Please Help

[Dee_Marie]

Hi, I have a two year old American Bulldog/American Pit Bull Terrier mix, Piper. Piper is a very active dog full of zest and love life in general. Piper is still chewing up everything. She has a kong, jolly ball, several other types of balls and a puzzle for meals. My mom is over it. Every day she is chewing up something whether it is something from the trash, a toy or something else. I thought she would grow out of it, but she hasn't.
Another problem I have is growling. She growls when I tell her to go to bed, get off a bed, a couch. I try to enthusiastically get her off the furniture using my voice, but she won't move. I tried going beside or behind her and snapping my figures telling her off and receive a growl. I grab her collar as a last resort and pull her off receiving growls.

[Dibbythedog]

Can you give him some chew toys that are especially made for made for bull terrier types?

Be very careful about how you handle your dog ,you need avoid pulling on his collar.
Try using positive reinforcement training .

[Erica]

could you give us an overview of her schedule each day?

It doesn't sound like she has many chew toys - balls are fun to play with, but aren't things most dogs seek out to chew on. Things like cow hooves, bully sticks, himalayan chews, antlers, and raw meaty bones are highly enjoyable chews for many dogs.

Aside from offering nice chews, you will need to supervise her, and put her somewhere dog-proof when you can't. If you get distracted easily like I do, it may be best to keep her on a leash tied to your waist for a while when you're not specifically watching her. That way, if she starts trying to chew on something you don't want her to, you can give her an appropriate toy instead.

For the couch thing - does she have a comfortable bed on the floor?

First thing to try would just be luring her off with a treat.

If that doesn't work well, make getting off the couch a trick! Sometime when she's not on the couch, encourage her to jump onto the couch. Once she is on the couch, praise her. Then playfully encourage her to get off the couch (making sure you aren't blocking her path with your body - tons of people stand directly in front of the dog and ask them to get off the couch...how are they supposed to do that without plowing through you?). If you need to, toss a treat onto the ground. Once she thinks this jumping-on-jumping-off thing is fun, start putting names to the behaviors. Make sure youndon't use "down" if that's the cue you use for "lay down!"

Let me know if you want any of this explained further/differently!

[JudyN]

Also, for now, if you think she will be reluctant to get off the couch or bed (let's face it, if you're tired and the bed is warm and comfy and smells of your loved ones, you would be reluctant to shift), call her in a happy voice from the other end of the house (kitchen works best ). Then make sure she's well rewarded when she comes.

[Dee_Marie]

Can you give him some chew toys that are especially made for made for bull terrier types?

Be very careful about how you handle your dog ,you need avoid pulling on his collar.
Try using positive reinforcement training .

If you know of any tuff chew toys I would love to know about them.
She has a kong, a bone and she chews on her erratic chuck ball.
I know not to pull on the collar, but when I've tried using treats and a happy fun voice and she still doesn't listen it is my last choice.
I use only Positive reinforcement, it is the only way I have ever trained her.

[Dee_Marie]

could you give us an overview of her schedule each day?

It doesn't sound like she has many chew toys - balls are fun to play with, but aren't things most dogs seek out to chew on. Things like cow hooves, bully sticks, himalayan chews, antlers, and raw meaty bones are highly enjoyable chews for many dogs.

Aside from offering nice chews, you will need to supervise her, and put her somewhere dog-proof when you can't. If you get distracted easily like I do, it may be best to keep her on a leash tied to your waist for a while when you're not specifically watching her. That way, if she starts trying to chew on something you don't want her to, you can give her an appropriate toy instead.

For the couch thing - does she have a comfortable bed on the floor?

First thing to try would just be luring her off with a treat.

If that doesn't work well, make getting off the couch a trick! Sometime when she's not on the couch, encourage her to jump onto the couch. Once she is on the couch, praise her. Then playfully encourage her to get off the couch (making sure you aren't blocking her path with your body - tons of people stand directly in front of the dog and ask them to get off the couch...how are they supposed to do that without plowing through you?). If you need to, toss a treat onto the ground. Once she thinks this jumping-on-jumping-off thing is fun, start putting names to the behaviors. Make sure youndon't use "down" if that's the cue you use for "lay down!"

Let me know if you want any of this explained further/differently!

First off thank you so much for your reply.
She does have a bone. I always keep a two bones in the house, one for her and one for my other dog Missy.
I spend a lot of time in my bedroom and I don't want to keep her in my room all the time. Despite being 5 other people in the house they don't seem to pay any attention to what she is doing. And there is no place to put her. Shut her in a room she eats the door, put her in a crate and she eats the crate.

Yes, she has a bed made from our old couch cushions. She really love to cuddle with people and my mom enjoys to cuddle with her too. I have tried a treat, but maybe a higher value one will.
I like the sound of the couch trick will have to try it out and see how it works.

[Dee_Marie]

estimated schedule
9:00 walk for 30 min.
9:30 Frisbee outside for 10-15 min.
10:00 eating hanging around the house while I get ready for work
11:00-4:40 home by herself with other dog Missy and cat Bones
4:40 little brother gets home and let's dogs out to bathroom.
6:30 I come home take her on a hour walk
7 Trick training
8 Frisbee again and some free play with Missy
9 Eat