We tell everyone that our dog Peaches is a labradoodle, and that is mostly true. But we also know that she is not a "pure" labradoodle - she's got a little bit of other things mixed in there too. We just don't know what they are. Her mother was a small standard poodle that was a rescue dog. She was only about 35 pounds, so we're pretty sure she wasn't a pure poodle. 4 days after being turned into a local human society, she gave birth to 10 puppies. Obviously the father is unknown, but all the puppies like Peaches have lab characteristics. So our sweet dog is really a labradoodle mutt!
Honestly to us, we don't really care about "pure" dogs. Peaches is a great pet for our family. She loves and adores us, protectively barks at anyone who comes in or near our house, follows and chases the girls all over the place, and puts up with their not-so-gentle "play" without a fuss. Peaches is perfect for us!
On the down side, Peaches has always been a chewer and has shown a tendency towards wooden things. Mostly its just sticks, branches, and small toys that get left on the ground, but recently her chewing has gone to a new level. We now suspect that maybe somewhere in that "mutt mix", she's part beaver!
Luckily most of the outside fence to our yard is metal wire and our house is brick, but I'm kind of wondering if we should begin taking protective measures for some of our household furniture. What will be next for our little wood chomping labradoodle? Is this normal for a lab or a poodle or any other dog for that matter? Any suggestions for curbing her love of wood?
4 comments:
Good luck. It's hard to change a habit. We found that leaving multiple bones out helps. The flavored ones can stain carpet though so be careful. Once you find a favorite, stick with it. Tucker didn't chew nearly as much as our previous dog but left unattended, your furniture is probably in danger.
our dogs are both wood chewers too. Little J's wooden train tracks have diminished significantly. But I haven't seen our pups go after any furniture and that includes the train table and loft beds (but Big J has nibbled on the lofts because he feels the beaver urge). We do lose a lot of pencils around here though.
We use a kong type toy with peanut butter and treats inside and it seems to help them release that fixation on wood.
Yeah, I'm with your other commenters. Wood is tasty and feels good to chew, especially if Lab blood runs through your dog's veins.
Remember my dog May Bee? Half Lab and half Lunatic (Weimaraner)? We were outside together last week at 3 and 5 a.m. as she threw up the chair caster she ate...and she's FOUR YEARS OLD. Old enough to know better!
It was partially my fault for running out of rawhides! The best deal I've found is the big bag at Sam's...she loves them, and I love being able to have things made of wood. (And plastic. And cotton. And leather.)
Oh, and sometimes I put up toys for a while, rotating her toys from the top of the closet. Now, whenever I reach for the top of the closet, she goes crazy because she knows she's going to get her rubber duck or a Kong she hasn't seen in a while or a biscuit or some other treat.
Happy Peaches has such a GREAT family!
You should know by now that you can't stop a Lab from chewing anything & everything! We just replaced part of the house siding and one of the 4x4 Cedar posts that support the back porch roof:) That's why we now have metal fencing all around the back area of our house!
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