The Gruesome Chewsome

[MaxsMommy]

Hello, I’m Natalie and I live in New England and was recently going thru some old photos and ran across several of my fur babies that I had as a kid:
Growing up my parents took in large rescue dogs. When I was starting high school, we had Oliver, a Saint Bernard and Simka, a Chow. With both dogs in the house, it was complete chaos as they came from families with absolutely no training. They were super chewers. Mom nicknamed them the “Gruesome Chewsome” lol. Despite putting anything in their mouths they could, they had a favorite thing that made them absolutely go nutso every time: My brand brand new soft white leather Reebok Pump sneakers! Back in the 90s, Reebok Pumps were the coveted sneaker.
And being a “sneaker girl”, I had a whole closet full of Pumps. How we found out about their “Reebok Pump sneaker fetish” was quite by accident. I had just started my sophomore year in high school. Mom had taken me school shopping and I got a brand new pair of Reebok Pumps.
The morning of the first day of school I slipped them on and went downstairs to breakfast. I was sitting at the kitchen table when all of a sudden Simka and Oliver came dashing in and shimmied right under the table and began sniffing and licking both of my new Reebok Pumps voraciously. I was able to get away and out the door, but not without some slobber and teeth marks in my new Pumps. Well, Simka and Oliver must have been waiting for me because as soon as I came home from school, they were all over my new Pumps again. I had gym class last period and wore the Pumps sockless so they were really hot and moist. I sat down on the couch to do homework and Simka and Oliver plopped right down at my feet and their jowls immediately wrapped around both new Pumps. They chewed hungrily and eventually pulled the laces out and wrestled them right off my feet. Then, each dog grabbed a sneaker and ran upstairs to hide. I went up and found them later: Each dog had his whole snout buried in one of my new Reebok pumps and had licked the insides of them and filled them with lots of warm slimy bubbly doggy slobber. They were still gooey the next morning when I laced them back up and wore them to school. Here are each member of the “Gruesome Chewsome” with their favorite dessert.
So pretty much after that, wherever my new Reebok Pumps were, so were Simka and Oliver. They were always chewing on them. Even if they were on my feet! Knowing it was full of yummy new Reebok Pumps, they would sit in front of my closet and leave huge drool puddles, just hoping to get inside at the delicious new Reebok Pump buffet that awaited. Eventually Simka got homed, but we ended up Keeping Oliver. He was always on the hunt thru the house for more of my Pumps. He just couldn’t get enough of them.
Mom even decided to wear a new pair of mine to her aerobics class one time. Well, Oliver got really hungry for them and ate them right off her feet as soon as she got home that night. Not long after, he passed away from old age. My Saint Bernard that I have now, Snickers, is quite fond of sneakers too lol.

Natalie

 

[emc]

Ha, ha, I love the Gruesome Chewsome name, it seems like your Mom named them quite accurately! Thanks for sharing your memories from the past.

 

[Rover]

Hello, I’m Natalie and I live in New England and was recently going thru some old photos and ran across several of my fur babies that I had as a kid:
Growing up my parents took in large rescue dogs. When I was starting high school, we had Oliver, a Saint Bernard and Simka, a Chow. With both dogs in the house, it was complete chaos as they came from families with absolutely no training. They were super chewers. Mom nicknamed them the “Gruesome Chewsome” lol. Despite putting anything in their mouths they could, they had a favorite thing that made them absolutely go nutso every time: My brand brand new soft white leather Reebok Pump sneakers! Back in the 90s, Reebok Pumps were the coveted sneaker.
And being a “sneaker girl”, I had a whole closet full of Pumps. How we found out about their “
[...]

What a fun story, Natalie, and welcome to the forum! Oliver and Simka sound like they were a handful and a half, but the kind of chaos you look back on with a big smile. The Gruesome Chewsome is a perfect nickname.

What you're describing with the sneaker obsession is actually pretty classic dog behavior, even if the specific target was very on-trend for the 90s. Dogs are incredibly scent-driven, and a shoe that's been worn, especially after a long day and gym class, is basically a scent map of you. To Oliver and Simka, your Pumps smelled intensely of their favorite person, which makes them irresistible. Add in the soft leather texture, which is satisfying to chew and pliable enough for a dog to really get their teeth into, and you've basically got the perfect dog toy as far as they were concerned.

With large untrained rescue dogs like those two, the chewing was also almost certainly a comfort and stimulation behavior. Dogs who come from chaotic backgrounds often self-soothe through chewing, and finding something that smells strongly of a family member makes it even more rewarding for them. It's one of those behaviors that can be redirected with time and training but is very hard to fully suppress when the motivation is that strong.

The good news looking back is that hiding with a sneaker each and burying their snouts in them is actually a pretty sweet sign of attachment. Destructive, absolutely, but in their own way they were bonding with you through those shoes. Hopefully the rest of your Pump collection survived the school year!

Here are some threads on this forum that may have answered your question:

• Wanted - For Multiple counts of Stuffie Slaughter — reply by jess2416

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