to calico jack whose dog is chewing the hair off her rear legs....this can be either an obsessive behaviour, which is taken care of by draining energy....i.e., more exercise or it could be a food allergy, in which case, if you can't afford the allergy testing, try switching to a food that does not contain corn or wheat.....one of my shih tzus used to do that...chewed until he bled and we changed to natural choice lamb and rice and he stopped.
nothing stopped the chewing of wood with our shih tzus and we used to use a mixture of every hot sauce you can imagine.....they liked the taste. our kitchen table looked like rats had gotten to it.
we don't give them stuffed animals, because the squeaker allegedly is mimicking the sound of a wounded animal....i can't remember where i read that, might be on one of caesar's shows.....but it makes sense that that is what keeps them coming back for more.
for those who don't have the time to drain energy...after all, caesar, i believe, exercises his dogs for four hours a day, hiking and swimming and all the stuff he does, starting at 6 a.m.....while impressive, i doubt if any of us have that kind of time.
my dogs are on the treadmill an hour per day and one is a 13 year old shih tzu, who no longer engages in mindless digging and chewing....and the other one , which is a corgi/red heeler mix plus whatever.... is nice and tired with three walks a day along with the treadmill.
it's worked wonders.
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Raven
~RETIRED~
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