Chewing the carpet

[Charliesmommy]

My GSD is destroying my carpet. It is berber carpet, the kind that if there is one little thread sticking up, you can pull on it and it all unravels. Now that it has started to unravel, there is no end in sight. I have tried spraying it with bitter apple spray, but I've found that the stuff only lasts about an hour, then I have to spray it again. Anyone have any other suggestions? I am obviously going to have to replace my carpet, and I plan to put down hardwood, but it's going to be a while before I can afford it so any ideas to keep him away from it in the meantime would be appreciated! I know a big part of the problem is that he's home alone for about 5 hours a day and he's bored but he is crated at night so I don't want to have to crate him during the day too.

[Maxy24]

he obviously gets enjoyment out of chewing the carpet so whenever he gets a chance to chew it the behavior is reinforced. While you are not home to watch him maybe you can just gate off the room with the carpet or leave him in a room with no carpet. Do you have a kong toy or feeder ball type thing that can keep him occupied during the time you are gone (you fill kong with treats or a tasty spread). Does he chew when you are home or only when you are gone? He is either chewing out of boredom or enjoyment. if it is boredom you just have to find toys to occupy him. Try hiding treats around the house (nothing huge, unless it will take him a long time to eat, you don't want him to get too chubby:D ) your best bet though is to keep him out of the room with the carpet unless you are around to punish the behavior, with a harsh NO! or a "no" accompanied with a spray of water (as long as he does not enjoy the spray) if the bitter spray did work I'm sure there are other types of tastes, not necessarily sprays, that he will find unpleasant, but will last longer,(just be very sure they are not toxic.) i believe there is a type of pepper you can use.

[RedyreRottweilers]

You must stop allowing your dog to have the time to build bad habits. You MUST confine him in a manner in which he can't get to this carpet.

It is wrong of you to put so much responsibility on the dog. Put him in a position where he can only make the RIGHT decisions, however you have to do it.

Crate. Exercise Pen. Day care. Baby gates. Whatever it takes. It would be much better to gate the dog in your room at night, and crate him in the daytime while you are gone.

Also: MORE exercise, and MORE brain training.

[Charliesmommy]

The question about boredom or enjoyment is a good one. Since he only does it when I am not home, I can't really answer that but I'm guessing he does it just for fun. We always go for a long walk in the morning and when I leave he has plenty of toys (including a kong) and things to chew on. I would think if he was doing it out of boredom he would be chewing other things, like furniture, as well and he isn't. I think it's just really fun for him to pull on a string and it just keeps going and going and going. Unfortunately this carpet is throughout my entire house )except the bathroom, which is way to small to close him in) so I can't gate him away from it.

[Maxy24]

Redyre mentioned a dog play pen which would be bigger than a crate and allow room for your dog to move about. If you place this in the center of the room where he can't get at the string of unraveling carpet it would probably work. Like redyre also said you could bring him to doggy day care or maybe a close friends house who is home while you are gone, just to prevent the rewarding behavior when you are not there to correct it. When you are home let him out and if he chews startle him with a clap of your hands or shake a tin can full of pennies or spray him with a squirt from a spray bottle. Associate the correction with a command like "no chew" or "leave it". When he stops chewing call him over and give him a toy that he really likes and if he chews on that tell him he is being very good. Later on when you see he is getting ready to chew use whatever command you associated with the correction like "no chew" and he should stop getting ready to chew, once again if he stopped call him over and give him the toy. If he does not stop when you use the command you must still use the squirt bottle, can, or clapping until he understands the command. Never leave him unattended until the behavior is completely gone. One more question, is there just one place he chews or are their several places where the carpet is unraveling which he is chewing?

[RedyreRottweilers]

Can't is an unproductive word in many instances, including dog training.

Use your superior primate brain. Find a way to keep the dog from the carpet while you are out.

[Doberluv]

Use your superior primate brain. Find a way to keep the dog from the carpet while you are out.

LOL. Love it!

Punishment doesn't work as well as showing the dog what to do. It usually teaches him not to do it in your presence. It's dangerous to do it in your presence but it's safe to do it when you're not there. It's not being stubborn or coniving. It's just the way dogs are. They don't go much beyond that kind of thinking.

