Chewing.....Expensive Weekend......Need Suggestions

[ksimm033]

So to make a long story short, my almost 7 month old bullmastiff started chewing the wood from my deck in numerous spots. He started throwing up and did so numerous time and then started acting really fatigued and wouldn't eat. We took him to a hospital and they gave him fluids with an anti-nausea shot. He was not better the next morning, so we then took him to his regular doctor who took X-Rays, gave him fluids and a B12 shot. It looked like he had some type of blockage and gas build up in his stomach. Took him home and he finally passed whatever was blocking the gas and now is recovering and full of energy. Were feeding him rice with a little bit of wet food while his stomach still recovers from the blockage and wood.......my main concern is that he still likes to chew. He has not tried to chew the deck again as of yet but he will eat a branch, chew on plastic roof to dog house, patio furniture etc. Now he does not destroy things all the time and this chewing has happened over a period of time. He is a good dog but I'm wondering if hes going through a phase. He has numerous toys from nylabones to Kongs to stuff animals....he likes everything else. Any suggestions or tricks? Thanks in advanced.

 

[Boxergirl]

Welcome to the forum.

There are no tricks. The sprays they sell would, imo, be a waste of money. He needs to be supervised. If you can't supervise then I would crate him with only appropriate "chewable" toys that won't break off and cause a blockage. No bed or blanket, etc. I know that doesn't seem helpful, but usually chewing like that is from boredom and if you aren't there to redirect to an appropriate outlet then it will most likely keep happening. I'm glad he's recovering. You were really lucky. It could have been much more expensive (surgery) or you could have lost him. We've had members who almost lost their dogs to blockages. Scary stuff.

 

[Oscar'sMom]

Agree with boxer girl. You can't fix a chewing problem if you're not there. It sounds like a lot of unsupervised time to have ingested a bunch of wood. I would also crate when you're not able to watch him. If he starts chewing when you're around, redirect and he will learn

 

[tmricciuto]

Agree with the others. My girls love to chew wood "When they're not good and tired". What has helped me was walking them more in the morning and evening, I even do intermittent jogging with one. A good dog is a tired dog and a not tired dog is a destructive dog.

 

[DennasMom]

Ditto the above advice and suggestions!
More interactive exercise, walks, hikes, off-leash sprints, games of fetch, flirt poles, etc. might help reduce the need to chew so much.

Denna was about that age when she decided to start de-stuffing pillows on our bed when unsupervised. She had been doing fine for a few months out of the crate... but her freedom was revoked at that point. She regained unsupervised home-alone freedom again about 8 months later.... she's been an angel ever since (as long as you overlook misplaced bedding... no more destruction, just some 'nesting rearrangements').

You can make some of the toys more interesting - like stuffing the kongs, or just putting a tablespoon of peanut better in the bottom... to keep his attention on the approved item. Other options would be big antlers or Himalayan Yak chews. The yak chews are hard milk, softer than antlers or bones, and also digestible.

 

[Hiraeth]

Agreed with all others, with this bit of additional information:

A family member of mine, who didn't supervise their dog in the yard, one day noticed the dog was eating sticks (and had presumably been doing so for a while). Several days later, the dog was acting fatigued and wouldn't eat or drink. Vet did x-rays, couldn't really see any intestinal blockages or anything, so sent the dog home. Dog started doing worse, they took it back to the vet, still couldn't find anything, referred her to a specialist. Specialist did a full body x-ray and discovered a chunk of wood had perforated the dog's esophagus and migrated into the chest cavity where it had gotten horribly infected and filled the entire chest cavity with pus (this condition is called pyothorax). They drained it, but it filled back up. They had to put the puppy down at 9 months old after about $10K in vet bills trying to save it.

If you're not watching your dog in the yard, your dog shouldn't be in the yard. Period. His life really depends on it.

 

[ksimm033]

I really appreciate all the suggestions and advice. This have given me a lot to think about and work on. Thanks again for your help.

