chewing/scratching carpet

[TazTalk]

Our 6-month old has detroyed a couple of carpets. The first time he pulled the great escape, jumped out of his x-pen and got trapped in our carpeted living room. He either chewed or clawed down to the padding (not sure which since we didn't eye witness). Today he did quite a number on an area rug. So, he has a carpet fetish and makes us fearful of ever leaving him alone in carpeted areas in the future. Does anyone think that rope toys are a bad influence and that dogs may attack carpet because it's similar to these toys?

[cairnrescueleague]

Don't know, but be VERY careful. Cubby ended up in the ER when he was a pup because he chewed up a bathroom rug while my roommate at the time was supposed to be watching him. He didn't have a blockage, but some of the materials in these rugs can be toxic. No permanent harm done, but he was very sick.

[Sandi16]

I think sometimes they just smell something and they want to dig dig dig to get it. We don't have carpets downstairs, but Louie wills sometimes do this on the bed. I don't know what he smells, but he'll just dig, sometimes it even looks like he's feeling blissed out while doing it.

[tlwtheq]

Kind of off topic, but at least you don't have a bunny rabbit like

our BigWig who actually eats the carpet. We've had to lay

down temporary stuff in the room where he lives (our

functional living room) because he chewed down to

the bare floor!

[rileyboy]

I can give you hope...

I used to have a Cairn (we think it may have been a mix) and she chewed a big hole into my carpet - and I rented at the time - and a hole in my couch, and chewed my clothes, and shoes, wooden gates - anyways, you get the picture - she chewed anything and everything....and tore it to shreds. She turned out to be the best dog in the universe. I did have to keep her penned when she was younger until she got out of that phase and watch her closely when we were home - but only until she grew a little and then she just outgrew it. I think it is important not to let him get away with that if you can help it because that may reinforce the behavior. But there is still hope!

[jimnconnie]

Teething, between 4 - 7 months, can be the cause of excessive chewing. Chewing helps the baby teeth loosen and fall out, and also exercises the jaw muscles. Your carpets may have smells, from deodorizers or other chemicals, that attract Taz's interest. Chewing is natural & necessary for puppies, so you need to direct his need to appropriate objects. I doubt that there is a connection between the rope toys & carpet chewing, but does Taz have other chewable toys such as hard rubber rings, rubber bones, hard rubber balls, or nylabones? Play with him with this type of toy, offer praise when you see him chewing on them, and give him one of them if you see him showing interest in something he shouldn't be chewing. You might also try using bitter apple on the edges of your area rugs, and around the perimeter of your carpeting. If there are times when you can't supervise him, or must leave him home alone, crate him and leave him with something acceptable to chew on while you're gone. According to the book "Cairn Terriers", by Patricia Lehman, "Most Cairns outgrow this phase, but some go through a second stage of chewing between seven and twelve months." Hopefully, Taz won't be one of those, right??

[sheila and Misty]

I still stick to my hot pepper juice theory- Toby chewed the corner of a rug 2 times -I had enough-soaked it with hot pepper juice-He never touched it or any other again! sometimes they smell something good that was maybe dropped there -sometimes it could be a tiny spider . best thing-plenty of toys for distraction-will have no need to touch your things. This way has always worked well for me-Im on my 7thand 8th dog using this method. I tella you -its a winner!

[TazTalk]

Taz has plenty of toys -- he's a typical spoiled Cairn! But the day he escaped the pen, he was trapped without them. So, that was a most unusual situation. When he chewed a rug yesterday, he had 4 toys to chose from. But, he has a constant interest in the carpet. Even when we are home with him, we will catch him licking the carpet or starting to chew at it. It's strange. He also likes to lick our clothes, blankets, etc. Maybe it's a cotton addiction!?!?

[jimnconnie]

Taz has plenty of toys -- he's a typical spoiled Cairn! But the day he escaped the pen, he was trapped without them. So, that was a most unusual situation. When he chewed a rug yesterday, he had 4 toys to chose from. But, he has a constant interest in the carpet. Even when we are home with him, we will catch him licking the carpet or starting to chew at it. It's strange. He also likes to lick our clothes, blankets, etc. Maybe it's a cotton addiction!?!?

