Need help with dog chewing on dangerous things

[Toast]

I really need help. I've tried Google so many times, and I haven't found anything helpful. I haven't even found advice for a similar situation to what my dog does. I have a lab cross(so I know labs can be mischievous) who is almost 14 months old. She chews things to get attention. She pulls things off the counters and tables to chew on, including dangerous things such as remote controls. She gets plenty of exercise and attention but I do not have enough time to play with her every waking hour. Once she has something in her mouth, she runs away and thinks it's a game. It makes me really pissed off because if anyone tries to take it away, she runs away. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can do? I've tried shake cans(she thinks it's a toy), teaching her to drop it(once she goes into play mode she doesn't think she has to listen anymore) swatting her, twisting her ear until she lets go(I know that sounds mean, but it's sometimes the only way to get her to open her mouth). Please help, but remember I often can't get close to her while she's misbehaving and chasing her just rewards her.

[PureLithium]

I had the same problem with my dog when we first got her. She later picked up the idea that it was not going to be tolerated any longer. The best thing to do would be to avoid the temptations. This means picking up everything she likes to chew or could possibly chew and putting it up on a higher level where she can't reach it. This might require you to get a couple of sectional dividers. These things can hang on the back of doors, on a wall, or even on the refrigerator. Place all of the valuable and dangerous items in the top holders. Anything and everything your dog can chew or get hold of needs to be put up and out of her site. The only problem with this method is that if she does get a hold of something by mistake then your stuck with the same problem again, the chase game. It doesn't correct the problem it only avoids it.

If she does get a hold of something then it's best not to chase her. I know your worried for things dangerous like the remote and it sounds dumb to let her run off with it but she does it for attention. When you run after her or try to get it back then she thinks it's a huge game and your actually rewarding her behavior. If she does get a hold of something then don't even look at her twice. She'll pick up the idea that you don't care anymore and it won't be any fun for her. After my dog saw that I wasn't going to chase after her every time she grabbed the newspaper or a towel, she would go lay down somewhere and leave the item alone.

Another approach you could try is the "Leave it" command. You will have to be patient in teaching a dog to Leave It, especially a 14 month of Lab. They are smart dogs but when they want to they will totally blow you off. To train your dog to leave it you will need a collar and leash, a non-valuable or dangerous item, and a couple of treats. Place the non-valuable item a couple feet away from you and your dog who has been attached to a leash you are now going to hold. It's best to do this in an open area where you have more room and you'll understand why in a minute. The goal of leave it training is to get your dog to leave an object alone and to not be phased by it. It could be used to prevent a dog from running after a car, another animal, a person, or in your case, to teach them to leave objects around the house alone. Once you have placed an object a couple feet away from you and your dog, get your dogs attention with the treats. Let him know you have a prize if he behaves well. Then direct his attention to the object. After he spots it say in a firm voice "Leave it" then reward him with a treat. Repeat this a couple times. After three or four times try to walk him past the object. As you approach the object say "Leave it" again. If he lunges towards the item then turn him around and walk in the other direction. Do this however many times it takes. This is where being patient comes in. Work your way up to the point where you can walk past the object without having him look at it or trying to lunge at it. This is also where the area with a lot of open space comes in. As time progresses you'll want to teach your dog to leave it off the leash and to the point where you can throw a toy, say leave it, and not have to worry about your dog running to get it until you say "Go".

Leave it training should be an everyday thing. Remember, patience is the key. it took a good month for my boxer to leave newspaper alone and to leave rabbits in the yard alone. Every once in a while she tests me where she will run after it but then cut short and come back to my side. Leave it is a highly effective command for all sorts of purposes. I wish the best of luck to you and your dog. If you have any questions please pm me anytime.

[Toast]

Originally Posted by PureLithium

I had the same problem with my dog when we first got her. She later picked up the idea that it was not going to be tolerated any longer. The best thing to do would be to avoid the temptations. This means picking up everything she likes to chew or could possibly chew and putting it up on a higher level where she can't reach it. This might require you to get a couple of sectional dividers. These things can hang on the back of doors, on a wall, or even on the refrigerator. Place all of the valuable and dangerous items in the top holders. Anything and everything your dog can chew or get hold of needs to be put up and out of her site. The only problem with this method is that if she does get a hold of something by mistake then your stuck with the same problem again, the chase game. It doesn't correct the problem it only avoids it.

If she does get a hold of something then it's best not to chase her. I know your worried for things dangerous like the remote and it sounds dumb to let her run off with it but she does it for attention. When you run after her or try to get it back then she thinks it's a huge game and your actually rewarding her behavior. If she does get a hold of something then don't even look at her twice. She'll pick up the idea that you don't care anymore and it won't be any fun for her. After my dog saw that I wasn't going to chase after her every time she grabbed the newspaper or a towel, she would go lay down somewhere and leave the item alone.

Another approach you could try is the "Leave it" command. You will have to be patient in teaching a dog to Leave It, especially a 14 month of Lab. They are smart dogs but when they want to they will totally blow you off. To train your dog to leave it you will need a collar and leash, a non-valuable or dangerous item, and a couple of treats. Place the non-valuable item a couple feet away from you and your dog who has been attached to a leash you are now going to hold. It's best to do this in an open area where you have more room and you'll understand why in a minute. The goal of leave it training is to get your dog to leave an object alone and to not be phased by it. It could be used to prevent a dog from running after a car, another animal, a person, or in your case, to teach them to leave objects around the house alone. Once you have placed an object a couple feet away from you and your dog, get your dogs attention with the treats. Let him know you have a prize if he behaves well. Then direct his attention to the object. After he spots it say in a firm voice "Leave it" then reward him with a treat. Repeat this a couple times. After three or four times try to walk him past the object. As you approach the object say "Leave it" again. If he lunges towards the item then turn him around and walk in the other direction. Do this however many times it takes. This is where being patient comes in. Work your way up to the point where you can walk past the object without having him look at it or trying to lunge at it. This is also where the area with a lot of open space comes in. As time progresses you'll want to teach your dog to leave it off the leash and to the point where you can throw a toy, say leave it, and not have to worry about your dog running to get it until you say "Go".

Leave it training should be an everyday thing. Remember, patience is the key. it took a good month for my boxer to leave newspaper alone and to leave rabbits in the yard alone. Every once in a while she tests me where she will run after it but then cut short and come back to my side. Leave it is a highly effective command for all sorts of purposes. I wish the best of luck to you and your dog. If you have any questions please pm me anytime.

I really appreciate you trying to help. I know what you mean about not chasing her because it rewards her, but the problem is she'll chew on it anyway. I suppose I do need to work on teaching her to drop it. I'm slightly worried about this because when she goes into play mode she won't listen. I suppose I need to work on that.

[Sleep2Dream]

Well, my dog had this same issue. They have this stuff at the pet store that tastes sour...it's basically lemon flavoring. Totally harmless to the dog, but they hate it. You spray it on some of the things that the dog seems to be chewing on [my case, was the table chairs] and when the dog goes to chew on it...they'll taste lemon. Eventually she'll learn that biting on that thing is bad because of the taste...

[KoKoEm]

One of our dogs did this for a bit.
Something we didn't do is get spray pepper or something else that tastes bad, but I've heard those sort of things work really well.
What we did do was teach one of them Leave It and he learned it quickly because he figured out he gets treats and/or attention and/or a toy when he does this and decided that's much more worth it than whatever he thought would catch our attention.
Another thing is to tell the dog (very sternly) no and take a chew toy of your dogs and trade them. Once they've taken the toy from you, praise them. It may seem like you're rewarding them for doing such a bad thing but it teaches them what they are and are not allowed to mess around with.