# chewing corners of rugs - will it stop?



## RoutineAvocado

Zelda is almost 6 months old and does great in the downstairs level of our house, except for one thing: the rug corners are so fun for her to chew on. They're fairly cheap but they protect our wood floor from chairs and stools so we have been consistently spraying them with bitter apple and offering her an alternate chew-appropriate thing. This deters for her about a day, then doesn't bother her the next day after it dried. I thought she would stop trying eventually, but after a summer of this, she still tests them at some point every single day and it's getting really old. Is it time to just give up and put away the rugs until she's older? If so, any thoughts on when she might be able to handle it? I'm certainly also open to other solutions that don't involve getting rid of the rugs!

(Zelda is never unsupervised with the rugs - she is confined to her pen when we're not home.)


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## krandall

RoutineAvocado said:


> Zelda is almost 6 months old and does great in the downstairs level of our house, except for one thing: the rug corners are so fun for her to chew on. They're fairly cheap but they protect our wood floor from chairs and stools so we have been consistently spraying them with bitter apple and offering her an alternate chew-appropriate thing. This deters for her about a day, then doesn't bother her the next day after it dried. I thought she would stop trying eventually, but after a summer of this, she still tests them at some point every single day and it's getting really old. Is it time to just give up and put away the rugs until she's older? If so, any thoughts on when she might be able to handle it? I'm certainly also open to other solutions that don't involve getting rid of the rugs!
> 
> (Zelda is never unsupervised with the rugs - she is confined to her pen when we're not home.)


Kodi was TERRIBLE about chewing the fringe on our rugs, and they are NOT inexpensive ones... they are all orientals. He laughed at bitter apple spray. It only kept him away until it was dry... sometimes. 

The soultion I finally came up with that worked was very, very, VERY HOT hot sauce.:flame: Obviously, you can't put this directly on the rugs without staining them, but I cut thin strips of cloth, pinned those to the edges where ever he tried chewing and put the hot sauce on the strips of cloth. We also coated all electric wires with hot sauce since, for a while, he was going after those too. He got some in his mouth ONCE, and he did cry... you could tell it hurt, but far better that than electrocuting himself on a wire!!!

After he had tasted it ONCE he left anything COMPLETELY alone that he smelled hot sauce on. Our house looked kind of funny for a while, with these strips of cloth pinned onto rugs and throw pillows (anything with fringe in Kodi's case!) but it completely solved the problem, and after he had left them alone for a while, I was able to remove the strips and he continued to leave them be.


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## RoutineAvocado

THANK YOU. I was afraid to suggest the hot sauce for fear of flaming, but if you tried it...  Our vet mentioned he'd done it with his dog, too, but I still wasn't confident. I'm so doing this. I'll wait till after our pup friends visit on Sunday so they aren't subjected to Zelda's hot sauce.


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## jcbpaisley

Bitter apple spray does the trick for Diva

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## siewhwee

I used Vick's vapor rub at the corner of the coffee table once, and that was enough. He left everything alone, although he never once went for the electrical cords.


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## Lucy419

Routineavocado, I think we have the same puppy! Haha

Love the ideas to help with the ripping up rugs. My girl has been ripping up the edges of the carpet in the bedroom (there goes our rental deposit!) I may try the cloth with some hot sauce. She is more prone to cords than the carpet, as I've had to replace 3 iPhone cords by now. Puppies are so destructive!


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## krandall

RoutineAvocado said:


> THANK YOU. I was afraid to suggest the hot sauce for fear of flaming, but if you tried it...  Our vet mentioned he'd done it with his dog, too, but I still wasn't confident. I'm so doing this. I'll wait till after our pup friends visit on Sunday so they aren't subjected to Zelda's hot sauce.


My choice was hot sauce or take a chance on him electrocuting himself. The hot sauce seemed much kinder.  And it only took that one taste. After that, he would scramble backward away from the smell.

I really, TRULY believe in positive training as much as possible. (ALMOST always... and when I can't use rewards, I mostly use negative punishment... typically withholding attention) But when safety becomes an issue, like when Kodi was chewing electric cords, you have to do something to correct the behavior FAST. And if you are GOING to use a positive punishment, make sure it is targeted, immediate, and strongly enough aversive that you make you point in one or two trials.

