I have a lab that is almost 2 years old and she chews nonstop. I'm not talking a

1. 53

   robynmck62posted 14 years ago

   I have a lab that is almost 2 years old and she chews nonstop. I'm not talking about shoes or...
   
   clothes or sheets, she chews furniture, window sills, door trim, she even chews holes into the sheetrock walls. She is kennel trained and is in her kennel when we are not home, but I keep her out at night, and she chews in the middle of the night, she chewed a hole in my footboard one night, and last night she chewed a hole in the wall. It is costing me a fortune to fix what she chews and I don't know what to do. Any suggestions, I know these bitter sprays won't work because she seems to not be affected by anything I have sprayed to get her to stop chewing, she has tons of toys and chew things

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2. 91

   Susie Writesposted 14 years ago

   It sounds like your dog stays in a crate during the day and you let her out at night to be with you and that is when the problems occur. You did not write about any exercise in there so I will assume she isn't getting much focused exercise.
   
   Labs can have a LOT of energy and because they are bred to be supreme retrievers, things going in the mouth is well, second nature to them. Your dog sounds terribly bored.
   
   Labs were bred to hunt in the wide open spaces. They were bred to have the stamina to hunt & retrieve in the field all day long. In order to do that job, they have to have a lot of energy reserves. Sometimes that kind of energy can come out in destructive ways if they don't get to channel it properly. Most of them need a lot more exercise and stimulation than what they get and what many other breeds do.
   
   I tried to answer this with a story about another lab with behavior issues I had in my training classes but it said my answer was too long. Basically, they walked the dog 2-3 miles a day but discovered it needed 6 miles a day in order to be calm, relaxed, and happy. When they gave it the needed exercise, their behavior problems with her ceased.   
   
   The moral of the story was, keep adding exercise until you find your dog's threshold. Once you know that, you can plan your days to incorporate adequate exercise for the dog. You may have a 2 mile dog or you may have a 6 mile dog. What is adequate for one may not be for another. From the behavior you describe, yours sounds like it needs a whole lot more than what it is getting. And likely your dog is very bright. The smarter the dog, the more stimulation it needs. Both mental and physical stimulation. So do get her out of the backyard regularly to see and experience new things. Take her to training classes for added stimulation. And exercise the beejeebers out of her and see if that does it for your dog. If your lifestyle and schedule does not allow this, consider hiring a pet sitter to come and do the job for you.
   
   Disclaimer:: My answer is assuming your dog is in good health and a veterinarian has examined her. I am addressing a behavior issue only and not a medical one. 
   
   Best of luck!

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3. 82

   Whitney05posted 14 years ago

   Labs are prone to chewing problems. They will chew and destroy everything for at least 2-3 years, some continue it throughout their life. You may just need to keep the dog kenneled when you're not watching her, which would be during the day and at night when you sleep.
   
   Definitely exercise the dog in the morning and at night. This will help reduce the energy that she has which may reduce the destructive chewing, but there's no guarantees with the breed that you have.

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