my 5 month boxer x ridgeback

Question
she is a lovely girl we all think she great the only problem i have with her is that she chews everything rips up garden etc. she has 12 different chew toys, balls,bones(from the butchers) i don't give rawhide bones or pig ears or stuff like that. i even bought stuff that spray on and she still chews! can you please help me because we do all love her.

Answer
Hi Lynn,

What an interesting cross!  I have a mutt that everyone swears is a ridgeback and he doesn't have a lick of the breed in him!  I'd love to see photos of your girl!

You've made a common puppy owner mistake...overloading on toys.  :)  When you're trying to teach a puppy not to chew on improper objects, you want to not give them 12 things they can chew on.  You can rotate them, since you already bought them, or if she has an absolute favorite, only leave that one out.  She should have ONE toy down at all times...only one.  Think of it from her viewpoint...I can chew on this, but not that, this, not that, this, not that. It's very confusing.  What you want is I can chew on this, not that, not that, not that, not that.  :)

I'm very happy to hear you're not giving rawhides or pig ears...yuck!!  They're horrible for dogs!

When your girl starts to chew on something you don't want her to have in her mouth, give her an 'eh-eh' and refocus her attention...either on her toy, on you, etc.  When she's stopped biting and done what you've asked, praise and treat.  She, at this point, should not be unsupervised for one second...if you can nip this behavior now, you'll be much better off.

Remember that puppies (and dogs) explore with their mouths.  She's also teething and will be for 7 more months.  Her mouth hurts.  A good tip is to buy a package of washcloths or a dozen rope toys.  Run them under the tap, get them soaking wet, wring the towels like you were going to squeeze the water out but DON'T!  You just want that twisted shape.  Put them in the freezer.  If she starts chewing, pull one out and let her go to town.  If she's still interested in it and it's thawed, take it and replace it with a frozen one.

My personal opinion is that the no chew spray is junk.  I've tried most of them and I think my dogs are laughing at me in their heads.  :)  Don't waste your money.