Aggressive Chewing

Question
QUESTION: I have a 4 month old Lab puppy. I just picked him up from the vet after him having surgery because of a blocked intestine. He chewed up the blanket in his crate. I have since threw out all his stuffed toys and blankets. He's fine with a blanket at night time but not in the daytime when I leave him. Now he looks bored. All he has is his Kong and his Tricky Treat ball. I threw out his rawhide bone too, because I'm scared to let him have it. Is there anything else that's safe to give him to chew on? His Kong used to be his treat he would get only when I had to leave to go to work; but after about 5 minutes with that he would start whining. I have been with him all this week because he just had his surgery a week ago and had to be kept calm (haha) and watched so he didn't dig at his stitches. I have to go back to work on Monday and I'm worried about leaving him in his kennel. Any advice would be appreciated. P.S. He was neutered while he was under having surgery.

ANSWER: You may want to remove the blanket at night too.  As he matures, he could start to chew it at night too.  I never give my puppies any bedding.  

Dumping the rawhide was a good idea.  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. I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

Kongs are good and the Tricky Treat Ball should be OK, but keep an eye on them.  Try Nylabones.  Many dogs aren't interested in a slick, new Nylabone.  I think they are putting the nubby texture on more of them now.  I think it is part of the reason so many dogs like the hard to find dinosaur ones.  The ultimate is the Souper Size Galileo Nylabone.  It is about 7 inches long and 3 inches around.  It has the slick surface.  They are more attractive if you rough up the surface with sand paper or by rubbing it on a concrete floor.  Another technique is to jam a Nylabone into a Kong creating what I call a twofer.  The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the advice. I will try to find the Nylabone. Any advice on the whining in the kennel. He whined for 3 weeks at night when we brought him home, but that has stopped, but the daytime is a different story. We want to start putting him in the outdoor kennel as the weather gets nicer, but I don't want him to drive the neighbors crazy with the whining and crying.

Answer
I seldom crate puppies when I am around.  At bed time, with a new puppy, I have found lying down in front of the crate like you were going to sleep and speaking softly to it, or singing, until it settles down and goes to sleep works very well. Follow the pattern, a period of active play, outside to eliminate, and then into the crate.

Sometimes our puppies have fussed as we were getting ready to leave.  I have assumed they quit fairly quickly after we left.  None of our neighbors ever reported a problem.  Outside is a different story.  Some dogs quickly adjust to being outside by themselves, and other become nuiscence barkers.  I have no experience or training on solving the outside barking.  I would suggest leaving the puppy in the crate as long as it gets a mid day break, you, a neighbor, or a professional dog walker.  Doggy daycare is a great solution too.