Nervous Biting Habit

Question
My dog, Chloe, is a female and turned 3 in June. She is a Shitz Shu and we bought her from a small store / breeder. For the past 6 months to a year so has been biting her toys, bed, towels etc in an obsessive manner. She has a ton of energy and is very high strung so I think this could be a nervous habit. She constantly needs to nibble on things instead of being able to sit still. I am wondering what you think. Thank you for your help!

Answer
Dear Alexandra,
Thanks for your question. Here are my thoughts.

When does she nibble on things? Every chance she gets? .. usually in the evenings?.... after eating?..... when you are watching television?...when you are trying to get her to play ball?...

Have you tried anything to get her to stop nibbling?  if so, what?... what was her reaction?... When she is nibbling, can you get her interested in something else?.... will she stop nibbling to  eat?....  will she stop if you call her?.... will she stop if someone comes to the door?...  

I would try to redirect her "nibbling items" to nibbling chew toys or food dispensing toys. You might get her a macho stix from sitstay.com.  Dogs love to chew on these!

Enrich her environment via food toys, training program, exercise program, and massage program.

You could enrich her environment by using food dispensing toys to feed her or just scatter her food on the patio or kitchen floor and let her find each piece.

Kongs are good for feeding. Place a bit of duct tape over the small opening. Place her kibble inside, add water and a teaspoon of chicken broth. Place it upright in the freezer and freeze it.

Take it out of the freezer, remove the tape and let her forage for her dinner! She'll spend 15-20 minutes eating while it melts.

Increase her exercise. Take her for walks about the same times each day.

Start a training program to increase her mental stimulation. Use a clicker to teach her. Buy the book, Click Here:For a Well-Trained Dog by Deb Jones. She'll love clicker training!

Massage can help her learn to relax. Start a massage program. Buy the book, Canine Massage: A Complete Reference Manual (Paperback)
by Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt

Consider placing her on a quality senior diet - which is a lower protein diet. Quality food do not contain corn products or by-products. Check the label and look at the first four ingredients.

If you answer the questions, I'll offer some thoughts about the severity of the behavior and other things you might change to help her.

Happy Training!
AT