We have a 3 year old English Bull terrier called Alice who is a content and fairly well behaved member of the family (well she is a bull terrier after all!). However, if she ever manages to get hold of anyones shoes, coats, socks, jeans etc etc, she systematically eats them. No just a bit a chew, actually eats them! As a result we have to remove visitors shoes, coats etc as soon as they walk in the door and whisk them away to a secure locked room so that they don't inadvertantly leave them lying around & she gets her teeth into them.
We now have hook & eye locks on all our the rooms in the house as she has cost us something in the region of 200-300GBP in eaten clothes!
If anyone has any ideas they would be greatfully received!!
Eating Things other than food!!!
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Other than being UBER tidy, and providing her with things she CAN chew up and eat (large raw bones, suitable dog toys), i dont think there is much else you can do...
Unless shes doing this for a reason other than 'im a bull terrier and i can', ie boredom or insecurity.
Does she favour items that smell strongly of you?
Does she eat those when she cant get to you?
If that fits, then it may be that shes insecure without you.... could still be that even if you are there if for whatever reason the bond between you is not so strong.
Could be an attention seeking thing - she grabs something, you come running....
I suspect givent hat she actually EATS the things, its just because she enjoys eating things in which case prevention and providing her with suitable things is all you can really do.
Shes not the first BT to enjoy eating things other dogs regard as inedible.
Em
Unless shes doing this for a reason other than 'im a bull terrier and i can', ie boredom or insecurity.
Does she favour items that smell strongly of you?
Does she eat those when she cant get to you?
If that fits, then it may be that shes insecure without you.... could still be that even if you are there if for whatever reason the bond between you is not so strong.
Could be an attention seeking thing - she grabs something, you come running....
I suspect givent hat she actually EATS the things, its just because she enjoys eating things in which case prevention and providing her with suitable things is all you can really do.
Shes not the first BT to enjoy eating things other dogs regard as inedible.
Em
How does she react when you propose a trade?
Say she gets a shoe and you offer her a nice replacement, say a hollow marrow bone filled with peant butter and cream cheese which she can lick out of the bone? Will she drop the shoe for the trade-in?
When does she do that?
Does she do it when unattended or when she is not the center of attention?
Before feeding or after?
Has she always done this or started at a later stage in her life, e.g. after puppyhood, after her first season or something like that?
What/how do you feed her?
Maybe she needs to "tear" a bit more, can you feed her bigger lumps of tripe for instance or a turkey leg to make her eating a bit more challenging?
I would like to get to the bottom of this if she were my dog as it is dangerous, fabrics and leather can block and twist her stomach and put her in severe danger but in order to stop her the best thing would be to find out WHY.
Bea
Say she gets a shoe and you offer her a nice replacement, say a hollow marrow bone filled with peant butter and cream cheese which she can lick out of the bone? Will she drop the shoe for the trade-in?
When does she do that?
Does she do it when unattended or when she is not the center of attention?
Before feeding or after?
Has she always done this or started at a later stage in her life, e.g. after puppyhood, after her first season or something like that?
What/how do you feed her?
Maybe she needs to "tear" a bit more, can you feed her bigger lumps of tripe for instance or a turkey leg to make her eating a bit more challenging?
I would like to get to the bottom of this if she were my dog as it is dangerous, fabrics and leather can block and twist her stomach and put her in severe danger but in order to stop her the best thing would be to find out WHY.
Bea
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
- Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar/Mark Twain
- Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar/Mark Twain
Thanks for the reponses. I will try and answer the questions for you:
1. Proposing a trade usually works although i am mindful that the may be rewarding her for pinching things that aren't hers.
2. The timing of the chewing is not consistent. More opportunist. Sometimes when we're in, sometimes when we're out. Sometimes out of our sight and sometimes deftly picking things up from under our noses!! She once pinched a sock out of the rucksack of my friends daughter whilst the bag was sat on the floor next her.
3. She has always done this from being a puppy.
4. She has complete dry food & meat/leftovers to keep give her variety. In addition we regularly give her hide bones to keep her busy.
She is a lovely natured dog that we have have had from a puppy and bought from a good breeder. Whilst i know that the breed are renowned for their bizarre appetites, we have a friend who owns her "aunt" and she does not chew at all.
We have seen no signs of anxiety when we go out. In fact she knows the routine and is normally asleep in bed when we go out. She s never left for more that 6 hrs and when we do get in she is laid out in her bed!
I'm stumped!
1. Proposing a trade usually works although i am mindful that the may be rewarding her for pinching things that aren't hers.
2. The timing of the chewing is not consistent. More opportunist. Sometimes when we're in, sometimes when we're out. Sometimes out of our sight and sometimes deftly picking things up from under our noses!! She once pinched a sock out of the rucksack of my friends daughter whilst the bag was sat on the floor next her.
3. She has always done this from being a puppy.
4. She has complete dry food & meat/leftovers to keep give her variety. In addition we regularly give her hide bones to keep her busy.
She is a lovely natured dog that we have have had from a puppy and bought from a good breeder. Whilst i know that the breed are renowned for their bizarre appetites, we have a friend who owns her "aunt" and she does not chew at all.
We have seen no signs of anxiety when we go out. In fact she knows the routine and is normally asleep in bed when we go out. She s never left for more that 6 hrs and when we do get in she is laid out in her bed!
I'm stumped!
LOL im not!
Shes doing it because she enjoys it. Pure and simple.