So, prevention in the first place doesn't give him the opportunity to be reinforced for this fun activity. The more he's reinforced (by having fun) the more likely the behavior is going to be repeated. When you are there and see the first intention of him going for the string in the carpet, before he ever gets a piece in his mouth, you need to interrupt it and show him an alternative, perhaps a rope toy. (these, however should not be given without supervision as strings are dangerous to swallow) Praise him and give him a high value treat when he chews on this other toy or his Kong. Consistancy.....prevention, reinforcement for the desired behavior is what eventually teaches the dog. But he is a pup and this will take time. Because it's been working for him thus far, it will take some extra time. You can't wait until he already has the string in his mouth. That's light years too late. You have to catch him when his first muscle contracts which is going to make him go for the string. Interrupt him with an "eh, eh" and immediately show him what it is he can play with. Then reinforce his chewing on that toy with a high value treat and loads of praise.

An ex-pen with a flooring material which cannot be chewed or otherwise destroyed would be my method of choice along with someone to come in and take him out for a romp and walk while you're gone.

[Charliesmommy]

Macy and Doberluv, thaks so much for the advice. I wish Charlie would try to chew the carpet when I am home, so that I could correct him, but I've never even caught him close to it. To answer your question Maxy, there really is only one place where he chews but it would not take him long to find other places if he was confined elsewhere in the house.

Redyr, thanks for your comments but you haven't really offered any advice. Your method of subtly telling me that I'm an idiot and that I have to be smarter than the dog is what is unproductive here. Telling me to "find a way to keep the dog away from the carpet" doesn't help me much, since that is exactly what I asked the question about in the first place.

[Maxy24]

if he does not do it while you are home then it will be hard to fix. Put him near the place he chews and also put an appropriate toy near him. so that you can correct him when he does chew the carpet, or praise when he chews the toy.

[Doberluv]

I didn't realize that he didn't do it in your presence. Hmmmmm. Well, really praise him big time when he chooses his own toys anyhow, make those really pay off for him.....treats too.

If a crate is the only place he can be which has a floor that he can't wreck, and it's only 5 hours a day, and he gets plenty of exercise and brain work otherwise, then I'd crate him for those 5 hours. Even though he's in it at night, it's still a different thing. He has you near by and it's night time sleep time. LOL.

Before he's crated, he could get a good run and some training....just for a while so he gets a little tired out and a few good chew toys. At least he'd be safe and couldn't wreck anything. And then as soon as you come home, you could take him out for some good zoomies and a run and then a little practice on his skills.

I know how you feel. It's hard to lock them up in a box for so long and that's why perhaps an ex pen would be better if you can put some ply wood or some other hard material on the floor. Is there any possibility of a neighbor or relative coming and letting him outside to play for a while during the day? Or doggie daycare a couple of times a week?

I'll keep thinking too in the meantime. He'll grow out of that eventually and won't need to be crated forever. I know with my Doberman, he was about 17 months old before I could trust him loose in the house. He took a little longer than some past dogs to mature that way. He still occassionally gets into no no's. He's very puppyish at 3-1/2 years old! He's very mischieveous and has a sense of humor. He really thinks I'm going to laugh too. LOL.

[mojozen]

I say crate him during the day. The five extra hours won't be as traumatizing as you may think it is. Also, something for you to consider, the annoyance of watching your carpet go bye-bye aside... if your pooch happens to chew off a bit of the string of the carpet? That's even worse! That string could cause an obstruction in his digestive tract. Also if he were to attempt to pull it out, that could cause nerve damage of the colon.

This happened to my brother's Siamese Jack about 3 years ago. Jack was chewing on the curtains, and swallowed a string. My brother's then boyfriend pulled on the string as Jack was trying to pass it... and well, nerve damage occured. My brother now has to give Jack laxatives every day for the rest of his life so that he will pass waste and not poison his body. :(

So, from a safety stand point those extra 5 hours in the crate REALLY aren't that bad. Why crate him at night but not during the day? Perhaps you should switch your hours of crating?

[Jynx]

yes I'd be worried he'd start swallowing that long string of berber :((

Is it in just one area?? Is there some piece of heavy furniture Like a foot stool or something you can cover it with? And may sound ridiculous but how about some bricks or something ??

those gsd's are smarties, he's probably telling you he doesn't like the carpet, and thinks he's doing you a favor while enjoying what he's doing *vbg*.

Just some ideas!
Diane