chewing and eating stuff

Question
My daughter has a 1 1/2 year old yellow lab. He chews EVERYTHING!!!!  He can destroy any thing that comes his way. Blankets, toys, paper, cardboard, plastic, all of his toys. he destroys everything He eats stuff too. Bottle caps , acorns, sticks, etc. He recently had a bout of vomiting and threw up 5 bottle caps. My daughter is expecting her first baby in the spring. How do we break this dog of chewing? The baby will not have a toy, diaper or blanket that is safe around this dog.  HELP!!!  

Answer
There is little you can do to train a dog not to chew things when nobody is around.  I have had at least one young Lab in the house most of the time since 1991, and the only way I have a house or anything in it left is a combination of close supervision and crating the puppy when nobody can watch it.  

A mousetrap is very effective in making a dog leave something alone.  Most
dogs will stay away from anywhere they were surprised by a snap.  The best
part is that it is not you that is correcting the dog.  It works whether you
are around or not.  The mousetrap is very patient and is always on task as
long as you reset it.  Bitter Apple comes as both a spray and a cream.  Some dogs will leave things alone if you apply it.  Once the baby comes, you will need to be very careful with the mousetraps.

Better than mousetraps when you aren't around is the crate.  Other dogs may
not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with.  Still your house and dog
will be much safer with the dog in a crate when you are away.  The dog may be
happier in its den than loose in the house.  It relaxes, it feels safe in its
den.  It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
its self.  Dogs that have been crated all along do very well.  Many of them
will rest in their crates even when the door is open.  I think the plastic
ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling.  They are harder for
dogs to open too.    Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with
something the dog can't pull in and chew.  Select
a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys.  Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter.  Don't leave
anything in the crate the dog might chew up.  It will do fine without even any
bedding.  You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

Damaged possessions are the fault of whoever was watching the dog.  When you are watching it, immediately correct it as soon as it goes for anything except its own toys.  In a quiet, but firm voice ''Bad dog, its name drop!''.  Gently remove what ever and replace it with one of his toys, or hold eye contact until the dog drops it.


A dog that has not been crated since it was little, make take some work.
Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate.  Praise it for going
in.  If you have been able to trust it with any bedding, put that in the crate.
Feed it in the crate.  This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding
time for more than one dog.

The "shut the dog in a safe room" is a fallacy.  Very few houses even have a
safe room.  How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
else?  Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else.  In addition
to destroying anything a bored dog finds to chew, it may choke or have
intestinal  blockage from the pieces.  Bottle caps can cut up the dogs insides. I had a friend that left her dog in a "safe" room.  It ate a hole in the floor covering.  The safe rooms fail to give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires.  Nor do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving itself.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages.  If you are not
there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs.  Keep a
close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
pieces.  Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
chewers such as Labs.

Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds.   Ones I made
lasted much better.   Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
foot.  Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope.   Melt the ends, and tie  knots in it.   Get
them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer.  Watch
carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

If the dog isn't interested in the common Nylabones, look around for other shapes, rings, ''Y'' bones, dinosaurs, etc.  You may have to go on line to find them.  I am happy with what I buy from www.vetvax.com.  I avoid the dental chews and other consumable bones.  The dogs gnaw them down to the dangerous size too quickly. If he destroys Kongs and regular Nylabones, look for the Galileo Nylabones.  I never heard of a dog destroying one of the Souper size ones.  

Many Labs do chew much less after they are 2-3 years old.  Read the book Marley and Me.  It will be no help at all, but very funny.