Bad habbit. HELP!!

Question
Hi, my name's Rebecca and I own two dogs. A silky terrier and a shih tzu. I love my dogs and I enjoy their company but I find thei bad habbits annoying sometimes and I would wanna teach them some manners. I wonder why my dogs love to chew on everything! just EVRYTHING. What causes that? boredom? or is it just a bad habbit? sometimes, they jump onto my bed and start chewing on my stuff which is real annoying and one day recently, I got so mad cause I found out that my phone's antenna has bite marks on it! What can I do to stop that habbit? They are pampered. I tried punishing them for chewing on stuff and they even chew on furniture. They are 9 months old. When they chew on something, they know they are in the wrong and they would hide away cause they are afraid I'm gonna punish them. But they still repeat the same mistake. What can I do? Pls help cuase it's getting annoying. Another thing, I've been trying to house train them.....been trying to tell them that peeing in the house is not allowed......a month back, they seem to know that I want them to pee outside and they did and I was very happy...praising them when they did it right......but recently, they're back to their old habbits again! peeing all over the place and even poop! it's getting out of hand and annoying...they know it's wrong but still........sigh.....pls help...I really don't know wot to do.......sometimes when you call out their names, they don't even care lolz....ahahaha.....it's like they are not that obedient and they are like "I don't give a damn" lolz......HELP!

Answer
Hello Rebecca -

I understand your frustration and would love to help.

Dogs, especially puppies, chew because they are teething. They will gnaw through anything because it makes their gums feel good and releases pain. They don't mean to be spiteful but it feels good. Although at 9 months, they should have gotten this growing pain out of their system by now. Give them a hard chew toy to play with. "Kong" is a great brand and dogs love them, they come is all sizes and you can even buy one to put a treat in the center. That should take care of that problem.

Housebreaking is just as bad, I know, I have a Golden Retriever and cleaning up after him was like wiping up the Hoover Dam! The best advice that I learnt was let them out often, every 15 minutes if you have too so they know if we have to go potty this is where we go. As soon as you see them urinate or defecate, bring them and make a big fuss. Then ignore it and let them out in about 30 minutes or so. This worked with our Golden, give it a try. You may want to consult a trainer, they may have better advice for you on this topic.

If they are not breaking their habits, I recommend Bach Flower Essences. Flower essences work to heal physical, mental and emotional illness. Therefore, flower essences restore the inner balance by working on the vital force. The vital force is an inner force within the body that governs our strength and well-being. As we get sick our vital force weakens and therefore, the flower essences work on our vital force to strengthen it. The particles of the essences work in specific patterns. This means that certain essences cure certain illnesses.Overall, flower essence are to said to release negative emotions and help heal and calm, using either internally or externally non toxic and have no side effects.

The remedy can be given by mouth, which is the most effective method. Only a few drops (4-8) are necessary, and need not be swallowed, but only must contact the mucous membranes (gums, tongue, lips). Be careful not to contaminate the dropper by touching it to the animal (if this occurs, rinse the dropper in very hot water before returning it to the bottle). You can also add a dropper full to the water dish, or a few drops on wet food (there is no effect of dilution). You can add a dropper full to a spray bottle filled with spring water, and use it to spray a room, carrier, plants, or other problem areas. You can even put a few drops in your hand and pat the animal on the head and around the ears with it--the head is very sensitive to energy and will absorb the flower essences in this way.

Just a few drops (4 - 8) at a time are sufficient. For serious or acute conditions the remedy can be given as often as needed, even every few minutes. For most behavioral problems, you can give 3 to 4 times a day for 2 to 4 weeks. If the response is reached by that time, you may begin to decrease the dosage gradually. You may need to add a dropper full to drinking water or give once a day long-term for some problems.

I recommend: CHAMOMILE used for calming the emotions, soothing irritable and fractious animals, teething and animal that tends to be restless and cranky. CHESTNUT BUD is used to learn a lesson the first time or break habits. WHITE CHESTNUT is used for repetitive thoughts.

Here's how you make the Flower Essence remedy. To make up a combination, use 2 drops of each desired flower essence to one ounce of water. You can add up to 20% alcohol (usually brandy or vodka) or apple cider vinegar as a preservative as desired, but some animals dislike the taste. (You can use flower remedies straight from the stock bottle, but they taste terrible!)

I hope this information has helped you and your pets.

If you would like additional information on natural and herbal remedies for human and animal concerns please contact me at wintersaurora@yahoo.com and I will be happy to assist you and send you a catalog of my home made herbal remedies.

Keep me posted on your pups, it you have trouble making the essences email me and I will walk you through it.

Thank you and best wishes to you and your pet.

Sincerely,
Sharon Hubbs, AHG
Certified Natural Health Consultant & Herbalist