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Jerry
Jerry SuperDork
11/10/14 6:14 a.m.

Adopted him Friday night. Saturday bought him a stuffed Bumble toy. Saturday 30 minutes later Bumble does not bounce anymore. Sunday morning an old slipper didn't either.

But he makes up for it in couch snuggle time.

I'll keep you updated as the death rate progresses...

Gasoline
Gasoline SuperDork
11/10/14 6:43 a.m.

Good luck. Mine ate a leg off the $$$ dining room table....

wae
wae HalfDork
11/10/14 6:55 a.m.

We sprung our larger dog from death row at the county shelter after he had been beaten for six months and then left tied up at a local park for three days, so he had some issues. We lost countless shoes, all eight dining chairs (four in the dining room, four in the kitchen), all eight table legs, a box set of anime DVDs (don't recall which series anymore), three rooms of carpet, the woodwork at the base of the stairs, probably around a hundred pencils and pens, at least twenty (formerly) stuffed animals, a couple pillows, a strand of christmas lights, a TiVO remote, a couple books, and that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

The only thing he hasn't been able to destroy completely was the Kong we got him, but it seemed like once he figured out it was harder to destroy than, say, shoes, he lost interest.

Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/10/14 8:12 a.m.

We have a place called Ocean State that sells cheap dog toys. In about a day Ollie will carefully remove all the appendages and then open a seam and take out the stuffing.

captdownshift
captdownshift GRM+ Memberand Dork
11/10/14 8:34 a.m.

my border collie mix will shred and destroy kongs, the black ones. She gets hockey pucks as toys now.

KyAllroad
KyAllroad HalfDork
11/10/14 9:16 a.m.

Currently no dogs in my life but a few years ago I had a boxer who ate a hole in the drywall of my house.

At another time we had a mutt who ate: a garden hose, my steel toe work boots, the seat of my garden tractor, the pull cord of my push mower (!!?), and a few stuffed animals. He didn't last long before we found him a new home with a lot of acres to run on.

NOHOME
NOHOME SuperDork
11/10/14 9:34 a.m.

I like dogs, but they seem to have evolved into a common denominator breed best described as "MethLab"

Jerry
Jerry SuperDork
11/10/14 12:17 p.m.

I named him Chewie, as a Star Wars reference. Now I'm concerned about that name.

pinchvalve
pinchvalve GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/10/14 12:29 p.m.

Clearly define what he is allowed, and not allowed to chew. I recommend a basket of toys (or tow or three) placed strategically. He gets rewarded for grabbing something from the basket and scolded/squirted when he grabs anything else. This is especially helpful when they are excited (when you get home) or nervous (when you leave). They learn to go to the basket and it gives them an outlet for their energy. Just fill it up with stuff they like or old things you are OK with getting rid of.

My pit mix ate two cans of unopened dog food he found once, so there really is nothing they won't chew through so training is important.

wlkelley3
wlkelley3 SuperDork
11/10/14 12:31 p.m.

Daughter had a Lab that also ate a hole through a drywall wall. Other daughter has a couple of Pits that like to chew door frames. Mom rescued a terrior years ago and it peed inside her shoes in the closet. Her current rescue like to hide muffins under anything, mom doesn't find them until they are green and fuzzy. Sort of makes me thankfull that the rescue toy poodle I currently have only barks at the nieghbors in their own yard, she's real brave standing behind me.
Gotta love 'em cause they love us.

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
11/10/14 2:53 p.m.

Wait till he eats a party sized bag of balloons. Confetti poo is quite colorful.

16vCorey
16vCorey PowerDork
11/10/14 3:29 p.m.

Wow, I'm suddenly thankful that my pit/lab mix only eats the occasional sock. Well, now that her appetite for shoes and remote controls has been curbed.

SilverFleet
SilverFleet UltraDork
11/10/14 3:31 p.m.

I once had a black lab mix puppy when I was a kid that ate pretty much an entire finished basement full of stuff, including a bumper pool table.

