Ugh! spaz'a new anoying lil habit

[LizzyA2]

as soon as spaz was able to jump he decided that my collapsible clothes hamper was his fav spot to nap.. normally i dont mind.... except i just looked over from where i'm sitting at my computer to discover he'd completely shredded a pair of my underwear & was well at work on destroying the crotch or one of my Leotards (i'm a dancer & Daughter of a Dance teacher)!! I've had to move all of my Clothes Baskets & hampers up on top of Chairs &/or boxes/end tables to keep him from destroying my undergarments & dance wear, As a result my room looks horribly messy/trashy.. is there anything i can do besides this to keep/prevent him from eating/chewing underwear?

[sheila and Misty]

Ahh-probably not untill you teach him there is not a place to sleep and maybe spray something he doesnt like the smell of near them-that might work! they kindof all seem to go through that phase.. if the laundry is withing reac, I said its pretty much inevitable -cant you store it in something with a lid? or in your closet? If noy how bout a hook on the baclk of the bathroom door and hand a bag or sack?.

[pkcrossley]

yep, looks like you didn't check out lists of things cairns love to destroy, shred, etc. dirty laundry is at the top --yummy! clean laundry isn't really safe either, once a dog has learned to identity clothes in general as good chew toys after he encounters dirty laundry for the first time. get a stiff hamper with a closed top, or get one of those laundry bags that you can hang way up out of reach. when my dog was a puppy i lost all kinds of beloved clothes by just being lazy about where i put them. my dog destroys less now, but if i forget there will still be casualities. just lost a pair of pajamas last week.

if it helps any, he is probably so enthusiastic about chewing up these things because they smell like you. once you are done being flattered, get the equipment and/or the habits that will save your clothes. it isn't that hard once you get used to it.

and do check out the threads relating to chewing. there is a very very long list of things spaz will eventually get to if you don't take proper measures. glasses, credit cards, tv remotes, ipods... you get the idea.

[hallswel]

All my Cairns if they get a sock, hose, or underwear love to play chase.....and we always run after them. I would just try prevent defense for now and get a hamper with a lid. As they get older, 4 or 5 years old , you will probably be fine.

[rileyboy]

My old cairn did that too. I just had to hide the laundry basket until she was more mature. Find a solution and market it...you'll be rich!

[jimnconnie]

Here the hamper is in the closet. That works (unless they learn to slide the door open!!).

[DawnandTuk-tuk]

We have very tall hampers that Tuk can't reach into. Mine all fall prey on laundry day when all the clothes are on the floor to be done, I try to do undergarmet loads first. I've had some very expensive pieces fall to his sneaky little tactics. He always waits till I'm distracted and then quietly slips over to the laundry and chews away. Since he's always at my feet it doesn't take me long to notice his absence, but then again it doesn't take him long to destroy my clothes!

I, like pkcrossley, try to think of it as a sign of affection.

[Napi'smom]

I will get better as time goes by, all my fleece jackets have no zipper as a result of my Napoleon being obcessed with them when he was a puppy!!

[LizzyA2]

unfortunately i cant hide my hampers & such in the closet... i dont have one. the "guest room" in the basement was converted into my room when i moved back in with my parents a year ago after a nasty split with my ex fiance. there's no closet, just a clothes rack on the wall thats jam-packed full of cold costumes & prom dresses, & jackets so all of my stuff is in the 2 small dressers & in baskets, as theres no where else to put it.

[Cairnmania]

I think you need to invest in closed storage of some kind. No amount of training is going to help - young dogs of any breed will chew - and they all have their personal favorites!

I know destruction is aggravating, but many dogs also ingest clothing - socks and undergarments are popular The potential cost of surgery to remove an item that does not exit of its own accord is a lot more expensive than buying some cheap storage.