yea you got to love em or go insane I guess

Elaine, sorry to read you're having a hard time, but well done on keeping cool, even if there were tears

I can't offer much help but you have my sympathy. If it's any help I think he chews the wheelchair arm and the Tee shirts 'cos they have the 'aromour' of people he's close too. (That's also the reason they chew socks and underwear )

Two things come to mind, first he's a rescue dog isn't he so something in his past maybe to blame and there's little you can do about that.

Second, at one year you are right at the 'chewing peak' I'm pretty sure it will get better over time.

Give him a nice cuddle and stroke him that'll make you feel better (See the other thread )

Sorry there are chewing problems.

At the moment, his teeth are probably setting into his jaw and so it's not unlikely he will be chewing. I'd say also it needs to be double checked he's not chewing for a reason (ie anxiety at being left).

I presume not, and it's unlikely, but keep this in mind.

Crates etc need to be introduced very slowly. You can do crate games to help a dog want to be in the crate. I think it's Susan Garrett who has made up a lot of these games.

Never assume a dog will have stopped chewing until at the very least 6 months after the last chewing - probably more!

As dogs who are for example stressed/bored/frustrated/etc can and will revert to whatever they found pleasant, and this can be chewing!

I agree with dog proofing a room and providing chews etc (toys aren't usually interesting on their own, they are better with humans playing too).

Stuffed kongs are good. There is a kong machine you can get which releases them every so often - great for dogs such as BCs which can learn to wait for the next release...

http://www.traininglines.co.uk/erol.html#1X0

Also your dog may need mental stimulation, so that would be for example clicker training, obedience training using rewards, or any kind of "work" he can learn to do with you.

hth a bit

Wys
x

Well done for keeping your cool. Not sure I could have! Give the crate training another go, maybe? Good luck, it WILL get better. Hopefully you'll still have a house left when it does

Aw Thanks for all the lovely replies gang. I feel ok today and Ben is on his best behaviour (so far ). The Kong machine sounds like a good idea will check it out thanks.
It just helps knowing your not on your own

big hugs, sounds like he doesn't like you to leave the room at all, Mya was a chewer, thankfully she's got out of the puppy chewing stage now, but she would never dare do it if I was in the house, she only did this when I was out.
I'm not too sure what to suggest, I've never used a crate properly so I have no advice on that but it might be a good idea so you can just pop him in there so you know that he is safe and so is your home and your sons wheelchair. Mine love knuckle bones from the butchers, keeps them busy for hours and they last a lot longer than rawhide type chews, they might be worth a go so even if you pop upstairs for 10 mins, if he gets something tasty like that, that might be enough to keep him occupied. Mine also like stuffed hoofs, they keep them busy for hours too. They are also cheap, 55p from Wilkos.

stuffed hoofs? not seen them in our Wilkos will have another look they sound delicious Thanks for all the ideas

Yeah, they look disgusting and come in various sizes, I rumage around and get the biggest ones, they are stuffed with beef flavoured filling, once they've got the filling out they still love chewing on the hoof, be warned though, they stink

Don't care about the stink if it keeps him happy I will just up the dial on the plug in air freshner

After reading all the posts, I feel very lucky (so far touch wood) as Coco who is a 13 week old boxer pup has not chewed anything!! has not wet etc house either!! maybe I am going to get a big shock soon when it all starts!!