Our current dog is a "Pit/Shepherd Mix" that can be a total goof. It's funny that you named yours Chewie. They make Star Wars pet toys now, and we have the Chewbacca and Admiral Ackbar ones. I have our dog trained to differentiate Chewbacca from her other toys. I can line up various toys and tell her to get Chewbacca and she picks it from the rest. I'm working on getting her to respond to "It's a TRAP" and grabbing Admiral Ackbar.

madmallard
madmallard HalfDork
11/10/14 4:19 p.m.

sounds like he need run around alot more and is a high energy dog.

Jerry
Jerry SuperDork
11/10/14 8:12 p.m.

In reply to SilverFleet:

I need to hit Petco this weekend for Star Wars toys. A friend sent me a pic of a Chewbacca Xmas stocking at Lowes. He's done a number on it already.

Knurled
Knurled GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
11/11/14 1:47 p.m.
wae wrote: We sprung our larger dog from death row at the county shelter after he had been beaten for six months and then left tied up at a local park for three days, so he had some issues. We lost countless shoes, all eight dining chairs (four in the dining room, four in the kitchen), all eight table legs, a box set of anime DVDs (don't recall which series anymore), three rooms of carpet, the woodwork at the base of the stairs, probably around a hundred pencils and pens, at least twenty (formerly) stuffed animals, a couple pillows, a strand of christmas lights, a TiVO remote, a couple books, and that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

You are easily the calmest, most rational and cool-headed person I know. This story just proves the point, since I don't know anyone else who would have put up with that.

wae
wae HalfDork
11/11/14 2:36 p.m.

I won't lie: after he tried to dig through the floor of the bedroom, he nearly went back to the pound. Knowing that was a literal death sentence for him, though, I talked to a friend who studied as an animal behaviorist to see if there was anything else we could try. Anti-anxiety meds and obedience training were the solution -- the meds were a short-term crutch to get the dog through the obedience training which was supposed to help give the dog some structure.

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo GRM+ Memberand Mod Squad
11/11/14 2:42 p.m.

When my husband's father still lived with us, he had a Dalmation with issues. We came home one day to find our kitchen floor had been excavated. Apparently the previous owners of the house had laid down several consecutive layers of linoleum in the kitchen, and under all of that was a hand dug well. It was covered with a manhole cover and subflooring, and it still had water in it. Lord only knows what that dog was digging for, there was plenty of water in the dog dish.

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy PowerDork
11/11/14 5:02 p.m.
EastCoastMojo wrote: When my husband's father still lived with us, he had a Dalmation with issues. We came home one day to find our kitchen floor had been excavated. Apparently the previous owners of the house had laid down several consecutive layers of linoleum in the kitchen, and under all of that was a hand dug well. It was covered with a manhole cover and subflooring, and it still had water in it. Lord only knows what that dog was digging for, there was plenty of water in the dog dish.

I guess if you want to really reach, there is an upside- the dog was concerned about mold growth in your structure...He was just protecting your health.

Jerry
Jerry SuperDork
11/12/14 6:17 a.m.

Chewed his brand new leash in half last night. The death toll continues.

dean1484
dean1484 GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
11/12/14 7:25 a.m.

My lab aus shepperd mix use to eat things but we kept a ready supply of cooked and frozen soup bones in the fridge. This helped alot and they were cheep. We moved on to toys and finally found these mulry colored knotted rope things that use a very fine stranding. So far she has not been able to destroy it. It also is a great tug a war toy for us to play with. The previous posters comment about training is key. Let them know when they have been bad but make sire they have something that they can play with and chew on and reward them when they use it and also play with them and there toy ( no matter how slimy it is)

SilverFleet
SilverFleet UltraDork
11/12/14 10:15 a.m.

Try out a Nylabone. We bought our dog one when we brought her home in March and she still has it.

wae
wae HalfDork
11/12/14 10:27 a.m.

Oh yeah! The Nylabones are awesome! Apollo had one for a while and never did fully demolish it.

Jerry
Jerry SuperDork
11/13/14 12:52 p.m.

He came with one, the only toy/accessory they gave me. But I have people telling me they're not good for him, he might break a tooth (happened to a good friend of mine.)

Looking at alternatives this weekend.

SilverFleet
SilverFleet UltraDork
11/13/14 1:00 p.m.

Himalayan Bones work well too, but he will annihilate them in short order. They are a lot better for the teeth, and when he chunks them, you can take the smaller buts and microwave them to enlarge them. Strange, but true.

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