eating furniture

So, after 8 months of being fine, the dogs have decided to start eating furniture. I don't know which one, or if it is both. One day the couch cushions were pulled off the couch and one was nibbled on. I had to take away the comforter that used to cover the couch because they were eating it. And today, one of the chairs was pulled halfway across the room and the big, poofy armrest was ripped apart and stuffing was everywhere. They ate the carpet once in the past (wall-to-wall carpeting). My husband will not be pleased.

These are things I have thought of and why I can't do them:

1. Crate them. Can't do it. Nala will hurt herself crated during the day. She crates fine at night and used to crate during the day but can't do it anymore.

2. Bitter apple. Humans need to sit on the couch and that stuff is nasty.

3. Scat mat. I'm afraid they will just pull it off and even worse, chew on it. I don't want them to electrocute themselves.

4. Kennel outside. Possible, but will take time to implement and I don't like the idea of them being outside during the winter. Afraid it might end up the same as crating.

5. Leave Kongs, etc. I don't want high value treats out when I am not home in case they fight over them. And I have never met a chew toy or bone that Nala can't consume in 15 mintues or less, even if they are not meant to be consumed. There are some chews available to them, so it's not like they have nothing.

So, I am thinking of linking together two ex-pens to make a large enclosure for them, but it will be a smaller area than what they are used to. Nala can jump the ex-pen, although she rarely does - I don't know why. There are a couple different ways I can try with two ex-pens.

There really isn't another room in the house where I could leave them. Possibly the kitchen. Surely they would find something to destroy in there. And the floor is wooden parquay (sp?), not linoleum.

I can try harder to make sure they get more exercise. Maybe it will help and maybe not.

I have thought before about getting our deck enclosed making a 3-season room or something. That would be a good place for the dogs to be when we aren't home. Unfortunately, the estimates we got when we looked into it before were too expensive.

Oh, and I was previously looking into slip covers to protect the furniture. Too late now, but could be useful still to cover the damage, I guess.

Any other ideas?

 

uh oh, makes me think something has changed, too bad you cant videotape to see when and who is doing it. I think they may get worse if you leave them outside when they are used to inside.

sounds like a boredom problem or maybe nervouse pent up energy, I found this and others and most say its boredom, I would increase their excercise, so you cant leave a kong or toys, they are too possesive??
Is there something you can find for each that they love and only that toy is theirs??


Now for the most aggravating and hard to correct causes. For this column, I’ll combine spite and boredom. Both are often the reaction to the same problems. Spite from being left alone-boredom from being alone with minimal exercise, etc…. You get the idea. Anyway, this is the most common reason for dogs eating your furniture, clothing, carpets, etc…. Often you’ll find that the dog will chew on the armrests of chairs and the cushions of the couch. I see this as an offshoot to a nesting or denning or pack instinct. The dog is “looking” for you by digging or chewing places saturated with your scent, much like they do when digging a bed.

Remedying this situation can be difficult. As I’ve discussed before, if you must leave the dogs for extended periods, confine them or have someone walk them. Provide plenty of exercise and entertainment. They should have their “toys”. Put your scent on them. I have old coats and shirts laden with my scent that I “attach” to the dogs. If these things don’t work, the dog may require a playmate.

Regardless of your course of action, act quickly. Once chewing becomes a habit, it’s hard to correct.

Contact Jeff Munshaur with your questions or comments at (863) 444-1061 or visit his website at www.jeffsdogworks.com.

 

I rearranged furniture. I think one more ex pen can block them off. Of course, Nala can jump the ex pen if she really wants to. I have heard you can buy that mat stuff you put under your office chair off a roll - if I can find some, I am going to get some and cut it to the size of the chair cushions and couch cushions and put it on with the knobby side up to discourage them from wanting to go on them. Perhaps bitter apple on the mats? And I will try harder to exercise them even more. LOL. I'll need to quit my job to have time.

 

Heh. I got a taller ex pen to fence off the furniture so Nala can't jump it (or at least she won't try to). We step over the original ex pen that gates them into the room a lot, so it had to be short enough for that purpose. Hopefully this will work out, or I will have to duct tape the dogs to the floor whenever we go out. :shock:

Here are photos of the original ex pen, before the chair was eaten.

Looking in at the dogs:




The view from inside:

 

The look on bonnies face is Priceless!!! "HELP!!!" LOL

 

They pretty much live in that room. When I am home and able to watch them, I open the gate and they can come out. But they get put back in if Nala pesters a cat and won't stop when I tell her to. When I finally manage to get the rest of the house organized, they should be able to be out more. Right now, there are tons of things out to be donated or waiting to be put away and Nala would love to eat every single one of them. But that's the family room and there is always someone in there watching TV or sitting at a computer, so it's not like they aren't in the hub of the house.

 

And here is the new furniture-jail:

 

there ya go, that should work, duh took me ahwile to figure it out

honeybear

 

Looks like that'll work. Only it ooks like a big Pain in the rear end for you!!! now everytime you wnat to sit on the couch, you'll be in jail!

 

Nah, I take it down when we are home. My son crawled in somehow yesterday afternoon to lie on the couch without taking it down - it was funny! But I just accordion it up and prop it up against the far side of the couch. I think it will work - just one more thing to do every day!

 

an exercise pen...what a great idea..why didn't I think of this before? Looks like it should work well. Fortunately Annie has stopped eating furniture now, but that could have saved the couch..oh well...at least we worked through it before I lost any more furniture.

 

How did you work through it? I don't see any way I can control what they do when I am gone. Nala quit wanting to eat shoes without me doing anything - she just didn't have access to them for several months and now she leaves them alone. I am hoping the same will work for the furniture.

 

annie had seperation anxiety..I did the usual, leaving and coming back thousands of times until I could work up to longer periods of time without her having a panic attack. After she got up to 30 minutes she was fine for a whole day. I would always leave her with a big hollow bone stuffed with peanut better every time I left. She liked it so much she finally was happy to get me out the door to get her bone. I also gave her items she like to shred that were ok for her, like cardboard boxes. It was a pain to clean up when I got home, but much better than picking couch stuffing up from all corners of the house.

 

Yeah, I have been feeding cardboard to the dogs as well. Nala loves that stuff.

It's hard to think it's separation anxiety since they were fine for 8 months before this. I think extra energy and boredom is more likely. Unfortunately, I can't leave something TOO yummy for them if I am not there to supervise. One of the only fights they have ever had was over a peanut butter stuffed Kong.

 

Lacy (as I found out this morning) has it in for the EVIL tags on the ends of the comforters, pillows, and rugs....I dont' know what it is, but she went nuts this morning trying to get the tags off the comforter!!! So i fixed the situation and cut it off...then she found one on the end of the pillow sticking out from beneath the pillow case...again. she went nuts tryign to tear it off!!!

What is it about tags???

I'm debating weather or not to get them Kongs. Smokey doesn't play with toys, so I doubt he'd have any intrest in it, and I'm not sure if Lacy would or not. But I also don't want to spend 8 bucks on soemthing for them not to play with.....

 

OMG Sam, Rocky has the same obsession with tags.

When he was a puppy he tore one side of my comforter apart to get at the tag If he finds any of my sister's toys that have them he'll try to take them off. It's so funny first he sits and chews on the tag, then he gets fustrated that it's not coming off so he'll start throwing the toy arund by the tag hoping it'll come off.

He also has this thing for crayons.

 

Yes, Nala also starts with the tags if there is one. I always thought it was part of her paper obsession. She LOVES to eat paper, cardboard, and fabric.