Moon's Graden

        I have a 5 month old Pit Bull Terrier - extremely sweet,
however a bit on the disfunctional side (she was procured from
abandonment) but she's learning fairly fast. My wife goes to work
around 8 in the morning but I don't go in until 11:00 - so usually she
leaves "Rocket" out of her kennel for this 2 or 3 hour period while I
sleep (we have a dog door). She's got the housetrained thing down -
and is learning how things operate in our house fairly fast. This can
probably be attributed to her idolization of our 2 year old (and
EXTREMELY obedient and well-behaved) boxer. But she will not stop
chewing on the couch - and she can really tear it up fast. She also
has a problem with taking objects from the house and placing them in a
pile in the backyard. i know this is basically amusing puppy behavior
- and she's a bit aloof and goofy at this age to really feel guilty
about it until I yell at her...
But my question is - If I scold her for these things one or two hours
after the fact, does she really have any idea what I'm scolding her
for? Will this pass with further crate training or am i doomed? Are
there any methods for anti-chew on stuff training?
 I would love for her to reach the point where Ican leave her in the
house free when we're gone - like I can with the boxer.

Thanks For Help,
Scott Hicks

        Puppies tend to go through a chewing stage.  Your dog is at that chewing
stage right now.  Older dogs can also chew, get into garbage etc. from
stress and anxiousness...i.e. from being left alone and not having a
positive way of releasing their anxieties.  
        One way to keep your puppy out of the garbage or from chewing the couch is
to correct him/her when you catch them at it - not after the fact. The dog
will never understand what you are angry about even if it's only been 5
minutes...they have a very short attention span!
        However, that only works for when you are home, right?  I used to
***y-trap my garbage AND couch to make it less appealing to the
puppy....Sprinkle some cayenne pepper/chili powder (or spray some Bitter
Orange/Bitter Apple on the couch) on top of the garbage...the dog's
sensitive nose does not like the smell and they will leave it alone.  After
a few days or a week, they will associate the bad smell with the
garbage/couch and will leave it alone.  This will also work if your dog has
a tendency to take meat/food off your dining room table!        Another trick to
keep a puppy off or away from things (couch, counter-top, garbage, litter
box, etc.) is to take a Coke can and put a few pennies in it.  Then shake
the can at the dog, while saying in a short sharp syllable "NO!".  The dogs
dislike the noise and your verbal tone.  However, this method should not be
overused, as they will get used to the noise.  
        One way to keep the pup from chewing the couch is to never let them on it
in the first place.  As for getting on the couch/counter you can also use
the very small wooden mousetraps.  (They make noise, but are too small to
hurt a dog or to latch onto his tender nose)  The mousetraps will work for
when you aren't home.
        Now to address the chewing...whether it's old socks, underwear, furniture,
newspapers or stuffed animals, most of the things you can keep out of a
puppy's reach.  Try getting the dog ten or twelve plastic chew/squeak toys.
        Put the toys in the dirty laundry hamper (this helps give the puppy
comfort because they smell your scent on the toys) ...every morning when
you leave, give the dog 3-4 of them.  At the end of the day, put them back
in the hamper and give "fresh" ones the next day. Make sure to leave
him/her in a room that has
nothing else he/she could chew...i.e. bathroom.  The idea is to confine
him/her
to a room, with the  toys, until he/she learns to only chew the toys.
Never
give a dog old shoes, clothes, fuzzy stuffed dog toys, or leather toys to
chew...a dog can't tell the difference between your $180 pair of leather
boots and his leather toy.  
        One other way to stop his anxious chewing is how you greet your dog when
you come home...DON'T be overjoyed to see him & immediately pet him,
especially if he/she is already overe***d.  DO walk right past him/her
and calmly take a shower, smoke a cig, read the mail, etc.  After 15
minutes or so, when the dog has calmed down, then calmly pet the dog.  When
you leave the house to go to work, DON'T even say goodbye to the dog -
(this is not meant to be uncaring or mean in anyway - you are trying to
prevent/cure separation anxiety, which causes a dog to be destructive)
Just leave the house as if it's no big deal.  Try going out
for an hour at first, to test the dog, then if the dog is behaving
properly, make your excursions for longer periods of time.
        Remember to also allow for play time with you, after the dog has calmed
down from your return.  And finally, when you do catch your puppy in the
act of chewing something undesirable, give the pup one sharp "NO", then
give the pup one of the toys and praise the pup when he/she chews on it.
        Good luck & keep on posting!

If you had a two year old child would you allow her to wander about
the house unsupervised for a few hours? I doubt it! <g>

Two rules to follow for now:
1.) Supervise the puppy around chewables so you can correct/distract
her when she flubs
2.) Crate her when you cannot supervise to PREVENT her getting the
idea she can chew your belongings.

The biggest mistake my husband ever made was leaving his young Rottie
uncrated once during the day to "see what would happen." What happened
was this extremely smart dog who never uses his powers for good <hee
hee> learned that "Peeing unobserved doesn't count." Argh.

Good luck with your pup - either crate her in the morning while you
sleep OR if she can be trusted, leave her loose in your bedroom with
the door closed.

--
Alicia Knapp,
The DoberGRLs, Echo and Mako
and The Dog of Eternal Stench, Boomer, in
Anoka, MN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Home is where the dogs are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another option to long-term crating (which I don't encourage in young
dogs) is, if this is possible with your house set-up, to confine her
with an exercise pen. Perhaps set up in such a way that she can use the
doggy door. In any case, she should NOT have free run of the house for
(possibly) another 6 months or more, as even upsupervised, bored
"***agers" can do "interesting" things to your furniture while you're
gone. Been there, done that...

Gail Mackiernan