Hi , Puppy eating carpet!!!!

Question
Hi ,

We have a 22 week old puppy  that eats our carpet. We now rent an apartment and we cannot have her eat the carpet , she even eats the padding..I'm sure she swallows bits and pieces but I don't see it in her poop . I have no clue how old the carpet is but it seems old. She does run around the apartment but I see her by a spot and think she is sleeping - little do I know she was destroying our carpet!

Please help us!

Were moving to a hardwood floor apartment in June but for now what do we do?!

Thank you.!

Ali

Answer
Ali,

Ahh, the joys of raising puppies! This is a pretty common problem. When my dog Laney was a puppy she would even eat the wall : )

There are a few things you can do. The first thing you can do is go to Wal-Mart or Petsmart/Petco and pick up spray that is used to train dogs not to chew on things. It has a horrible, bitter taste (but doesn't hurt them) and it is safe to use on furniture, upholstery, carpeting, etc. This should be a pretty good deterrant.

The other thing you should know is that at 22 weeks, your puppy is teething. She's cutting some adult teeth, and will need things to chew on. Get her some tough teething toys (again, at any Petsmart or Petco), or a "chilly bone" - a teething toy that can be frozen, sort of like we do for teething babies. Make sure there are plenty of things around that she knows she *can* chew on, and if you catch her chewing on something she shouldn't, give her a firm NO and redirect her to something she can chew on - then praise her for chewing on it instead.

You may also have to start crating her when you can't pay attention to her, if she isn't already crate trained. Don't get too frustrated, this will pass I promise! And good move on the hardwood floor apartment!

Good luck!

Ashley

p.s.- be very watchful and careful of her eating pieces of the carpet, or anything else for that matter. This can very quickly turn into a veterinary emergency. If you think she has, make sure she is still eating, drinking, behaving, and using the restroom normally. If any of those behaviors change, you'll want to contact a veterinarian immediately.