crates.
 
#35 ·
I have a crate large enough for Daisy and she would probably be fine in one since she was accustomed to living in a kennel, but to get one large enough for Dude....that would be obscene! LOL! Not only because of his size, but because it would have to be bulletproof! He chewed through chain link fences at his old house so I don't even know if I could find a crate he wouldn't destroy.

Thank goodness, the last few days have been good. I got the dogs some unstuffed toys and cow hooves and they haven't touched anything while we've been gone. I'm getting wiser to the types of things that attract them, too, so I've been able to eliminate anything that remotely resembles food or food packaging. I hope this good streak lasts!
 
#36 ·
Glad to hear you have made a dent in this problem. Over the long run I really rely on keeping stuff off the counters and closing some doors when we go out. they are sneaky though, yesterday I had the under-sink cabinet door open in the kitchen while I was preparing for dinner. That is where the garbage is and I wanted to easily drop stuff in the bin as I went along. Peeves came along and took an empty bag that had had blue buffalo dental bone chews in it and dismantled the bag. He must have used stealth mode since I would never walk away and leave them access to the garbage bin.
 
#37 ·
I know it would be alot of trouble , but could you just pull the crates out of the garage and into a space in the house only when you are gone, then put them back out of the way in the garage when the dogs are lose? That is what I would do. Yes, they would not like it, but it would keep them out of trouble and they would be warm and cool ect.
 
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