kukukachoo

Any other ideas for stuffing kongs? My son has a nut allergy so I better not do peanut butter.

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Indiana

Yeah I had to stop using peanut butter too because Maddy started to get indigestion from it; canned dog food works really well, they LOVE it. Or any soft food really, even leftovers from your own dinner if it's soft like macaroni and cheese or stew or something. Once it freezes it's pretty hard to get out of the little hole in the top or bottom of the kong. Sometimes I force these hard little treats we get from a boutique dog food store in there too because they have to be crunched inside the kong before Maddy can get them out, so it's a little extra challenge for her

mom24doggies

Yeah I doubt they are actually hungry....mine would counter surf if they were big enough and I know for a fact they are not hungry! I've caught Trev jumping up at the counter and every time he jumped he grabbed a nibblet off the roasted chicken up there. He's also dragged a whole block of cheese off and downed a good bit before we caught him. And this was when we were home! If you up Dude's food, you run the risk of him gaining weight back, and since he has been chubby before he will always be prone to it so you want to avoid weight gain at all costs! Is there a safe room they can be shut into when you are gone? Maybe even the bathroom, with everything put high or removed? Then provide some kongs or other fun chew toys so they won't look for naughty things. Getting into things is a dangerous habit...what about if they get into some Ibuprofen, bathroom cleaner, or other highly toxic thing? My boss' greyhound ate a bottle of ibuprofen, now her kidney's (or her liver....can't remember which) are compromised and she has to eat special food. It almost killed her. Try to figure out a way to stop them, before they get into something dangerous! Even benign things such as packaging can cause a blockage.

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"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

kukukachoo

About 3 weeks after we got Dude, he accidentally confined himself in a bathroom while we were gone and chewed a hole through the door. :( if I'm going to try an confine them, it will have to be a heavy duty crate for big man, that's for sure!

I might even have to go so far as a small dot lot/kennel in the garage if I can't get this under control.

When were home, they are fine. In every other respect, they are great dogs...gentle, obedient, don't run off, they're quiet, etc. This behavior is a toughie though because it when we're away.

I'm going to try some toys and treats for when we are away and further proofing of the house (minimalist decor- here I come!) and maybe even that deterrent system recommended and see if that helps.

Thanks everyone!

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Quossum

Sugarfoot is still young, granted, but he is one who *cannot* be left alone in areas where there's stuff for him to get into. He's not hungry; he's curious and likes to explore...with his teeth! He will snatch anything and everything off the coffee table, the counters, anywhere, and carry it off to chew it. He'll bring me the item if I ask him to, but if he doesn't get caught...the object is probably a goner!

When we're not home (or even if we are home but can't keep a sufficient eye on him), he stays in the utility room, which has been thoroughly dog proofed. He has several types of toys in there, and if I have to leave for a while, he gets one of his frozen Kongs. I prepare a week's worth in advance, stuffed with things like chicken necks, ground organ meat, melted cheese, treats or kibble topped with peanut butter, scrambled egg, and then popped in the freezer. He's always happy to go to his room in the morning and get his treat. The Himalayan cheese chews mentioned earlier are also great (if your dog likes them; mine do but reportedly some dogs don't). Some people like antlers; others think they're too hard.

You've unfortunately got a tougher challenge if your dogs won't accept confinement. Of course you can go through a training regime of getting them to accept it, but that can be a long road, and what do you do in the meantime? It sounds like you're going to have to up the dog-proofing to an extreme in the space where you can keep your little naughties.

Good luck!

--Q

lily cd re

I don't think it is about being hungry either. My dogs free feed and Lily still counter surfs. If I had known how hard a habit it would be to break when she first got tall enough to do it I would have worked harder then to break this terrible habit.

I think Lily looks for stuff out of boredom these days, but I suspect she used to do it as a way to deal with mild anxiety from when we left the house. Try stuffed Kongs given to them just before you leave the house. I also close certain doors, especially the bathroom door, before we leave the house.

You can also booby trap the kitchen counter. Put a stack of empty cans at the edge of the counter in front of where you keep your oils and other cooking stuff on counter. When the culprit makes a move for the stuff they will have a cascade of cans land all around them. This startle technique has worked to keep Lily away from the counter, but once I stop doing it for a couple of days she figures out that it is safe to "surf" again. We have just made sure to be really diligent in keeping stuff off the kitchen counters. With no reward to the behavior it tends to extinguish itself, although it has never gone away totally.

I have thought about video surveillance because I think it would help me understand the whys of this behavior (anxious because they just left vs. bored because they aren't back yet).

Good luck. Let us know what your video shows.

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Catherine
Lily AKC: CGC CD HIT CDX RN RA RE RAE NAJ; APDT: RL-1; CPE: CL1-R, CL1-H
Peeves AKC: CGC BN

Rhett'smom

Ok I understand the need to fix it. Rhett has discovered the counter as well.. I discovered the electronic correction device. Since yelling is not an option in my house. First nothing is left on the counter except coffee, he loves coffee. So the zap pad is used.. He has stayed off the counter and my coffee maker is safe, after all coffee will stunt his growth( at 5 months he is 47 pounds) lol!! The next step would have to be the zapper collar. I hope it does not come to that but living in harmony is essential ...


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roulette

Sounds harsh..but maybe set them up with a mouse trap?? This seems to be a dangerous situation (razors?!!, medicine!?) and I would want to put a stop to it as quickly as possible.

Rhett'smom

Harsh but a trip to the vet and surgery is even worse!! I would rather resort to a zapper collar than have him or any puppy go emergency surgery


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kukukachoo

I agree. Its on the bottom of my list of things to try, but it is on the list.

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