The problem with most punishments is that people get the timing wrong, or it is not aversive enough to stop the behavior, so people ramp the punishment up. (or just keep doing the same thing over and over while the dog ignores them )

The nice thing about this is that you don't have to be there to make sure it is consistent, you don't have to worry about timing... the puppy puts his mouth on something off-limits, and the punishment is immediate, and if you use really hot hot sauce, the average dog isn't going to try more than once or twice. ...and you have done NOTHING directly to your puppy to scare him or make him think the punishment is coming from you.


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## krandall

jcbpaisley said:


> Bitter apple spray does the trick for Diva
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That's fantastic, and a great place to start. But a large number of dogs simply thumb their noses at bitter apple.


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## krandall

siewhwee said:


> I used Vick's vapor rub at the corner of the coffee table once, and that was enough. He left everything alone, although he never once went for the electrical cords.


Vick's would be another good alternative, as it, too, is very strong smelling. The trouble with Vick's, though, is that it's grease and stays greasy. The hot sauce dries, and while it stays potent, once dry, it's not gooey or messy. But either one is worth a try. (although I'd want to check that there was nothing in Vick's that would be dangerous if an unexpectedly adventurous pup DID decide to ingest some... hot sauce might hurt the mouth, but it is perfectly SAFE to eat)


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## krandall

Lucy419 said:


> Routineavocado, I think we have the same puppy! Haha
> 
> Love the ideas to help with the ripping up rugs. My girl has been ripping up the edges of the carpet in the bedroom (there goes our rental deposit!) I may try the cloth with some hot sauce. She is more prone to cords than the carpet, as I've had to replace 3 iPhone cords by now. Puppies are so destructive!


Yeah, Kodi went through a number of iPhone, iPad and computer cords before moving on to electrical cords. (my sons were slow learners, what can I say? ) He was one expensive puppy!


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## swaye

I used a shaker bottle and it worked instantly and did not have to be repeated.


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## krandall

swaye said:


> I used a shaker bottle and it worked instantly and did not have to be repeated.


That's one of those things that CAN work... with SOME dogs, and IF your timing is just right. But it can have fallout. (the dog can become afraid of you, since it knows you are holding the shaker, or the dog can learn to only chew the rug when you don't have the shaker, or if you aren't around...) The other possibility is that for a number of dogs, it just won't be enough of an aversive to extinguish the behavior on the first or second attempt. If not, where do you go from there? A lot of people just keep madly shaking their can of pennies, which makes the dog stop for a moment, but then go right back to it later. Then the dog has one.

If it works to COMPLETELY extinguish the behavior in one or two trials, as it has for you, that's great. Your timing was perfect, and it was aversive enough to get the job done. That's great.


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## Ruthiec

Karen as always, your explanations and rationale are so helpful. Luckily Charlie hasn't shown any signs of chewing cords or rugs (not much temptation as we have a pretty dog friendly house). But the theory behind what you are saying about negative punishment is very helpful and I have the hot sauce tip stored for future reference.


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## siewhwee

Ralphie didn't even have to taste the Vick's. One whiff of that light little dab, and he backed off. Hahaha!


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## swaye

krandall said:


> That's one of those things that CAN work... with SOME dogs, and IF your timing is just right. But it can have fallout. (the dog can become afraid of you, since it knows you are holding the shaker, or the dog can learn to only chew the rug when you don't have the shaker, or if you aren't around...) The other possibility is that for a number of dogs, it just won't be enough of an aversive to extinguish the behavior on the first or second attempt. If not, where do you go from there? A lot of people just keep madly shaking their can of pennies, which makes the dog stop for a moment, but then go right back to it later. Then the dog has one.
> 
> If it works to COMPLETELY extinguish the behavior in one or two trials, as it has for you, that's great. Your timing was perfect, and it was aversive enough to get the job done. That's great.


I think it is the element of surprise AND not letting them see you shake the can.
I also used it to deter her to stay away from gas fireplace pebbles. Used it for nothing else. I think what works for one, does not necessarily work for another.


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## RoutineAvocado

I thought I'd solved the cord problem by hiding every single one behind furniture. But then we went on vacation and the rental had electrical outlets in the floors and dangling lamp cords everywhere. Ack! So we'll need to teach her eventually and probably bring some hot sauce next time we travel. We basically just stayed in the deck of the rental or kept her tethered to us inside because she definitely tried to get into everything. Zelda is a nut but I just try to think of it as a zest for life. 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## krandall

Ruthiec said:


> Karen as always, your explanations and rationale are so helpful. Luckily Charlie hasn't shown any signs of chewing cords or rugs (not much temptation as we have a pretty dog friendly house). But the theory behind what you are saying about negative punishment is very helpful and I have the hot sauce tip stored for future reference.