Because dogs don't have fingers to feel things, the way they investigate things is by smelling, and licking them. That's not so bad if it doesn't escalate into chewing, like it has with your rug & carpeting. Just having toys available won't be enough to deter Taz from chewing, you will have to stop him when you see him licking the carpet, tell him"NO!", and play with a toy with him to distract him. When he is playing with the toy, praise him & offer him a treat. As Sheila suggested, the hot-pepper juice may work if the bitter apple doesn't.

[hallswel]

Out of my six, when Harley was with me she would destroy carpet. She would pull each strand out. After the first time I put down some carpet squares over the area, I watched her and she would first dig with her paws, fibers flying then she would pull with her teeth. She now lives with a wonderful young girl who is 15, her new owner sends me email often and she tells me Harley loves to pull apart her bed spread so she still sleeps in a crate at night.

Harley always chewed more than the others. She would destroy a bone quickly. I think she really enjoys chewing.

Jamie who I bred lives in CA and Pauline says she will chew up a hoof in short order. She has several other Cairns but Jamie loves to chew and she keeps her supplied with hoofs.

None of her other Cairns chew like that nor do mine. I think that it just happens to be something they enjoy.

[Puddlesmama]

Does she do this when you are gone or at home?

It may be just puppy stage. But it could also be separation anxiety..

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/3...ell.html?cat=53

http://www.dogaggressiontraining.com/dog-s...on-anxiety.html

There is thousands of sites on google to check out.

I would be proactive now and instill some of the training treatments they have out there. That way ..if it is just a puppy stage it can bring her out of the destructive behavior and also keep in check the fact it could be indeed separation anxiety and nip it in the bud early. Good Luck!

[DawnandTuk-tuk]

Tuk loves to lick carpet, chew clothes (we're still working on it), and when he was a puppy many other things like a brand new sofa chair, rugs his blankets, chewing carpet and clothes ect. For the most part it was a puppy thing and rope bones helped him with his teething. I would think if Taz escaped and did it, he didn't have any toys so he was bored and found something to do...it just wasn't what you wanted him to do. Now he thinks these things are all very fun so I agree with the other posters, get something he doesn't like (sour apple spray or hot pepper juice) to put on things you can and go back to alot of supervision for the rest.

Also, if he escaped the pen it may be time to recheck your pen. Is it getting too small for him? Is it in a place where he's found a way to get out? Things like that. At 6 months he could do alot of damage in a short period of time so it'll be important his pen is VERY secure. Cairns are tricky!

[TazTalk]

Thanks for all the feedback. They day Taz escaped his pen, my daughter had re-arranged the setup, and I think that's how he got out. We went out and purchased a taller Xpen, and I think it's pretty secure. The problem with Bitter Apple or something similar, I'd have to spray it all over the house, because he is interested in ALL carpet! He still has a puppy tooth and the back adult teeth are still growing, so maybe when the teeth are all in, he won't want to be so destructive!?!

[bradl]

A cautionary note on the ex-pen. If he just managed once to leap out from the shorter ex-pen, you'll be fine with a taller pen. If it happens that Taz learns to climb, it won't matter how tall the ex-pen is as they can climb six feet as easily as three. Fortunately, you can get, or make, lids for ex-pens.

True puppy story. We had three boy puppies somewhere in the 4-6 week age (I don't recall exactly, but they were still together in a big ex-pen ranch during the day). We always put a crate in there as a playhouse and had already learned not to put it near the ex-pen walls as it could be used as a step-stool. To be extra careful we even had a sheet draped and clamped over the top of the ex-pen to serve as a lid. These are just wee puppies after all, so figured a sheet would be enough to discourage any climbers.

Came home to find a plant-pot knocked over and dirt all over the place. But all three puppies were in the ex-pen. Little dirty paw-prints on the puppy pad. Wha? Turned out one of them had found a corner where the sheet was loose and had climbed out, had some fun, and then climbed back into the ex-pen. He could only have done it at that one loose corner. From a peeing and pooping perspective we were lucky he could get back in! What a clever little stinker. We added more clamps to the 'roof' after that.

[TazTalk]

Thanks for the story, Bradl. That's pretty wild -- especially that it got back into the pen. I am so looking forward to the day that Taz can be a free range Cairn. This coming home every day for lunch and not leaving the house for more than 6 hours at a time is getting old!!