Break through..

I have had problems with Tara, she is a chewer,or should I say down right destructive..So I have been using her cage,when I go out and at night.Couple of days ago I started to trust her and started going out for short periods leaving her out.she was fine. Lastnight I left the cage door open,came down this morning, she had not chewed anything.I am so pleased she seems to have got through her chewey stage.

having a chewer can be a nightmare and thats the time when a cage comes in useful ...many years a go someone i knew had a pup that chewed everything in sight my friend bought a cage but thought it was cruel to shut the pup away ......... am sorry to say the pup chewed a chair leg in the night and chocked on the splinterd wood and died .....so i think using a cage for such a pup could have been a life saver ......

I have never used one before, but must admit it has been a godsend.Tara is the only dog i have had that chewed..

poor pup

My Barney is a really bad chewer - I wish I had introduced a crate but I decided against it - he has completley eaten the windowsill 3 coffee tables chewed a couple of holes in the sofa....

Luckily we have managed to get him over it now - fingers crossed


Well Done Tara

well done

i always think a crate is safer if a pup can't be trusted ..... at least if i have to pop out i don't have to worry about what i will find when i get home .........well done on the break through

well done moli how old is Tara? Max can be a bit destructive but only in the day and if we go out before we walk him. he doesnt do it at night so he isnt too bad

oh what a clever girl tara is mine are all fine in the house but wee george is a b---er in the car he has chewed the back shelf the flooring the blind oh! and thats when I am in the car as well little devil he just gets so excited

Tara' 8 months now,she was funny, she seemed to chew more when I was in the house,once I was in the room with her!!!!

When they do this it is not normally excitement it is stress.

It can be excitement but that is rare, most car aversion and sickness or destruction is not based on motion sickness but on the first journey they ever took in the car which was to remove them from mother and litter mates. No wonder they sometimes feel stressed. Try this.

Car sickness/anxiety is mainly caused through stress not motion or balance problems. It has been estimated that 95% of carsickness and anxiety cases are related to stress normally caused on that first journey when the puppy is first taken from the litter to your home.

This has to be one of the most traumatic times in a dog’s life, when it is separated from its littermates. Suddenly it’s on it’s own without the comfort of the mother or siblings and the first thing we do is put it in a car. Therefore it is not altogether surprising that future car journeys can induce fear and stress sometimes resulting in the dog being sick or anxious or causing destruction in the car.

The solution is relatively easy. Firstly with the engine switched off feed the dog it’s meals in the car, you can sit in with it during this time after a day or so feed the dog with the engine running then run the car round the block a day after that

If the dog is carsick calculate how long it takes for the dog to become sick and find a place to exercise the dog that you can drive to it before the dog becomes physically sick.

If possible have someone in the car that can feed titbits to the dog. But do not sympathise with the dog as this will only fuel the fear Keep him distracted by titbits and play during the journey to the park. Then do all the things you normally do play ball, run, hide etc. You don’t have to stay long just long enough for the dog to enjoy itself. On the journey home do the same thing as on the way out, distracting the dog from the journey itself.

If possible repeat several times a day. Once the dog is happy and even eager to go in the car then lengthen the journey to approaching the time when the dog was normally sick, then gradually increase the journey to 35/40 minute.
if there are no signs of distress then you probably have the problem sorted.

Repetition is the key to these types of problems, overcoming the dogs initial stress and fear little by little till it takes away the original concern that was causing the sickness/anxiety.


Stan