Actually, that would be "positive punishment"... Negative punishment is when you take something away. (Like if you stop giving a puppy attention when he nips). But I'm glad if it helped!


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## Ruthiec

Thanks Karen, I thought I was wrong when I typed it but couldn't think of the right phrase.

Either you or Dave posted a link to very helpful article on positive vs negative in training. I can't find the link but remember reading it and it helped refine my approach with Charlie.


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## krandall

Ruthiec said:


> Thanks Karen, I thought I was wrong when I typed it but couldn't think of the right phrase.
> 
> Either you or Dave posted a link to very helpful article on positive vs negative in training. I can't find the link but remember reading it and it helped refine my approach with Charlie.


I'm sure it was Dave... He's the "Link Master".  No way could I find all those links when I needed them!!!


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## jabojenny

I'm late on this one but how about taking the rug away until they understand commands a little better. I picked my battles with Tim when he was a puppy. I never had rug eating issues with Timmy, but if he was consistently doing something I didn't want him to do and telling him "no" or removing him from the situation didn't work, or offering him an appropriate activity didn't work I just took it away (if I could). I know there are some things you can't take away and if that was the case I would just barrier him off from the situation.

As for cords, there are cord covers that you can put them into. It might make the cords look less attractive to chew on. I know some people even use PVC pipes to put cords in.


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## swaye

jabojenny said:


> I'm late on this one but how about taking the rug away until they understand commands a little better. I picked my battles with Tim when he was a puppy. I never had rug eating issues with Timmy, but if he was consistently doing something I didn't want him to do and telling him "no" or removing him from the situation didn't work, or offering him an appropriate activity didn't work I just took it away (if I could). I know there are some things you can't take away and if that was the case I would just barrier him off from the situation.
> 
> As for cords, there are cord covers that you can put them into. It might make the cords look less attractive to chew on. I know some people even use PVC pipes to put cords in.


We talked about the electrical cords months ago and decided we would try the PVC pipe. Thankfully we avoided that pitfall. She did like her rugs, however. Throw rugs and the the corner of the carpet on the stairs. We did block access, but when grands were here, or other guests, that was not always workable. So I read about shaker bottle and tried it.


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## krandall

I MIGHT be willing to pick up the rugs with another puppy. But since our entire house is hardwood, and ALL the rugs are orientals with fringe, it would have made for a pretty cold house! He also ate fringe or cording on the edges of any throw pillows. It's hard to tell the rest of the family that they may no longer use pillows in the family room because everything has been put away to keep the puppy away from temptation.  And sooner or later he needed to learn to leave stuff alone. Likewise, I could have protected MOST of the electric cords in our house with PVC, but that doesn't protect the always-moving laptop and iPad cords. It also wouldn't have protected HIM from cords at other people's houses. I wanted him to understand that NO cords (or rug or pillow fringe) were OK... EVER. 

Kodi was a VERY mouthy puppy. He never nipped us, but EVERYTHING else was game when it came to him putting it in his mouth. We did just keep him out of some spaces completely. He was confined to the kitchen and family room for MANY months past when he was potty trained because of the chewing issues. But we have a small house, and WE needed to be comfortable in the family room too. So for us, finding a solution that was self-correcting made life much more relaxed, so we could enjoy our time with him.


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## swaye

krandall said:


> I MIGHT be willing to pick up the rugs with another puppy. But since our entire house is hardwood, and ALL the rugs are orientals with fringe, it would have made for a pretty cold house! He also ate fringe or cording on the edges of any throw pillows. It's hard to tell the rest of the family that they may no longer use pillows in the family room because everything has been put away to keep the puppy away from temptation.  And sooner or later he needed to learn to leave stuff alone. Likewise, I could have protected MOST of the electric cords in our house with PVC, but that doesn't protect the always-moving laptop and iPad cords. It also wouldn't have protected HIM from cords at other people's houses. I wanted him to understand that NO cords (or rug or pillow fringe) were OK... EVER.
> 
> Kodi was a VERY mouthy puppy. He never nipped us, but EVERYTHING else was game when it came to him putting it in his mouth. We did just keep him out of some spaces completely. He was confined to the kitchen and family room for MANY months past when he was potty trained because of the chewing issues. But we have a small house, and WE needed to be comfortable in the family room too. So for us, finding a solution that was self-correcting made life much more relaxed, so we could enjoy our time with him.


All good reality experiences to share, Karen. Thanks...


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