Dog eating house

[K]

We're in the process of having the exterior of this old place redone. I'd hired a painter, who needed a carpenter to replace 'a few rotten corner boards'.

Well, this has led to a major replacement of siding, plywood, and some framing due to both wet rot and carpenter ants. Unfortunately, this place was built in the early 1960s, without the benefit of modern things like house wrap.

Long story short, the carpenter recommended cedar as a deterrant to things like bugs, and we've gone with that. The siding is cedar clapboard anyhow.

Our dog, a seven-month old Golden, seems to have taken a liking to cedar as a snack, and is gnawing on new boards already. As a younger pup, she gnawed on some chair rungs and the like, but nothing serious. Now I'm concerned, not just about the expense of replacing things again soon, but about the health of the dog. This is freshly painted wood, primed with stain and finished with latex.

It can't be good for her, yet keeping her totally away from the house is out of the question. The painter suggested the clear-plastic corner protectors until she grows out of it. I've never seen the dog give plastic a second look, so that's not a bad idea, but I'm seeking others short of putting a 'return to sender' tag on the dog and hooking her to the mailbox.

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Keith

[cshenk]

"K" wrote

Grin, use the plastic and then get some of that 'doggie go way' spray (they even sell ones for outside that are rain resistant) and coat the ground in that area (not the wood, may stain).

You are right, it's not good for her. Until the plastic stuff gets there, use the spray.

If you need something *now* and do not mind the loss of the grass (it will grow back later after about 2 months), pour straight vinegar all over the ground about 2ft out and soaking as much as possible. Most dogs dislike the smell of it.

This is guaranteed to kill your grass and probably anything else green within a 2-3 ft radius so make your choices wisely.

An alternative is ammonia, but this may damage the paint and you'd have to get it on the wood. This will make the dog pee on that corner. He will not however chew on it if it's where he pees ;-)

[Claude Hopper]

Get rid of the mutt or take some lessons from Cesar Millan, the dog whisperer. You are obviously not the pack leader.

[Dave Balderstone]

Find a human trainer who can teach you how to deal with unwanted dog behaviour. She's controlling you, and you need to control her.

[Chris]

Keep a flyswatter within reach. Use the tool liberally on dog butt when you catch her chewing on siding. Repeat as necessary.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Fortunately, latex paint is not poisonous. Buy a good book on dong behavior or take a course in dog handling. Chewing can be stopped. Talk to your vet for some advice.

[tnom]

Don't leave your dog unattended until you have trained it to not chew on anything other than its dog specific toys. If you don't have the time then you shouldn't have the dog.

[aemeijers]

Another dog could help, or maybe a kid. Chewing is a common side effect of boredom.

-- aem sends...

[Caesar Romano]

On Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:31:59 -0400, Claude Hopper wrote Re Re: Dog eating house:

Well said.

[TD]

Caesar Romano wrote in news: [e-mail]:

The PEOPLE are the problem. Get rid of them.

[Zz Yzx]

My golden retriever/yellow lab cross (now 15 yrs old) was a chewer too as a pup, and yellow dogs have LONG puppyhoods. He ate ANYTHING vinyl: garden hoses, lawn edging, spa covers, Barbie dolls, the fill port on the water bed mattress, &tc. Not to mention my daughters' sox and panties, a whole yard worth of redwood bender board, and other stuff. ANd I mean ATE, not just chewed.

When he tuirned 3 yrs old or so, he just stopped.

-Zz

[Michael A. Ball]

In Puppy 101, they should have taught you that puppies need activities and things to chew on--just like adult dogs.

Buy a "bitter apple" product (to combat chewing of inappropriate things) at any good pet supply store; and while you're there, get him some squeaky toys, a knotted rope, a Kong for loading with peanut butter, and a good supply of basted rawhide. Always offer one of those items, whenever you finding him chewing on something inappropriate.

Goldens are intelligent, high-energy dogs. If you don't burn off the energy and provide amusement, they will devise their own amusement.

