[wildcatgirl]

Allright, Labman or anyone else who may have some suggestions. My son got a new wood frame bed for his birthday and the other day I noticed teeth marks along the bottom of the frame. I then caught our Shi-tzu the very next day chewing on it--bad thing is, as soon as he saw me he knew he was doing wrong because he gave me that sad look :( and put his tail down. My house is cluttered with chew toys for him from a hard rubber doughnut to a soft stuffed aligator. I have had problems with dogs chewing on things before and used sour apple with no luck (in fact, they seem to acquire a taste for it). The worst thing about it is that it's my son's brand new bed--I don't want to put anything on it that will ruin it. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks so much!

[labman]

Not much to give you except sympathy. We have a desk and a dresser in your family room that came down from my wife's family. Unfortunately the legs are getting gnawed. I had to replace one knob. Holly is still small enough to use them as lairs.

Funny thing is on another site today I said I don't see many questions about Shih-tzus chewing.

[wildcatgirl]

I have heard of people crushing up jabenero peppers and using the juice on the wood--have you ever tried that? I didn't know if it would stink up the whole house and damage the wood, so I've been scared to try.

[doggie_poopie]

Chewing is natural for dogs... please don't use something that will harm them like those extremely hot peppers. Why is the dog not in a crate when you are not supervising?
Older dogs that start to chew can be from boredom, texture, or in your case something new and interesting. I would have to disagree that your dog knew that chewing on the bed was bad. Rather I would guess the body language, tension, frustration, anger, and awe had more to do with it!
A houseful of toys is never as fun as a person who will play with her and those toys. Redirect her and when you can not supervise her she goes into the crate or tether her to you. This is only temporary until she is retrained.
Sorry if I rambled.

[wildcatgirl]

Chewing is natural for dogs...please don't use something that will harm them like those extremely hot peppers. Why is the dog not in a crate when you are not supervising?
Older dogs that start to chew can be from boredom, texture, or in your case something new and interesting. I would have to disagree that your dog knew that chewing on the bed was bad. Rather I would guess the body language, tension, frustration, anger, and awe had more to do with it!
A houseful of toys is never as fun as a person who will play with her and those toys. Redirect her and when you can not supervise her she goes into the crate or tether her to you. This is only temporary until she is retrained.
Sorry if I rambled.

I have several other pieces of wood furniture in the house, yet he chooses to chew only on this one. I heard of the jabenero peppers to keep horses from chewing on wood fences. He sleeps with my son and it is mostly happening at night. If we're not home, he is in his crate. It seems to be the maple that the bed is made of that he is attracted to. There are vitamin supplements that you can give wood chewing horses (some vets believe they are lacking something in their diet that causes them to chew wood). Are there vitamin supplements for dogs also? As far as play time goes, he is either playing with my son, husband, myself, or chasing the cat around the house (which is funny 'cause the cat is bigger than he is). He has plenty to keep him entertained. He also has a fettish for tissues. He loves to chew up tissues. I don't even have to catch him doing it though, and if he comes into the room, he gives me that "guilty" look. I'll just look at him and say, "Allright, what did you do this time?" I swear the dog know when he has done something wrong.

[doggie_poopie]

LOL, I'll say you have your hands full. However, if you want your new furniture not chewed up crating at night in your son's room may be the answer for now.
Yes, many of us in the natural vet care industry believe that when an animal is eating or chewing on one specific thing they are lacking in their diet. Unfortunately, I am unable to recommend anything for you because I don't want to be berated. Good Luck!

You could check out this site though http://home.att.net/~wdcusick/ShihTzu.html.

[badams007]

The bitter apple spray didn't work on this specific dog ? Certainly it doesn't work for every dog...

There are other distasteful things I suspect... perhaps hit pepper sauce (I can't imagine it would hurt a dog too bad - it's not like they're drinking a whole bottle)

-Beth