my shih-poo chews everything!

What can I do?? Will she outgrow it? She's 7 months old now and she has plenty of her own toys but whenever your back is turned for even 5 minutes she will grab a sock or a pair of underwear or a shoe and chew them up. She's kennel trained and when she is in her kennel, even though she always has 2 or 3 chew toys in with her if there is anything within reach she will reach out throught the bars of her kennel, pull it in and chew it. The other day her kennel was too close to our bed and she grabbed onto the comforter, pulled it through 3 or 4 of the bars and chewed several holes in it. And she was only been in the kennel for less than 1/2 an hour that time. I've taken to bringing her in the bathroom with me while I take a shower because I don't dare to leave her unattended. The past 2 days while I was showering she has gotten ahold of my underwear and chewed them up, even after I put them supposedly out of her reach! This is driving me crazy, what can I do??

RoAnne

 

Set her up. Leave a sock on the floor and pretend you're ignoring her. When she goes for the sock, correct her immediately and substitute something she's allowed to chew, telling her "Chew your bone" or "Chew your toy".

For example, my dog is not allowed to chew his stuffy toys. He's only allowed to chew his bones. So if he starts chewing a stuffy, we first tell him, "Don't chew it, squeek it." Usually, he'll bite, toss and squeek the toy. But if he continues chewing, we tell him again "Don't chew it! Chew your bone", and substitute his bone for the stuffy.

Another important thing; don't give her all her toys at once. A couple of toys and a chew bone are enough. Put the other ones up. Then rotate the toys every day or two, so she thinks she has something new to play with all the time.

It's also important to keep forbidden items out of harms way until she learns not to chew them. Make sure she can't reach anything while she's crated, and pick the laundry up and put it in a closed hamper.

 

That's some great advice, Shine.

We didn't have too many problems with the chewing when our shihpoo was a puppy (altho there were a few "no-no's" that's for sure!). But, the "bitter apple" worked awesome! We also used the can (with coins inside) whenever he grabbed something he wasn't suppose to... it stopped him dead in his tracks. We gave him a reward whenever he dropped it, and before long, we had no problems at all.