All you can do here, bearing in mind you'll never train her to not enjoy it the same as youd never train a kid to hate chocolate etc, is to manage it.
So practice UBER tidyness and give her really rewardign things she CAN chew on.
If you put her meals into a superlarge kong (the biggest one they do, in black), that will help as seh will have to chew adn work at that to get the food out.
Give her some more kongs with frozen stuff in, frozen meat stock would do, get creative!
Big raw meaty bones, the huge ones that look like they come from an elephant but i think are slightly more boringly, cow related, freeze them and give them like that, will tkae a LOT of work to get t hrough.
Rawhide doesnt take that long to eat but disturbingly it tends to turn itno a horrid gluey swallowable lump and serious chewers have had problems with blockages from it.
Other than that there isnt much you can do. Teaching her to swap wont teach her that stealing is rewarded, it just teaches her that giving things to you are rewarded so carry on with that, and otherwise practice minimalist living!
Em
Shes doing it because she enjoys it. Pure and simple.
All you can do here, bearing in mind you'll never train her to not enjoy it the same as youd never train a kid to hate chocolate etc, is to manage it.
So practice UBER tidyness and give her really rewardign things she CAN chew on.
If you put her meals into a superlarge kong (the biggest one they do, in black), that will help as seh will have to chew adn work at that to get the food out.
Give her some more kongs with frozen stuff in, frozen meat stock would do, get creative!
Big raw meaty bones, the huge ones that look like they come from an elephant but i think are slightly more boringly, cow related, freeze them and give them like that, will tkae a LOT of work to get t hrough.
Rawhide doesnt take that long to eat but disturbingly it tends to turn itno a horrid gluey swallowable lump and serious chewers have had problems with blockages from it.
Other than that there isnt much you can do. Teaching her to swap wont teach her that stealing is rewarded, it just teaches her that giving things to you are rewarded so carry on with that, and otherwise practice minimalist living!
Em
Em's said it all - but like with all other training TIMING is vital. When you say
"Proposing a trade usually works although i am mindful that the may be rewarding her for pinching things that aren't hers"
then, NO.
You will tell the dog to trade and only for releasing her former "prey" will she be rewarded. You can play this out if you wish. Tell her to drop it, make sure you make eye contact and THEN praise her or offer the swap.
Dogs "think" differently from us; a few years back there was a nice story on dog thinking cruising the internet: a dog nicked a roast from a table and ate it, the only thing the dog's owner found on returning home was the plastic wrapping. He went mental and picked up the wrapping and smacked the dog's face with it and yelled and shouted at the dog.
I don't recall the exact wording but the essence of the story was the dog would think "Oh, he's mad with me because I didn't eat the wrapping, too." ...
... which makes sense in doggie terms.
I don't know whether you are going to do something about this but I for one - and I am not a tidy person - I would crate the dog when I am not about and whenever the dog starts acting up and probably looking for attention I'd "throw" her outside in the garden. Exclude her. That would be the only attention I'd give this dog.
How does she react when other dogs visit you?
Bea
"Proposing a trade usually works although i am mindful that the may be rewarding her for pinching things that aren't hers"
then, NO.
You will tell the dog to trade and only for releasing her former "prey" will she be rewarded. You can play this out if you wish. Tell her to drop it, make sure you make eye contact and THEN praise her or offer the swap.
Dogs "think" differently from us; a few years back there was a nice story on dog thinking cruising the internet: a dog nicked a roast from a table and ate it, the only thing the dog's owner found on returning home was the plastic wrapping. He went mental and picked up the wrapping and smacked the dog's face with it and yelled and shouted at the dog.
I don't recall the exact wording but the essence of the story was the dog would think "Oh, he's mad with me because I didn't eat the wrapping, too." ...
... which makes sense in doggie terms. I don't know whether you are going to do something about this but I for one - and I am not a tidy person - I would crate the dog when I am not about and whenever the dog starts acting up and probably looking for attention I'd "throw" her outside in the garden. Exclude her. That would be the only attention I'd give this dog.
How does she react when other dogs visit you?
Bea
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
- Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar/Mark Twain
- Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar/Mark Twain
Id ahve to disagree with that Bea, i dont think this dog is seeking attention by stealing and eating things.... after all shes not consistantly doign this in front of people.
She seems to just enjoy it, and whilst if it were attention seeking behaviour id agree wholeheartedly with giving her the consequence of being chucked out of the room or house for a short while, i think this will just achieve a confused dog in this case.
I would however, make sure she NEVER gets ANY attention for stealing - if you find her wtih a stolen item or see her stealing something, approach silently, remove the item or swap if you have to do it that way, for somethign she can have, and carry on as if nothing happened.
I doubt highly that chucking her out for a time out and no attention will stop her stealing though, id expect her to wander off to a corner of the garden and eat the shed or the fence or the gnomes or teh lawn instead!
Em
She seems to just enjoy it, and whilst if it were attention seeking behaviour id agree wholeheartedly with giving her the consequence of being chucked out of the room or house for a short while, i think this will just achieve a confused dog in this case.
I would however, make sure she NEVER gets ANY attention for stealing - if you find her wtih a stolen item or see her stealing something, approach silently, remove the item or swap if you have to do it that way, for somethign she can have, and carry on as if nothing happened.
I doubt highly that chucking her out for a time out and no attention will stop her stealing though, id expect her to wander off to a corner of the garden and eat the shed or the fence or the gnomes or teh lawn instead!
Em