I have a lab/pit mix (Laelah) who is almost a year old. She is pretty well behaved, loves her crate, and gets along with the family cat. However, she LOVES to chew on EVERYTHING and destroys all toys I buy for her - the only thing that has withstood her incessance is a huge nylabone.

She chews on my stairs outside, and on the corners of my house - she digs up woody roots in my yard to chew on. I have purchased a kennel to keep her in while she's outside to alleviate those problems.

I thought it may have been a phase due to teething, but she has no more baby teeth!! She even chews on the bedding in her crate. I have tried using a bitter tasting pet deterrent, but it didn't work. Fortunately, she has not chewed on any of my electrical cords or wires, and they are now out of her reach.

HELP!

labman

I lack experience with Pit Bulls, but my house has been infested young Labs for years. I have seen every thing you describe and accept it as normal. Some dogs are much worse than others. Many of them don't give up shredding everything until they are about 3 years old. The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Some Labs will even destroy Kongs. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made
lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get
them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch
carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

A mousetrap is very effective in making a dog leave something alone. Most
dogs will stay away from anywhere they were surprised by a snap. The best
part is that it is not you that is correcting the dog. It works whether you
are around or not. The mousetrap is very patient and is always on task as
long as you reset it. Some dogs outsmart them.

Better than mousetraps when you aren't around is the crate. Other dogs may
not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with. Still your house and dog
will be much safer with the dog in a crate when you are away. The dog may be
happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
itself. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. They are harder for
dogs to open too. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with
something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
to destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
itself.

Some of the advice I read on chewing suggests to me the advisor never encountered a strong willed, aggressive chewer. I know people that had Lab puppies that the only toy they could let them have was the Nylabone Souper Size Galileo. Dogs vary. When my Aster was a puppy, she was as bad as any. At about 8 years old, she still couldn't have the softer Flexibones or Gummy bones. Now that she is 13, she seldom chews much at home. When she visits her old dog guide partner, she does chew her replacement's toys.