# chewing wood



## BanJojo (Dec 17, 2008)

Can this harm them? She really likes it, esp. when it's covered in snow and ice. We heat with wood, so there's not shortage (and also no way to hide it from her)


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## Snoppykins (Dec 19, 2008)

I do not think it will hurt your dog but I am not sure.

Dogs chew wood, I believe their is calcuim or something in it??

If your furniture is wood go ahead and put clear tape around where the pup can reach 'while the pup is not watching you' to head off any indoor problems. Pup may still take a go at it but it might help you save your wood till you can tape it more


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## BanJojo (Dec 17, 2008)

I'm not worried about the furniture, we don't really have anything nice enough to do that to, it's just our cord wood and wood scraps and kindling that she likes to chew, especially right when it comes inside and has snow and ice on it. As long as she doesn't get splinters in her mouth or anything, I'm fine with it.


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## Snoppykins (Dec 19, 2008)

OK 

I hope you get more info since I am not helping


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## myminpins (Dec 20, 2008)

I'd certainly not encourage it since it could have splinters. Would you give her raw bones to chew on? My puppy loves to chew on his marrow bones and prefers them to anything else, including socks, slippers, wood, etc. 

I know dogs chew sticks all the time and such so I don't know for sure if it's a problem though.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

My lab chewed on soft sticks all his life. He did not ingest the wood, and the sticks didn't splinter. It was his favorite solitary recreation and the vet always talked about how good his teeth were.

Avoid any kind of treated wood or hardwood that splinters. If you see evidence that your dog is ingesting significant quantities, you may want to discourage it.

I had to put chicken wire around our wood pile because Molly would leave dozens of logs all over the yard (in addition to those other "logs.")


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

I'm not a wood burner but I think I read or saw somewhere that when burning wood sometimes the smoke has harmful stuff in it(I really don't have a clue) but would it be posible with acid rain and pollution etc that there could be that a long time chewing could have possible effects. Just throwing it in to confuse the issue a tad.


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## Celeste Cornell (Jan 30, 2009)

Wood chewing is detrimental to your horse because it can cause splinters to become imbedded between his teeth or in his gums, but even worse splinters can get swallowed and cause havoc within his stomach and intestines, potentially leading to an increased chance of colic.


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## Harley-and-Dakota (Feb 1, 2009)

It's not a good habit. I have horses and dogs, and chewing wood isn't good. It can give them splinters in their mouth, wear down their teeth, and I would try giving your dog something else to chew on, like a chew toy.


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## Boo & Hercules (Nov 20, 2008)

I have 2 small dogs. After reading some advice in these forums I put together a toy box for them so that they have plenty of toys and know where they are so they stay entertained. They are hardly ever home alone because they come to work with me everyday. They also get regular playtime, etc. My concern is that they chew on the wood work in the house. I have tried the bitter apple spray and that works, but it is basically impossible to spray down all the woodwork in the house on a regular basis. It also can't be good for the wood. It seems like any little spot I miss the dogs find and chew on. They have lots of chew toys and chew on those as well. Any ideas on how to break this habit or ideas on why they are continuing to do this ever though they have chew toys and attention?
Thanks


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

I have had dogs that have chewed wood.. Atka would if she had access to it and sometimes does when we are out on walks. Her stools never show that she has eaten it. It seems harmless to her.

I have a neighbor with two labs who do what RonE's dog did. He is forever picking up the yard and restacking the wood along with removing those other logs. He has been there for 2 years and his dogs both appear very healthy. 

I think that this is one of those common sense things. If the stools are filled with wood fibers or you notice issues with teeth and gums, they you need to worry about it and (somehow) deal with it. Of course, no treated wood, but again, common sense... 

Dogs have very different digestive systems from horses.


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## jbray01 (Dec 26, 2007)

ok first things first, there's a little immature little kid inside that giggled at this thread title.

ok *grows up*
i agree with previous posters. My dog occasionally chews on twigs etc outside, but i try to discourage it since i don't know where its been. i would especially discourage chewing on wooden furniture because imo theres a higher chance that yor dog could break off larger chunks, and if the wood is treated, varnished, polished etc, it could be harmful...

i would try and divert your dog's chewing elsewhere.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Wally had (has?) a wood fetish. He used to gnaw on the corner of this stand I got from IKEA.

He probably would chew on twigs and stuff. In fact, once we were resting during a walk and a twig was nearby. He grabbed it and started gnawing on it.

I wondered if it would be okay for him to do so (would give some variety to his chew toys) - sounds like it might not be a good idea.


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

I'm going to have a stronger opinion on this because of personal experience. I had a dog who died because he chewed sticks -- the splinters did a lot of damage to his stomach etc. And I don't let our dog chew sticks now because she's gotten them wedged between her upper teeth twice now. Luckily, I was able to pry her mouth open and get the twig piece out, but she was in great pain and so was I after dealing with all those sharp gnashing teeth.

Given the potential dangers, there's no reason to let a dog chew wood when there are so many good alternatives out there. Yes, I went through a lot of bitter apple spraying down moldings and stair rails every day when she was younger, but she got it eventually. I got to the point that I could spray pretty much every reachable wood surface in the house in under 10 minutes before I left her alone. Ya do whatcha gotta do!

Here are a lot more reasons to avoid sticks/wood:

http://petcare.suite101.com/article.cfm/vets_say_playing_fetch_with_a_stick_is_dangerous


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