# Puppy chewing wood



## Hodge's_Buddy (Jul 20, 2011)

I have an almost 15 week old chocolate lab. Training and especially potty training are going well, we stumble now and then but he's pretty well behaved.

My question is about him chewing wood. The home we got him from said he chewed the bark off trees right from the beginning. I have some trees around my property, so now and then he finds a branch and I have let him play with them 'cause it keeps him entertained while I pick weeds or something outside. I'm starting to notice him finding pencils my daughter leaves on the floor or just now he inhaled a close-pin.

I read a post a while ago about someone letting their dog chew a whicker basket and it created scar tissue in their dog's stomach. Should I be concerned and if so how do I correct this? He has plenty of toys in the house and we keep them all in a basket. Its not like he chews and swallows wood every day, we keep a pretty good eye on him. Just once in a while he sneaks something past us.


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

Wood is not a suitable toy for a Labrador. Or any dog, especially if he/she is prone to chewing/swallowing the wood. Unfortunately, this is how many dogs end up in the ER every year. 

I would recommend cleaning up your yard and getting rid of any loose sticks. Since he is only 15 weeks old, you can not expect him to 'leave it' on his own. Do not, in any way, encourage him to chew wood. Have your children keep all wooden objects safely stored(and other things that he may be able to eat... think baby proofing but for a puppy).

If he happens to get something in his mouth that you don't want him to chew/swallow then you need to make a 'trade'. Have treats in your pocket whenever you are actively watching the puppy (ie: when hes out of his crate). Call the puppy in a high tone and show him you have a treat for him. You can substitute treat for anything rewarding (favorite toy, ball, etc). As soon as he drops whats in his mouth, give him his reward. 

Basically, the idea is to replace whatever is chewing inappropriately for something you want him to chew. So if he has a stick in his mouth, give him a nylon stick (yup they have those) or a ball. Giving him access to lots of nice toys and interactive toys will help him understand what he is and is not allowed to chew.


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## petlover84 (Aug 2, 2011)

Chewing is a normal to all dog but we should keep an eye on things that he chew. I think that wood is a not suitable for chewing. There are types of woods an grass that is poisonous to the dog. Try to give different chew toy and observe what likes best. My dog likes rag chews toys much better than rubber.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

If he is EATING the wood, you need to discourage it/take wood away from him. If he's chewing it without eating it, I don't think it's a big deal.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

You need to teach him "leave it". It is essential for all dogs.

When caught chewing some inappropriate, replace wood object (or whatever it is) with suitable chew toy or bone.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

sassafras said:


> If he is EATING the wood, you need to discourage it/take wood away from him. If he's chewing it without eating it, I don't think it's a big deal.


 I was thinking exactly that. When Caeda was that little we would let her chew on wood stuff a little bit, since her jaws weren't strong enough she wasn't getting stuff to break off very quickly. As soon as stuff broke off we would take it because when she chewed she would swallow. We did notice though about a month or more ago that she spits stuff out that isn't edible. At that point, even though we still supervise, we do let her chew big branches a bit. Now she'll even get yucky stuff on the ground and if it isn't edible, spit it out....its like she is just "feeling" it. I would bet at 15 weeks that lab puppy is swallowing everything still, but MIGHT learn eventually what not to swallow to some point. 
My suggestion is try a bully stick (or something else safe that she might love to chew) and sometimes, instead of saying "Leave it" you could say "chew this" or something. We did that partially because we felt like we were telling her to leave the entire world alone and saying "Leave it" can feel like a correction after a while. lol. Good luck, I hope you get to the point soon when you know she is spitting the splinters out because they can cause some major damage.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

It becomes a big deal when he starts chewing the legs of chairs and cabinets


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I want to double what everyone has said - Labs are chewing and eating machines ! They are the goats of the dog family. My dog opened the plastic cleanout on the side of my house, and some dogs will chew on the corner of the house. The chewing is not good for their teeth, and swallowing everything may be very bad for your wallet, if it gets caught. 

You have to puppy proof the house and the yard, just like you would for a crawling child. Don't let him eat pencils ... make a rule, because you can probably find a story where Lab & pencil = $5000 surgery. And, you have to keep close watch until he's 6 - 9 mos, or until you KNOW he's trustworthy. I do recommend a hard rubber bone, a Buster Cube, and a frozen Kong, stuffed with kibble and peanut butter. ... And, train him to Leave It ! with almost everything, except the toys that you give him.

I don't mean to sound so harsh, and many of us are much less rigid with our own dogs... but I'd prefer to err on the more rigid side, because I don't know how experienced you are.

For what it's worth, my 11 yo Lab mix stays in the back yard with a wooden fence by himself for more than 5 hours per day when the weather is nice with no incidents. Of course the weather hasn't been nice in Texas for about 3 months and counting


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

HerdersForMe said:


> It becomes a big deal when he starts chewing the legs of chairs and cabinets


I don't count that as "wood", I count it as "furniture".


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Be especially careful with sticks. We were very vigilant about keeping our pup away from them and she still got them caught in the roof of her mouth - it was terrible and I nearly lost fingers trying to pry the pieces out. Splinters can also get in their gums and cause trouble. And you never know what a dog will swallow. Better to be safe than sorry. I would put xpens around the trees to keep him out if you can't be there to redirect to something else.


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