 

[dpenning]

Agreed with all others, with this bit of additional information: A family member of mine, who didn't supervise their dog in the yard, one day noticed the dog was eating sticks (and had presumably been doing so for a while). Several days later, the dog was acting fatigued and wouldn't eat or drink. Vet did x-rays, couldn't really see any intestinal blockages or anything, so sent the dog home. Dog started doing worse, they took it back to the vet, still couldn't find anything, referred her to a specialist. Specialist did a full body x-ray and discovered a chunk of wood had perforated the dog's esophagus and migrated into the chest cavity where it had gotten horribly infected and filled the entire chest cavity with pus (this condition is called pyothorax). They drained it, but it filled back up. They had to put the puppy down at 9 months old after about $10K in vet bills trying to save it.If you're not watching your dog in the yard, your dog shouldn't be in the yard. Period. His life really depends on it.

I lived that hell with my Daisy, lost her at 3. We never did find out what had gotten into the chest cavity or find the perforation but the infection was so thick it couldn't be drained.

 

[Hiraeth]

I lived that hell with my Daisy, lost her at 3. We never did find out what had gotten into the chest cavity or find the perforation but the infection was so thick it couldn't be drained.

That's horrible, I'm really sorry to hear that.

I know people think that 100% supervision is overbearing or paranoid, but I like to tell them that paranoia turns into preparation really quickly when stuff hits the fan. I don't carry firearms because I'm paranoid. I carry them because I want to be prepared for the worst. Similarly, I don't supervise my dogs because I'm paranoid. I just never want to be at a vet's office thinking 'I should have watched him more closely'.

From my understanding of pyothorax, it can happen randomly and for no apparent reason, though. Like, a dog could eat sticks its entire life and not have a problem. Another dog could develop it because of a chunk off a rope toy or some sort of odd thing like that. No amount of supervision will help, in that case

 

[marke]

my thought is to give him lots of real bones , he'll most likely pick a bone over anything else , even that's not 100% , from what I've seen , chewing on something is often convenience , and then a habit ...... you could try bitter apple spray , but as said earlier there is a good chance it won't work . I've never seen cayenne pepper fail . there are a few ways to apply it ..........

 

[marke]

one of my dogs died from chylothorax , lymphoma is common in these dogs , and I would think the most likely cause ......

 

[BigMevy]

Agreed with all others, with this bit of additional information: A family member of mine, who didn't supervise their dog in the yard, one day noticed the dog was eating sticks (and had presumably been doing so for a while). Several days later, the dog was acting fatigued and wouldn't eat or drink. Vet did x-rays, couldn't really see any intestinal blockages or anything, so sent the dog home. Dog started doing worse, they took it back to the vet, still couldn't find anything, referred her to a specialist. Specialist did a full body x-ray and discovered a chunk of wood had perforated the dog's esophagus and migrated into the chest cavity where it had gotten horribly infected and filled the entire chest cavity with pus (this condition is called pyothorax). They drained it, but it filled back up. They had to put the puppy down at 9 months old after about $10K in vet bills trying to save it.If you're not watching your dog in the yard, your dog shouldn't be in the yard. Period. His life really depends on it.

That's horrible luck.My BM is almost 3, and has been a heavy chewer ever since I got him. It's just his thing. While I agree boredom and anxiety can play into it, some dogs just love to chew. If he's not gnawing on a rawhide or (my favorite) a buffalo shinbone, he's nibbling at a blanket. He does this little thing where he rubs his teeth on a blanket or any cloth he can get ahold of, like he's using it to clean his teeth. We can go to the dog park and have a great exercise, come back and after a drink he finds the nearest thing to chew on and settles in. Luckily he has more or less grown out of the destructive phase, he knows what he can/can't chew on and largely sticks to it. And also luckily, despite chewing things to bits, he mostly won't swallow anything. It makes for a messy house at times, but better that than the vet bills.Just my 2 bits.

 

[season]

Watch your dog. When you can't put it in a crate. Simple. While you are supervising it and it starts for a stick or whatever, simply say NO or whatever word you want to use to correct it. Dogs like to chew. Solo did too. Sometimes he'll still try, but I'm always outside with him. Watching him. If he starts towards it I say No and it's done. But again, watch your dog then those things won't happen. Crate your dog if you can't and those things won't happen.