# 9 month old terror



## dkissel (Nov 11, 2007)

HELP! My nine month old sweetie has turned into a terror. She still cuddles, she is still sweet BUT--she is eating and chewing everything. She has destroyed three pairs of eyeglasses (now we put them way up high), she has eaten the corners off two of my walls (and my house is for sale), she started tearing up my carpet last night around 3 am. 

I have chew toys everywhere and she uses them all the time. I bring two with us to bed ...but every single night she eats SOMETHING ...we take everything off the floor that we can, we block a lot of things, close the door so she is with us all night and still....she is costing me a lot of $$.

I am open to any advise. She has a kennel but when we put her in it for the night, she bounces and barks in it until she damages the walls and keeps us awake. She is great in the kennel during the day (we have snuck in to see how she is)

HELP! I don't want to have to sell her. It worries me as to what she will destroy in my new house too!


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## Me&2Girls (May 11, 2007)

Oh dear - this sounds like a case of needing to crate her at night. It will be difficult the first few nights but many people have had success putting them on a chair or nightstand so they can reach in and comfort the puppy during the night.

Also, is your sweetie getting a walk daily or lots of day running? You may need to increase her directed activity. Puppy classes can help too or teaching her tricks. She just may be bored. I had two dogs that I got as puppies that were only three months apart in age and it wasn't until they were 18 months that I could trust them without supervision - so some dogs just take time to outgrow their puppy hood.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

I completely agree with Lisa. I would definitely suggest crating her at night. It will be really tough at first (lots of barking and crying), but it will definitely be worth it in the end.


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## Mijo's Mom (Apr 19, 2007)

Lisa said it perfectly... crated at night and energy release during the day. Tire her out because it sounds like she has a lot of energy to burn off. A tired puppy is a good puppy!  Good luck! 

Connie


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I completely agree too  I couldn't imagine the things Dash would get into if I just let him do what he wanted at night! I do some hard core playing around 9pm with him and by 10pm, he goes into his crate, crashes, and I don't hear a peep out of him until Isabelle decides it is time for all of us to get up!

Amanda


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## anneks (Mar 13, 2007)

Have you tried sprays like bitter apple that are supposed to deter them from chewing on stuff? Also do you just have chew toys or bones? I have a large dog that's a chewer and if I don't keep bones around he is likely to get something near him and chew on that. 

I hope you get everything worked out. It might be worth talking to a trainer to get more ideas.


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## mugsy & me (Feb 3, 2008)

mugsy (19 months) has discovered the joys of eating my brand new bed!!
i bought some 'bitter yuck' and he hates it!!
i also make sure to cover the corners of the bed in the morning with the down quilt. he wont move things to chew on whats underneath.
mugsy chews to spite me though, i don't think it's from boredom in his case. he gets mad if i lock him out of the bathroom when showering.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Our little guy is fine in the crate at night as long as he can see us. Now he whimpers a few times, we tell him goodnight and he circles a few times and falls asleep. There is NO WAY I'd let him have the run of the room at night, there's no telling what he'd get into.

Scooter did cry when I showered but now I just leave the door slightly open and he pokes his head in a few times. Once he realizes he's going to get wet he goes to his toy or his little bed I bring in there. I close all of the other doors though so he can't get into the WC or closet. Seems like they just don't like to be physically separated in any way although we're learning that through trial and error!

The bitter apple stuff REALLY worked for us, he hates it and runs away from whatever we spray it on.


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## Sissygirl (Aug 8, 2007)

That little terror sure is a cutie! Have you tried a treat filled Kong? Something that will keep his interest and redirect his chewing. Good Luck.


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## JanB (Oct 26, 2007)

Ditto on the crating at night and wearing her out with lots of play, long walks and training. I bet it will do wonders for your cute little "terror".


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

I agree with Lisa but I'd add that NILF would be a great help here. You can google it. NILF stands for Nothing In Life is Free and shows your dog that you're the alpha. It sounds way too easy and people don't pay attention to it but I promise it helps a lot.


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## Julie (Feb 8, 2007)

Sounds like you have received some really good advice here that I can't really add to,however I just wanted to tell you that at 9 months,you probably have a long ways to go. 9 months is still very young for a hav to have access to your home and bed(in my opinion). My guy was crated till after he was a year old. He is 2 now and still does not sleep in my bed(by my choice)and he sleeps right next to me on the floor in his bed...but it was a long road to get that far. Having a hav requires alot of time and effort,dedication and forgiveness....it'll be unfortunate if you get rid of your puppy because you were not prepared to take on the challenge.....I don't mean to sound harsh,but that's why we try to educate people on the breed BEFORE they fall in love with a cute face.

Good Luck to you-----eace:


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

Your nine moth old terror is a cutie.  You've received a lot of great advice, crate at night, long walks/play time during the day and before bed time and good luck.


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## michi715 (Apr 8, 2008)

We keep Guapo in an x-pen at night. I think pen or crate is the way to go. We also tucker him out at night with a lots of play and running around so he's pooped by the time we want to go to bed.


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Your terror is a cutie! Looks just like my Shamouti.  I reccommend the crate at night and plenty of exercise. How many walks are you getting in? The golden rule I learned is a tired puppy is a good puppy. Make sure you get a heavy play session in before bedtime too!


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

Lots of good advice here. I do believe in using a crate. I also sit in the floor at night with tiny treats and work on tricks and commands then I use a laser to run Cicero around like mad till he is tired. He loves chasing that red dot. Then I brush him out and he gets real lazy. He is like a ragdoll when I put him in the crate and not a peep comes out of his mouth. I think he's so glad to be left alone, he just goes out like a light.

They are just like children and take lots of time to teach and train...but so worth it.


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

LuvCicero said:


> Lots of good advice here. I do believe in using a crate. I also sit in the floor at night with tiny treats and work on tricks and commands then *I use a laser to run Cicero around like mad till he is tired*. He loves chasing that red dot.


What a great idea!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

She will grow out of it. But nip it in the bud. Bitter Apple and a firm "MINE" worked for both my boys. But needless to say both brand new french doors are knawed by two different boys-- both when they were 8-10 months old. good luck. She is adorable and certainly worth keeping just needs some boundries set.


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## Addrian (May 22, 2008)

We had a puppy once that was a terror and we didn't know what to do... finally we put the little thing on the treadmill, 3 times a day for 10 minutes each and she turned into an angel!

With our Hav we walk her everynight and play HARD for an hour until 10pm, she is READY for bed by the time we are done. The crate sits on my nightstand so she can see my face, if we didn't she would cry but this way she doesn't make a peep.

Good luck, I think everyone is right excercise is the key!


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

We do the laser and he RLH!!! We laugh hysterically and because it wears him out we try to play that game at night. Never thought to brush him before bed because he's isn't too fond of being brushed yet, he'll relax when I do it but nobody else. Having a bath wipes him out because he runs like mad on the carpet afterwards so bath time is always at night!


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

Gryff went through a chewing phase at around 9 months as well. He went through 3 expensive pairs of glasses too. I just keep doors closed and try not to let him have access to things he can chew. Luckily for me, he never went for baseboards or furniture. That bitter appple stuff shoud help. And definitely crate at night. Sounds like your pooch really needs that.


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