___________________ A dog's life is too short; their only fault really.

[Michael A. Ball]

Keith didn't say he lacked the time: only the enlightenment: much like most pet owners.

At one time, I--and you--knew nothing about pet care. Far more than most folks, I know your quoted statement is correct, but it doesn't need to be said to someone who already has the puppy, and is trying to learn how to become a good pet owner.

________________________ Every dog is an individual, as is their guardian: no single training method works for all.

[Oren]

ROTFL! Remote controls, plastic beverage glasses, flip flops, etc.. Caught my dog headed out the door one day with my damn cell phone!

I read many stories about damages in the thousands of dollars. I have a 4 YO Basenji (in the top two hardest to train).

My dog got "kicked out" of obedience 101 class (G). He wanted to eat the other puppies.

As was mentioned, learn to be the "pack leader".

[Michael A. Ball]

Generally speaking, that's the dream of nearly every dedicated animal shelter employee. It is what I think each time an abused or no-longer-wanted dog is brought to the shelter.

_______________________ When I die, I want to go where dogs go!

[K]

LOL, I didn't mean to give the impression that I'm a first-time dog owner, or that this chewing the house thing has been going on-and-on. We've had a steady stream of healthy, happy dogs since the 70's, and this is actually our third Golden.

In my original post I mentioned that she chewed on furniture as a young pup, but that stopped months ago. She never chewed on an exterior part of the house until just now, when the entire garage front was replaced with cedar, and freshly painted with latex.

You'd think I did the place with marrow bones! She homes in on it the moment she's let out, stops when told to, then goes back at it the minute the old back is turned. This isn't a city lot, but a 12 acre farm with another 14 acres across the street - two ponds and a stream, and a lake across the way. We have horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, and a couple of llamas, and she has a world's worth of bunnies, squirrels and ducks to chase.

She likes that wood, though, and i think it's the latex paint. I gave her a piece of cedar to gnaw on, and she did, but it could have been any old stick. Now the paint has been on for a few days, and it's rained a few times, and she's less interested.

The painter still has a way to go in 'dog' territory, so I picked up some snow fence today to keep the dog out of range. If she goes back at the garage and starts eating again, then maybe it's time she became a barn dog.

I just worry about her eating things that aren't food, and creating great vet bills.

thanks for all the tips, Keith

ps: That Dog Whisperer book bites. I bought it, and there isn't a word in there about raising dogs; it's just a 200+ page ad for the TV show and the author. We're in an un-cabled area, and this is one more reason I'm glad of that.

[George]

Oh but the dog is sooo cute and smart and just like a person...

There is a local dog trainer who is very much like Cesar Millan. He knows how to read dogs and knows that they aren't human and while they are smart they have just enough brain power to be a dog. He says the most frustrating thing about doing what he does is people just don't get the idea that the dog knows what to do and the owner needs to be trained to understand the dog. He says people will call and actually ask if they can drop their dog off for training and pick it up when he is done.

[Ball of Fluff]

There are probably various solutions but when a horse eats its stall, that is generally caused by a vitamin deficiency. Could be something like that re the dog.

I would get him some dog multivitamins and examine his diet. The other solutions such as putting something distasteful on the wood have probably already been covered elsewhere in this thread.

Claire and John

[cshenk]

"Michael A. Ball" wrote

Quite true. And some 'pet owners who think they know things' can make for bad advice.

It takes time.

[cshenk]

"Oren" wrote

Hehehehe!

Ohh! No!

Yup. Took time to get Charlotte (14YO 2 foot type) to learn that. I kinda picked up right away (horrible as it sounds I did some googling at SPCA sites and their recommended ones and such, before getting a dog as I'd only cat experience). It worked as my husband has had dogs most of his life before getting married and he says a few of the things I read even helped him a bit.

Our Dog still isnt well leash trained as for pulling, but he's well behaved in all other ways with the occasional gaff like eating the PS2 controller (we left him alone too long and he knew *we* played with it so must be a toy!).