A Blog About Golden Retrievers and Dogs in General
Here Jenny and I will write and share our favorite Golden stories and articles. Hopefully we'll give some informative tips on the Golden Retriever breed that may also help those with other breeds. Feel free to comment or add to our blog. In addition, if you would like to write a story, feel free to contact us. Our goal is to keep this light hearted, heart warming, or fun. Thanks for reading!
Controlling Chewing
Written by Administrator Friday, 03 July 2009 04:12
Behavioral issues can cause problems for both owner and dog. There are Golden Retriever rescues in nearly every county partly due to this reason. Too often, people decide on Goldens based on their cuteness and their friendliness. However, Goldens are active dogs and require a lot of exercise and attention. Most of these behavioral issues are NOT the dogs fault. Chewing up the furniture or carpet is one of the most annoying behavioral issues a dog owner has to deal with. It is important that while your dog is young you start the ground work for an easier future.
The most important part of avoiding chewing problems is finding the right products for your dog and making sure they are readily available. Most products have varying degrees of stages from puppy to adult. For our two dogs, we started out with Nylabone puppy keys. It took a lot of dedication and positive reinforcement, but it has paid off. From the puppy keys, we moved on to puppy bones.
Slowly we progressed in bone size and durability. In addition, we made sure we had a lot of toys available. Be sure to keep at least one chew toy in each room of the house. Most importantly, always give a “Good boy or girl” each time your dog picks up whatever chew toy you’ve chosen. I also recommend keeping a few chew toys outside. This can help control digging problems.
It's important to stick with whatever brand of toy you choose. You may not think your dog chews them much at first, but as you can see from the picture below, with positive reinforcement, you'll find they'll chew them regularly.
I personally don’t recommend natural bones for Goldens. My experience has been that Goldens are heavy chewers and are typically able to chew apart large pieces of natural bones, which then get lodged and can cause blockages. Nylon based bones break apart in tiny particles, which are then able to pass through the digestive system.
Always be sure to supervise your dog when introducing a new chew toy. You’ll want to be sure the toy doesn’t get chewed about too easily. In addition, you’ll want to be sure it breaks down slowly, so the pieces are able to pass through his or her digestive system.
Separation anxiety is a whole other issue. Far too often, owner leap into leaving their dogs home alone for hours at a time, rather than making a gradual increase. Start off leaving only for a few minutes and progress at about a 15 minute rate. Slowly, you’ll be able to leave for an hour, two hours, and so on. In addition, to gradual progression, you can also give treats when you leave and return. This will associate you’re leaving with a good thing, rather than a bad one.
Patients and positive reinforcement are key factors in treating behavioral issues. However, having the proper toys available for your dog will avoid having your furniture or other items turn into chew toys.
If your dog has already made a habit of chewing a particular unwanted item. I recommend trying Bitter Apple. You can find Bitter Apple at most pet retailers. Simple spray a bit on your finger and then put it in your dog’s mouth. He or she will reject the taste instantly. Then apply the Bitter Apple to whatever item you don’t want your dogs to chew on.
