Dog keeps eating shoes - any help/ideas

[XR-351]

hey guys, i have my puppy for about 3 months now and he has a thing with eating shoes my mum is getting real sick of it but no matter what we do he doesnt stop...

does anyone know of anything we should try, i was thinking there might be a spray that dogs dont like and maybe i could spray the shoes or sumthing....

[Geez Louise]

Try Vinegar. Dogs hate it! Works on where they pee so might work on stopping the shoe biting too!

[ratman]

spray some citronella around them, cats hate it too

[FlipXW]

Ah my kelpie did that when he was a pup. Ruined about 4 pairs of slippers, 1 pair of shoes and countless shoelaces. He just grew out of it.

[|||]

start wearing chocolate shoes

[XR-351]

Originally Posted by |||

start wearing chocolate shoes

then ill eat my shoes...

ive tried smakin him with the shoe or smaking on the ground near him but nothing works... i like some of the ideas about the vinigar and citrus ideas or whatever

so far hes eaten My new Globes, destroyed mums new runners, and tore up 2 pairs of thongs and 1 pair of slippers and my work boots... and its not as if we leave em on the floor there on a shoe rack

[Peuty]

Keep the shoes away from the dog?

Give Dr Harry a call.

[sgt_doofey]

Sprinkle some pepper on the shoes.

[Duke]

Keep the dog outside and give him a pair of steel cap Blundstones, perhaps your old tap dancing ones, should keep him busy for a while.

[Falconfan]

Some dogs will grow out of it, if they don't it is usually because of boredom. What breed is the puppy? There is a bitter spray you can buy from vets that is odorless (you could use vinegar, but then your shoes with smell like vinegar... :togo: ). Spray it on the shoes and eventually your dog will start to associate the bad taste with the shoes and steer clear of the shoes!

Hope that helps.

[Russ]

They usually do this out of boredom but also because as puppies they are teething just like a human baby and chomping on a shoe is soothing for their gums. You might like to try getting a doggy snack kong - you can buy them in a pet shop or Kmart has them as well I think, you fill them with some dry dog biscuit pieces and it usually keeps them entertained for a while. It might pay you to get him some other cheap toys to play with as well, knotted ropes, heavy rubber chews and other stuff like that. Don't buy anything that he is likely to swallow either, cause they don't know any better at that age. Oh and by the way I wouldn't admit to smacking him, the way things are nowadays some nutter is just as likely to report you to the RSPCA for that, just joking, but then again. :

Good luck!!

[Macca23]

Try the odurless spray as others have said. We just keep our shoes inside and the dogs outside

[vandrsxr6]

Try putting some tobasco sauce around the shoes. ie. on the inside cushion. He'll bite one and never go near it again.

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by Russ

You might like to try getting a doggy snack kong - you can buy them in a pet shop or Kmart has them as well I think, you fill them with some dry dog biscuit pieces and it usually keeps them entertained for a while.

lol reminds me of when we got my dog one. He got the sIIIs that he couldn't get the food out so he threw it off of the balcony onto the road

[XR-351]

hes a jack russel, he has got an old shoe to play with and a heap of new dog toys it dont stop him, might try that spray...

[putput14]

I think Russ has hit the nail on the head. Keep the shoes out of the way until he passes this stage, and in the meantime give him plenty of other toys to play with and encourage him to use these rather than the shoes... i actually find peanut butter works well in kong toys and i can keep any one of my dogs amused for hours while they try to lick it out of the middle of the toy..
The other thing i am thinking is that if he has an old shoe to play with maybe he just thinks that any shoe is fair game.... just a thought, but we have always kept our shoes off limits at all times, and have never had a problem..

[Black F6]

I have the same problem with my puppy.

Shes just over a year old and nothing stops her, she gets anxiety when we go out.

She has eaten DVD's, phone cords, countless bags, chair leg and my personal favourite when we locked her out of the room, THE WALL !!!!!!!!

She is a stumpy tail cattle dog, shes not as bad as she used to be, but some times she still trashes the joint.

So your lucky its just a couple of shoes

[Falconfan]

sounds like one of our little terrors, Red Cattle X Staffy, he just loves to tear stuff up when you're not home! Did mums entire mattress in one day...

[Professor Farnsworth]

closed at thread starters request