Naughty bulldog......

[3kidsnabullie]

Hi again everyone and thanks in advance for your expertise.  My Deeze is 9 months old and acting very naughty lately.  If he is out of my sight for any amount of time he is chewing on something.  He has chewed the rug in the kitchen, a kitchen chair, and part of the wooden steps into my family room.  This is just in the past week   I am a busy stay at home mom so I can't watch him all the time, but I also don't want him in his pen all the time either.  The only time he is really behaved is in his pen   He spends time outside, but he would much rather spend time indoors looking for things to chew on.  Is this to be expected with the breed and his age??   He is a fantastic dog in so many ways, but he is costing us a fortune......not to mention all of my shoes that he has eaten   All this can happen within a matter of minutes.....what do guys think?  oh, by the way, I do have gates in my kitchen/family room area.  Thanks again for ANY advice!!!!!!!!!
Oh, one more thing, he has PLENTY of toys.....but he'd rather something of ours instead

[DwightsMom]

Hi Kim! I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles. Unfortunately, I don't have any advice. Sorry. I hope others with more experience respond to you shortly with some great information!
Will you and Deezy be at the DC Meetup on Saturday? I RSVP'd yes, but I doubt we'll make it. Dwight needs to have surgery next week and the last thing I want is for him to pick up a "cold" or something much worse from the dog park!

[Maggpie]

At 9 months old --- yep - I would say it is common more then not.  Biter Apple ---- go and get some and spray it on everything wood in your house.  Baseboards, corners, corners of dressers, nightstands chairs etc.  Shoes - I bought the plastic containers and put all of mine in there.  You have to remember that at 9 months old he is like a toddler, so you can not just leave him roam the house because he will definitely get into mischief.  leave him inside too.  Bullies are not outdoor dogs   And he will get in trouble out there as well.

I would confine him into a puppy-proof room if you are not able to watch him, just like you would do with a toddler. 

Also, this is where the lead leash method can come in handy.  You have one part of the lead leash tied to you and the other on him.  Whereever you go he goes.  This establishes you being the Alpha as well as keeping him out of harms way when you are not able to watch him and have other things in the house to do.   Spray the lead leash with Biter apple before hand though because more then likely he will protest the method until he gets used to it.  That would be my suggestion.  I suggest the lead leash because when Maggie was young I tried everything else and nothing worked, then I tried the lead leash method and she was a whole new dog.  Now she follows me wherever I go, she will sit by my feet when watching TV etc.

[Shelly]

I agree, very common.  My bullie went throught that phase, chewing up my ex's stuff (good dog! ).  Now, he won't chew anything ever. 

Heather has given some wonderful advice, so I don't really have anything to add.  Just be consistent and he will hopefully stop chewing.

[bella-baby]

It is safer for a pup and your furniture to be in a crate,a puppy safe room, or leashed to you if you can't keep a constant eye on them.

[debra6]

How do you keep the little darling from eating your toes when he is leashed to you?

[3kidsnabullie]

Thanks for all the great advice.  I am going to try the lead/leash method....it sounds like that will solve my problems.  Glad to know that this too "should" pass   Heather, you are a life saver.  All of your advice seems to do the trick.  Thanks again. 

Ellen, sorry to hear that Dwight needs surgery.  Yup, going to the dog park is way too risky....Deeze got really sick after his playgroup.  Please update us as soon as you can.....big hugs to your bullie

[Grace]

I think all dogs, not just bullies go through a major chewing stage at that age. As for the bitter apple spray, I would try it on one thing you see him chewing on at first. The reason I say this is because I had a black lab that loved to chew on wood so my mom went out and got bitter apple spray. She sprayed it on all of the wood and the dog chewed on the stuff more with the bitter apple. One time she even sat by my mom when she was spraying it and tried to lick it straight out of the bottle. So I would hate for you to spray all of your wood with it and him have a taste for the bitter apple.

[BullyBellyRubber]

I've been lucky, there hasn't ever been a lot of chewing with our dogs.  The worst is Rosie's attraction to rubbery plastic.  She kept chewing my husband's power cord to his laptop.  We got some of the Bitter Apple spray and it worked!  She hates it.  The only thing is it evaporates fairly quickly so I had to spray a couple of times a day.  That was her last problem and it's been over a year.  Good Luck!
Consider the crate, it keeps them from choking on something when you're not there to help.

[Maggpie]

Thanks for all the great advice.  I am going to try the lead/leash method....it sounds like that will solve my problems.  Glad to know that this too "should" pass   Heather, you are a life saver.  All of your advice seems to do the trick.  Thanks again. 

Anytime Kim

Debra - you keep him from biting on your toes by either giving him a toy to chew on if you are sitting or by one quick jerk on the lead leash with a stern "no"  (not a very hard big jerk - you do not want to hurt your bullie - just get his attention )

[Gracie & Bea's Mom]

Someone here (can't remember whom) suggested wiping the wood furniture with a mixture of cayenne pepper and olive oil or cooking oil.  I only had to do that once and now my dogs leave the wood furniture only.  They couldn't stand the smell.

Both Bea and Gracie were compulsive chewers until they hit about a year old and then they calmed down a bit.  I provide plenty fo chew toys for them to munch on, but at one point they much preferred the sprinklers, my shoes, the water hose, two trees, seven doors mats, and 10 dog beds!

Hang in there.  There is a light at the end of the tunne!
Mary

[MaytagMan]

Monte is 9 months old, and boy does he like to chew!!!   

We use the leash/lead method, so he is always with one of us in the house...    He LOVES sleeping at my feet when I am on the computer!

We also have baby gates for the kitchen so we can isolate him in a room where he can walk around, have toys, water, bed, etc.    We keep him there when we're at work as well as sometimes he can't quite hold it, so little accidents are no biggie on the lino...   (now when we replace it with tile, that may be another story... )