# Chewing Problem / Shoe Handbag fetish!



## becks (Oct 18, 2010)

Hi everyone, I have read such great advice on this forum so I am going to throw a question in to you all. I have done a search regarding chewing but I need to be clear this is not a teething issue.

My dog is 11 mths old and although definitely went through the teething and chewing everything in site thing, we pretty much got through this by lots of exercise and appropriate chew toys, BUT he still swoops down on any shoes left lying around. If given the chance he will put his head in my handbag and anything he can get his teeth on he grabs and is off. I used to chase him to retrieve "said item" as quickly as possible to minimise the damage, but I began to wonder if in fact this was the whole purpose of the "swoop".

I have now stopped chasing and tried the "bring it here" and "give" command which he usually obeys but _only_ when he knows I have a treat in hand. No sign of any treat; and no give.

So ladies and gentlemen, where to from here. I now have only one pair of half decent shoes and when I have clients that I am doing a pedicure on, I have to make sure I put their handbag and shoes well out of reach of the swoopee. Do I carry on like this and hope he gets bored with the "game" or does anyone have any thoughts or comments? Looking forward to your replies.

Rebecca
(PS, my clients love my dog and always get a laugh from him, they will not hear of me putting him away when they come. LOL)


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

I would buy a special toy for this,....or shoe, or old handbag from the thrift store and put some squeeky' toys in it and teach him to play with only THAT particular purse/toy/shoe, let it be 'his' and firmly 'no' all others.

Gucci loves the chase me and snatch the toy game, but she does it with certain toys of hers and not others, they are going to want to play, you won't be able to train away that desire, however you can train them to play with certain things by making those things more fun than others 

Kara


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I think that they eventually do less of this, but the best answer while they are young is to keep possible target items out of the way, and give them plenty of their own toys to play with!


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

hang the purses on hooks and put the shoes in a basket or something... if possible. get them out of reach and he will lose the desire... mostly!


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## dbeech (Jun 16, 2009)

I think you need to buy him some "Jimmy Chews"


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Just get the Bitter Apple spray (walmart has it) and spray your shoes and handbag. It won't hurt the shoes and one time is probably all it will take to break the habit.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Bitter Apple didn't even slow Kodi down. Hot sauce did, but that STAINS!!!


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## becks (Oct 18, 2010)

thanks guys, no miracles then?

Then I guess I am just going to have to be more diligent where I leave my "stuff".

I used to dab a little hot tobasco sauce on the furniture he liked to chew, that worked. He could only get within 3 or 4 inches of it before he would back off, I think the fumes made his eyes water. It does stain a little, but what the heck, my shoes are in a bit of a state already what with teeth marks.

I still believe it is more of a game to him than actually wanting to chew. Perhaps its time to teach him another game.

thanks for your replies.
Only 3 more sleeps till Christmas, :whoo: cant wait!!!


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

My Ruby is so bad with that. I call her my destroyer. The problem, in her case, is it's not a game. She's after the booty, whatever it happens to be at the moment. I can't begin to list all the things she's destroyed in her short life. So far hers shows no signs of slowing down.


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## Amala (Oct 14, 2009)

*Chewing Havs*

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Rebecca, I can really identify with your problem. My Zamala will be a year Jan.30. Here a few ideas I have had success with with her.
Chewing and shoes: Each of us in the house donated a pair of over the hill shoes or ones you would only wear in backyard. They have your smell. I put them by her toys. It took her a bit but pretty soon she got into chewing them. She uses them in different ways: play, when she is upset with someone and sometimes she just sleeps by them.
Kleenex's especially used is another favorite. My son is a vet. He has always said that to our dogs our shoes, kleenex, purse items, anything which has your smell on it is like carrying a picture of you. 
I try to put bitter in garbage cans to try to keep her away from kleenex.
Zamala gets worse on the above if she feels ignored. Havs are very smart and do need to have their brains stimulated. I try to switch her toys. I put some away after a few days and then pull others out. She seems to act like she just got new toys. 
I do have other tips on walking, different ways to keep their mind challenged and a few others. Unfortunately, my time at this time is a bit crazy. 
But with the Holidays etc. does not leave alot of time. But as has been said " I will be back" :)) 
I want to thank the Forum for all its help to Zamala and myself. Your all are such kind, helpful and supportive individuals. I am blessed I found you. May all have wonderful Holidays and a New Year full of love, joy and good health. with great appreciation, Amala


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## VS_Mark (Sep 12, 2010)

Sounds like your dog wants you to buy even more shoes!  That's never a bad thing. Kidding, I can imagine the destructive part is frustrating.

Tango's never been a shoe eater. Happy (poodle) seems to love to eat garbage (yuck!) but otherwise is usually pretty good.

I'd say go for more toys, try and distract a bit. Sometimes I find that Happy's reasons for eating things is that she's bored (she's competing with a newborn!)

Mark


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

It is true that Ms. Tuesday also does her worst when she's bored or I'm not paying attention to her. They can be too smart for their own (our) good.


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## becks (Oct 18, 2010)

I love the comment from Amal.... "that to our dogs our shoes, kleenex, purse items, anything which has your smell on it is like carrying a picture of you" 

That is awesome!


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## jetsetgo! (Aug 3, 2010)

I have my own bag/shoe fetish, so I feel for you, *becks*!

I'm interested in the advice your are getting. This will be an important training point for in my household as well.

Happy New Year!


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## Amala (Oct 14, 2009)

Happy New to alleace:
I hope this finds all well.

I wanted to give a few more ideas to deal with the "chewing" Havs I think for all of us this is a very frustrating behavior.:frusty:

The use of hot sauce was mentioned. This can be very successful. In our situation, Zama now likes hot sauce. I was trying to figure out my unique Hav tastes and came to what i think is possibly the answer. Just as we all have different response to hot foods so do dogs. Different peppers have different degrees of heat. Most of American peppers are not as strong as others.

I have moved to wasabi. It is the green hot paste you get in a Japanese restaurant. This is very hot plus you can make it in paste form so it does not drip all over. If you make just a little at a time it is "very" hot plus has an odor. Zama seems to be very respectful of this new "hot" paste. I suggest using very little at first to see how you sweetie does and if you need to use a little more you can always add.

I have not as yet tried it on shoes, or handbags so I would advise checking it out before using on a less important item first 

Let me know how this does for anyone who may try this. Oh, you get wasabi in a can or dry form and then add water. This makes it possible to make a little at time. The fresher it is the stronger it is. If anyone has a head cold, wasabi will clear your sinuses out quickly including your eyes


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