My dogue is eating the couch HELP

[poulou]

HI guys,
sorry I haven't been on for awhile but I have been dealing with some personal stuff. Anyway, my dogue Maximus who is 8 months old has been eating the couch. First it started with the skirt which i cut off. Then he discovered that he could take a big chunk out of the pillows and found stuffing in there. Now his new challenge in life is to try and get it all out.
I put on a sheet and he chewed through that. He is such a goofy dog. Good as gold one minute and a full terror the next. I have made a serious effort to exercise him everyday to get rid of some of this energy but then he gets it in his head that he has to destroy something.
any help or consolation would be great. He does have a kennel but I think he spends that quiet time planning his next move!
tia
Rachel in Vt

[poulou]

sorry about the double post but it said I had an error and it hadn't posted, now Ihave two. Oh well it is a big problem after all! Good thing I love him like I do, my little man  p.s that picture is when he was small, to think we thought he was a handful then, now he over 100 lbs and growing by the minute
lol
Rachel in Vt

[poulou]

Oh he has the biggest crate I could find. actually when we aren't home he is good as gold. He loves attention. If I am speaking with one of the daycare moms he gets a shoe or boot and walks by holding his head up proud, like see me see me!
No he does this when I am ignoring him or trying to get stuff done, kinda like a two year old, His teacher said the couch needs to be off limits to him completely,
He also likes to eat pillows, stuffed animals, etc
He won't destroy his favorites toys like his elmos though, just our stuff
brat!
Rachel in Vt

[schelmischekitty]

we have this problem too except that diesel eats the couch cushions when we're gone!  we haven't figured out what to do yet.  it sounds like it might be his way of pouting if it's when you're ignoring him.  maybe you could try the water bottle, or bitter apple spray your couch?

[poulou]

HI
I have tried the bitter apple, it would take alot to cover the whole couch. He also ate a blanket right off my daughters bed. I swear that dogue is a dork. I will try the water bottle. Forgot all about that, maybe it will work when he tries to eat my son's shoes off his feet. Poor Jon, he bought this dogue for himself and now has no control over him. Thank goodness my husband and I have taken over. We take him to obedience class and such.
I have a question. When I spray him with water do I say anything to him?
tia
Rachel in Vt 

[schelmischekitty]

"NO" don't say their name b/c that's said to be a positive thing.  might also try the shaker cans, or a big keyring full of keys.  when he goes to chew the couch of something take a can with beans or something in it or the keyring and toss it at his feet, or near him.  then tell him "NO" and praise him when he walks away or give him a toy he can play with and say "good ______" (sorry i don't know his name)

[poulou]

thanks for the help. I will give it a try. I just took him for a nice long walk and now he is laying down. I hope he takes a good long nap so I can take a bubble bath. That dog hates not being with me. I guess it is a trait of the dogue de bordeaux's. they like to be with their people. It's a good thing I work at home or I don't know what would happen.
tia
Rachel

[schelmischekitty]

different things for different dogs!  with mine it just makes them realize i change my attention to them so they do things to get me to call their name (like open my 1 y/o's bedroom door and wake him up, silly diesel).  just like with everything, what works for one dog won't necessarily work for another!

[rayray]

how often do you walk him?  any book that you read about dogs that typically have chewing problems will say, "walk your dog twice a day for half an hour."  it works!  and i do not mean go take your dog and exercise him out in the backyard.  you have to actually put him on a leash and walk him twice a day.  also, make sure that you only have 2 toys out per dog in the house, period.  they need to be taste good toys.  such as, bones, kongs fill with goodies, bully sticks (dried beef meat that is hard and comes in a stick shape), ect.  if it tastes better than your couch then he will be more likely to chew on it.  try not to give him attention when he chews on the couch by only telling him that he did wrong ONE time with ONE word such as, NO or WRONG.  Then take him buy his collar and put him in a time out for 10-15 seconds.  after a few times of that he'll put 2 and 2 together and realize that...wow, i chew and i get stuck in a room by myself and away from my mommy. that sucks, i won't do it anymore.  that might be the big help since he seems to be doing it for attention.  really really really make an effort to walk him.  all dog owners that have ever hired me to train their dog and help out with chewing tried it and it worked....with in a week.

[poulou]

Thank you soo much for the advice. I walk him once a day. It is so hard with the daycare cause they have so many toys. Today I left to go to the store. I forgot the bag of flour on the counter and came back to five lbs of flour all over the living room.
Today when I caught him tearing up the couch I put him in his crate. Man it's hard, he weighs damn near 110 lbs. He locks his legs and wont' move. Darn dog I pulled him by the collar and the thing came off in my hand. I tried to not crack up but he's looking at me with that goofy face like" good one mom! now what!"
The dog is a brat
Rachel in Vt

[rayray]

haha! i totally understand.  my inlaws paid me to live with them for a while and work with their GS.  make sure you don't use his crate for a time out though....othe rwise he will begin to think of it as a *bad place* and you'll have an even harder time getting him to EVER go in there.  time out should be a bathroom, outside, bedroom....bas ically any room away from you.