"Him & Her" wrote in message
...
Julia Altshuler wrote in message
...
: Start training her to love being in her crate when she's not
actively
: doing something with you, your wife, or a visitor. Put an
acceptable
: chewie in there with her.

We don't, nor will we ever use crates


I used my crate only until she was trained, then the crate came down. You
have to have some way to control the behavior until she understands what is
acceptable and what isn't. Gracie came to us heartworm positive, so a crate
was necessary anyway to keep her confined during treatment. If she hadn't
been kept confined during treatment, there was a very strong possibility the
treatment could kill her. Sometimes crates are necessary. As I said, I
don't have crates up anymore. But when necessary for medical reasons, or to
keep a dog from chewing my house out from under me, I use them.


snipped
: In the mean time, pick up EVERYTHING and that you don't want
chewed on.
: The house should be absent of everything except acceptable
things to
: chew.

Absolutely not. In 40+ years of sharing my life with dogs the
only thing I have put beyond their reach is medication. We have
had chewing dogs before but it could always be associated with
something i.e. being left and was therefore something that we
could tackle. This on the other hand seems not to have a trigger,
unless it's the recent upheaval of new homes.


When I first got my dogs, I kept the grandkids toys picked up when they
weren't here, and kept close watch over them when they were out. Again,
UNTIL your dog is trained as to what items she may chew and which ones are
forbidden, it is a good idea to keep the toys, slippers, shoes, etc., out of
reach. My dogs leave them alone now, but in the beginning, before they
understood what belonged to whom, we kept them picked up. It isn't
something where you have to change your life forever. Only until this new
and obviously insecure dog understand the way of your home, who various
possessions belong to, etc.


td

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Regards,

Him & Her