How do I stop Tommy chewing?

Tommy is now nearly 7 months old and he is doing great apart from a nasty habit of chewing and destroying things overnight. He has eaten 3 pairs of shoes and now a leather chair in the kitchen. I move anything I can overnight, to limit what he can chew, so he has now turned his attention to the furniture and skirting boards. This is recent behaviour, he never really chewed anything, it's only happened in the last couple of weeks. He is walked twice a day, he plays with us and with Charlie our basset. Nothing in his routine has changed, so how do I stop him? I can't crate him, because he tears at the crate and cries all night and I worry he may injure himself trying to get out. Please help, this is getting expensive!

Well, when my boy was young... he (nearly) literally ate the house. He damaged a table beyond repair, he damaged a couch and put a giant hole in it, he ripped up a rug, damaging it beyond repair, he destroyed several pairs of shoes, a Christmas wreath, he also chewed to shreds a $300 pair of glasses that I still have not been able to replace, and chewed to death many other items (along with knocking things down and breaking them).

All in all, I feel your pain. I called him the Puppinator (Terminator) because he tore up so many things. I wasn't giving him enough attention apparently. I started playing with him more instead of just tossing him a chew, and the chewing went down some. Then, he got older... and it stopped! I was ready to die... he destroyed SO many things and I thought it would never stop.

Try playing with him more, taking him for longer walks, that kind of thing. As for the crate, my dude YELLED like that and tried to escape, but it was ignored and he eventually piped down. I stopped using the crate once he got too giant for it, and he was fine... but when he was younger, constantly destroying things and peeing, he had to stay in there when I could not watch him.

He didn't hurt himself trying to escape. Dogs are not usually that stupid and once something hurts (like getting a paw stuck in a grate of the crate) they don't do it again. A crate might be needed if the dog is truly destroying things when left alone. To let him chew random things is as dangerous as crating him or more so, so I'd consider a crate along with more playtime... it helped me!

This is the thread I posted about it. He was driving me nuts!!

I am the PUPPINATOR!!! (pic heavy)

Tommy is a working cocker/lab mix. I had planned to take him to agility and fly ball to keep him active and amused. The vet has told me that I can't do that, because Tommy has moderate to severe hip dysplasia. We have also been told that walking him is fine, but we have to sensible. Physically, he has improved, he can now climb on sofas and beds, he couldn't before. I don't know if it is boredom on a night, or the fact he is shut in the kitchen and can't get to me. Where ever I am during the day, Tommy is there next to me.

Ah, I had planned on doing agility with my guy as when I adopted him, we thought he was Lab/BC, but he has mild hip dysplasia in his left hip (it is not bilateral yet), turned out to be totally non agile anyway as he's Lab/Great Pyr and is nearly 90 lbs and GOOFY, and it's out of the question for him, as well. So again, I feel you there.

Sometimes they just get separation anxiety and start destroying things, this was not really my dude, he was just bored and teething. Is there any way Tommy can sleep in your room with you? If you put a crate in your room, maybe he won't yell.

Tommy is also nearing the age of sexual maturity, so assuming he's not neutered, perhaps that has something to do with it? As for the hip dysplasia, the vet told us to use Glucosamine and chondriotin, which he will be on for life. He also takes fish oil and vitamin c for his allergies.

When Nigredo would stretch, he'd strength his right leg fine, but the left leg would not stretch out. On the glucosamine, both legs stretch just fine. He's never had any real movement issues, he runs and jumps like a normal Labrador. He does "bunny hop" up stairs and up hills sometimes, though.

For dogs with severe dysplasia and pain, a THR may be needed, which is horribly invasive and expensive, but can be very useful if the dog becomes really stiff and experiences a lot of pain. But surely you know all this, good luck with Tommy

Hello Susan your puppy has been going through the process of teething /teeth settling into the gums and he needs to chew things . This phase should pass in time

It is important to make sure he has safe things to chew on
to help him (but nothing small he can choke on) and it is best not to leave him alone with chew toys.

all of mine have been crate trained, all of mine have cried to a degree, usually after the first few nights they stop. I always use the crate during the day and make it a fun place to be, give them kongs, feed them in there, pop them in for a few minutes at a time etc it would probably be a good idea to get him used to a crate given that your lad has HD so if he ever needs to have strict rest using a crate won't be a new issue. Have you tried putting something in his crate that smells of you? i find that often helps
with regard his exercise, given the mix he is i suspect he will be a bright boy, you could mentally tire him as oppose to physically tire him, teach him to find toys that are hidden, feed him from kongs, busy buddies, treat balls etc, another thing my behaviourist got me to do with my girl was get a kids ball pool, throw a load of the dogs toys in there or if you want the plastic balls that the kids have in the ball pools and scatter the food in there, the dog has to search for the food instead of finding it in his bowl (it works great if you feed dry food, not good if you feed wet)
Have you sprayed the skirting boards with the bitter spray? sometimes works although 2 of mine have had quite a taste for it, hopefully he will grow out of the chewing

What are you feeding him? If it is a complete dry food it could be too higher protein. Makes him more hyper than usual. Especially being a pup.

Don't get me wrong i know puppies chew, we had many casualties when our basset was a pup. We effectively toddler proofed the house with him. Every night I make sure nothing is in Tommys reach, this has stopped him chewing shoes etc. but furniture for me is a big no no. He has loads of toys, usually torn to shreds quite quickly. Should I put the chairs in another room or will he just move on to the table!

Overnight chewing is maybe down to stress at separation from his people. If you let him sleep on a dog bed beside yours overnight, he will probably settle down and not chew at all.

How long does he cry for at night in a crate? Sometimes it may take a little longer for the pup to settle. Whenever I crate train a dog, they make a fuss then settle when I ignore the behaviour that is unacceptable.
Can you wear him out last thing at night? Maybe having him worn out will help him settle quicker at night and sleep deeper.
When Tynan was a pup, he decided he liked to eat the walls. He literally chewed through to the insulation. I made a past with flour water and hot pepper/chili powder. One taste of that and he never ate the walls again.