Eater

Question
Hi there I have 2 labs A male Chocolate and a Female Yellow. Both turned one last week. The female has been eating the bark off my apple trees. She has ripped the bark off one whole tree. I am a stay at home Mom to my dogs and they get alot of attention, are hardly left home alone and taken to the off leash dog park for a run and a swim everyday. Is there a reason she might be eating it? Or is there something I can do to stop her? Or put on the tree to make her quit but not ruin the tree? Thanks!
Stacy

Answer
I don't know if the paper or plastic guards meant to stop rabbits would stop her or not.  You might even have to resort to a small fence around the tree like the ones I see in horse pastures sometimes.  

Some dogs could be trained to leave the trees alone if you were very careful to keep an eye on her and correct her every time she gets near it.  That is nothing I would count on working.  The have any chance of it working, you would need to be firmly in position as top dog.  The dogs see all the
people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in
the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members
outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by
reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class
or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with
a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/

Here is a link to a picture of one of my Labs.  Note the armoured A/C unit on one side and the copper pipe running from the facuet to outside the fence on the other, http://www.photolocker.net/images/Labman/KatetheAC.jpg