Our 12 month old rescue who we think was about 10 weeks when we got her still chews anything within reach of her teeth. Dining room table, chair legs, skirting boards, labels, cushions and every small tree, bush, strawberry/raspberry cane, light and piece of fence she can get to (in fact problem almost solved in the garden because there is precious little left).

She goes for three good walks a day, has a hide bone to chew every day (which she mostly digs another bit of the garden to bury first and to then gnaw later), has lots of toys and is in every other respect a lovely pet. We are both retired so she is rarely on her own but she is like lightening, sees a chink in the dining room door and rushes in for a gnaw before either of us is quick enough to get to close the door. If you actually catch her with her teeth on something she goes all hangdog and rushes to her crate so I'm sure that she knows that it is wrong but I'm at a loss to know how to stop her. My husband and I are at odds because he gives her sticks and things to chase after and I don't understand how she is supposed to differentiate between those and the things that we don't want her to chew, i.e. that the only items that she is permitted to chew are the rawhide chews.

Sorry if that is a bit of a ramble but I just went into the spare room which she must have broken into during the night and she has destroyed the cushions and throw.

Could something be wrong with her teeth?

She just has the urge to chew. It's natural and similar to baby teething.

You can try clicker training to reward her when she stops chewing when you ask her?

There could be several reasons why she chews anything & everything she can get her teeth into!

Firstly you need to rule out any mouth/teeth problems so it may be an idea to mention this to the vet next time you visit for check ups or vaccinations.

Do you recall when the chewing first started? Could it have been around the 4-6 month old period when she would have been teething? Have all her adult teeth come through with no problems? If so, it could be a learned behaviour that she found very rewarding when she was teething but has now carried on because she likes it!

For some dogs, chewing can be a very pleasurable way of relaxing & unwinding, especially if they are nervous or anxious or bored ~ much like us having a glass of wine or cup of tea to unwind.

Another factor that could be encouraging her to continue chewing may be your own & your husband's reaction to the chewing? Do you make a fuss about it &/or pay lots of attention or find her something else to chew? If so, it could have developed into an attention-seeking behaviour because she has learned that she gets a reaction when she does this. It can still happen even if the attention she gets is not always positive, e.g. shouting, telling off, pullling her away etc. If this is the case the best way to deal with it is to remove her from whatever she was doing but quietly, no eye contact & no attention when you've taken her away. However it may take her a long time to realise that the chewing doesn't get her the attention she wants!

From your description it does sound that she is slightly obsessive about the chewing, using every opportunity to sneak into a room to find something to chew. Does she chew the sticks that your husband throws for her? If so, could you bring her some sticks home to chew? I know that chewing sticks can lead to splinters etc & isn't always advisable but if she's using chair legs anyway, perhaps sticks from the woods might be an alternative!

Have you tried allowing her to chew on RAW bones? If you have a friendly local butcher, you may be able to get marrow bones or other largish bones that would keep her happy for hours. They must be raw as cooked bones can splinter & cause internal damage. The bones are also very good for dental health & exercising jaw & neck muscles & are very nutritional. If you want to know more about feeding raw bones, just try googling BARF & you'll find plenty of sites on the benefits of feeding raw bones, from chicken wings to large beef bones. It could well that by changing her diet to include some raw bones will provide the nutrients, exercise & emotional well-being that she is currently finding in chair legs!!

You could also try stuffing her food into a kong to allow her some "chew time" plus the mental stimulation of getting the food out.

It could also be an age-related behaviour that she'll grow out of but I appreciate that this doesn't help you in the meantime.

Thanks to you both.
Am I right in assuming that by now she will have all of her adult teeth? She is the only dog that we have had where we haven't found any evidence of the baby ones which have come out. She was from an abandoned litter and has chewed from day one. She has a kong but will quite happily alternate a bite of that with something that she shouldn't have.

Interesting point about bringing sticks home or allowing her to keep those that she "finds" in the garden because I thought that this was part of the problem (I still hate it when my husband is right!!!).

She is due for her booster jabs in a week or so so I will talk to the vet. I had just assumed that you couldn't get raw bones any more so I'll have a chat with the butcher too. This is the only difference between her and the other dogs that we have had in the past, other than she is the first bitch that we have had, and we have been fortunate enough never to have had a dog that chewed (more than once any way!).

I keep thinking about how I react when I find that she has chewed. If she is caught red handed I just say "No" sharply and give her her chew which I guess is rewarding her. I never thought of it like that. Most often the deed is discovered after the event and I guess I always call her, say "Who did this?" and probably in response to my voice more than anything she slinks off to her crate. What amazes us both is that she seems to be joined at the hip to my husband so they are very shortlived opportunist deeds and she doesn't do it when we go out (won't touch her chew either until we return, I'd love to see a video of what she does do - probably sleeps angelically!!!!).

You're welcome ~ there's some clues in the info you've now given but it would be best to have her mouth & teeth checked by your vet.

Chewing is a natural activity for dogs but some dogs hardly ever feel the need to chew whilst others find it extremely pleasurable. Sometimes puppies that don't have the best start in life can feel insecure/worried/anxious etc. It maybe that your dog has found a coping mechanism in chewing, hence the continuation to do so.

If she happily chews the sticks you bring home from walks, then this is surely better than your furniture but I would be wary about leaving a dog alone with a stick ~ I would rather be around to supervise things. Plus you said that she doesn't chew things when you are out, so presumably only when you are at home.

To stop her chewing inappropriate objects & to help her understand exactly what it is that she's being told off for, you & your husband need to act consistently. And if you are going to use any form of "punishment", even just a particular tone of voice, or physically removing her or the object, you need to ensure that she knows exactly what she is being told off for. For instance, if you discover the chewed objects after the event, there's absolutely no point at all in telling her off. She won't know why you're telling her off, & just pointing or showing her chewed item won't mean anything to your dog. All it will do is teach her that sometimes you greet her in a friendly manner & sometimes you don't! This will be very confusing for her & may make her a bit nervous & wary of you ~ is this perhaps why she seems to be joined at the hip to your husband? Are you the one that's left to do the disciplining while he can always be the "nice guy"? This is probably why she slinks off to her crate, but it doesn't mean she understands what she's done wrong ~ she just recognises from your voice that you're not happy! You must both be consistent in your behaviour towards her.

If you catch her redhanded then you've a much better chance of her understanding that what she's doing is wrong. And these are the only times that you should consider using a "particular" tone of voice.

If you want to ensure that she doesn't think you are rewarding the chewing, then when you catch her in the act, you can say "no" & remove the object. But then walk to another room, call her to you, ask her to sit, or lie down, or ask for any behaviour that she can do, then you reward that behaviour. She will link the reward with the behaviour she's doing at the time she's rewarded, so it won't be associated with the chewing.

I hope that makes sense. If you want to know more about how dogs learn & how best to teach them, then there's a great book by Pamela Reid called exactly that ~ "Excel-erated Learning ~ How Dogs Learn & How Best to Teach Them". It's really easy to read & written for dog owners to help them teach their dogs in a kind way ~ I can highly recommend it.