# Chewing...



## secuono (Dec 10, 2012)

Well, my pup started chewing for the first time. She's around 8-9mo and has never shown interest in chewing, but no, last week she started chewing everything!!!!
And I really do mean everything! She's destroying everything and there's nowhere I can put her nor do anything!
She's chewed up all 4 of my garden hoses, three extension cables, power cable to well house, our new airless spray painter and all parts to it, wood, trees, fencing, cages, all plastic she can find, food barrels, metal, pool parts, filters, rocks, concrete, insulation, siding and anything else that anyone may find outside that you wouldn't think she would chew.

I just want to scream at her, but that doesn't do anything!

I keep tossing her out in the pasture, but of course she is chewing all of that stuff, too. She has toys of all kinds to chew, she never used them. She's started harassing the horses and sheep and sometimes the birds. I can't lock her in a pen, she will dig a massive hole or try digging out and get stuck. 

I was so sick of her dang holes all over, pointless! Use the same one! Not 300 literally all over the yard for no reason. She's not a chicken, she cannot be digging holes where she likes just to dust bathe! Fine, holes...I live on the moon where walking in my own yard is hazardous to my health. What ever. 

But chewing everything is a no freaking way. She jumps to get these things, digs them out, makes a massive mess to get them. I'm thinking I will leave her out in pasture tonight...she also started barking....towards the freaking house! Bark away towards the predators! But no, her wonky, half butted bark, all over the place, no real definition to it. Y'all know what I mean, dogs have barks for danger, boredom, fear, etc. But her bark is still all over and cracks like a prepubescent boy's voice. I'm pretty sure she barks while dancing in circles, and it's so harsh I can't sleep. If she would just bark away into the pasture, I wouldn't mind. She barks after 10 for hours until I pass out from stress and sleep deprivation and then she randomly starts back up again later. Ugh. Hopefully having her out there will give me some sleep.

Darn the chewing to heck! 

Anyone else have to deal with this random and sudden chewing obsession?


----------



## Stubbornhillfarm (Dec 10, 2012)

Ours definitely bark at things. They do their job well.  But if we tie them out at night instead of letting them work at night for what ever reason, our girl barks and barks and barks.  I hear what you are saying!  We put up with that for about 1/2 hour and then she gets put in the barn and is quiet.  We have only run into this twice, but it was painful...  Most of the time they are able to be out doing their job.

In regards to chewing, diggin holes, junk collecting;  well you're in good company that's all I can say!  Sorry for the lack of help.


----------



## secuono (Dec 10, 2012)

Stubbornhillfarm said:
			
		

> junk collecting


Say what? She hasn't started hoarding anything. Just pulling things out/breaking them to chew on, then leaving them all over the place in bits...


----------



## Southern by choice (Dec 10, 2012)

Given the age and a female she is probably about to come into her first heat. Not all females (most don't) do this but some do. Their body is going through a big change and the hormones can cause all kinds of idiotic things. Gathering , hoarding is pretty common, chewing can express discomfort, aggression, and sometimes depending on what they are chewing the need for a particular nutrient.

Barking, females usually bark more anyway, but can increase. Howling, "wind 'em up" barking isn't unusual. My farm Partners dog is an Anatolian, they can have unusually long heats (30 ) days, she is in heat now an yep she's a  30 dayer.    She also has that long wind em up gradually into a howl while she works up to the bark-and then doesn't stop.    None of my Pyrs do this. We had to move Callie to the dry-lot for her heat cycle and that has also helped with the howl/barking. Thank Goodness...the neighbor made mention of "which one starts and doesn't shut up". He already knew which one. He was purposely messin' with Straw, but point taken!

My mutt farm dog, goes through erratic behavior a few days before and she is prone to false pregnancies...she never gets to ,ate with anything...however her body "thinks" she is preggars. At the end of 8 1/2 weeks going into the 9th she will nest and a few  days later pick a stuffed animal that will now be her "pup". She also comes into full milk.  There is a reason we do not spay her which I won't get into here.

Pretty sure this is hormone related, it usually gets better after the first heat, second heat isn't usually as rough. 

I have forgotten..what are your LGD's


----------



## secuono (Dec 10, 2012)

That's weird. There's no howling, just broken barking. I don't see how she's in any discomfort, seems more like she is bored out of her head and decided chewing is suddenly interesting. She plays with these things, flinging them, chasing them, rolling around having fun. No sitting there chewing out of stress or anxiety, etc. My Dober does that kind of chewing and it's a complete opposite. 
Her hoo-hoo isn't engorged, so I'm going with not going through heat. 
None of our other dogs 'changed' while in heat, other than being gross to see walk away....


Maremma x Great Pyrenees

She's 8.5 months old.


----------



## CocoNUT (Dec 10, 2012)

oh secuono....welcome to MY WORLD of Gus! 

I can TRULY empathize with your plight...truly I can. I believe your girl may be starting her hormonal phase...seriously. The key giveaway is her going ON and ON with the barking all night...TOWARDS the house! Gus used to park her happy howling butt under our bedroom window and just bark and howl and bark and bark all flipping night long...drove us about BATTY! 

As for the digging...I can empathize there as well. Gus has dug out UNDERGROUND drainage pipes...dug them up...chewed pieces off...then FLINGS them about the yard! She HAD a swimming pool....pretty decent sized...that she's half-chewed up. I kept pulling it off the yard onto the gravel, well yesterday...her happy butt drug it back out into the MIDDLE of the 'yard' and proceeded to chew on it. Took ALL her various items ('finds' we'll call them) OUT of the pool and flung those around the yard as well! If my husband leaves the garage door open, she'll go in there and pull out 'treasures' to chew on later! The yard is a mess...absolute MESS! Between the holes and hoses and 'toys' and whatever else she can get into...it looks like my DD's bedroom! Drives me bananas! Oh...as far as electrical wiring...we won't go there...but she HAS gone after exterior lighting cords. (Then she gets the goats involved!)

We managed to 'fix' the hose issue by using one of those hose reels...annoys the crap out of me to have to use it. I also have to make sure the ENTIRE hose (& nozzle) is INSIDE the reel box before leaving it. I have to also make sure the handle for the reel is folded down...or she would probably chew that too! I caught her this afternoon flinging some of my plants around the back yard. Dug them up....and flinging them around! 

Now I will say...when Gus FINALLY did come into heat...she was VERY exhausted all the time. Laying down...I could that she felt like poop. She also just seemed to want to be loved on. Cuddled. Poor thing...didn't know what was happening to her. She did mellow out a little afterwards...the chewing somewhat subsided and her barking did calm down (at night). She does still bark at night...mostly right as we go to bed OR if two of my cats start to fight. But NOT like before. I know you don't want to hear this...but you're just going to have to 'wait it out'. (You MAY  have thoughts of various uses for duct tape ...or shock collars  ...but remember...she's just being a puppy!) 

She may not be 'engorged'...but this is probably just her PMS-ing!


----------



## secuono (Dec 10, 2012)

I haven't seen her actually sitting and facing the house barking, only hear that it's louder and then muffled, which tells me she's wandering around or facing the house. 
She doesn't bark all night. Like right now it's dark, pitch black, but she won't make a sound unless something is out there. She'll stay quiet until 10-11pm, bark for an unknown amount of time, randomly shut up. And then randomly start barking again a few hours later.


----------



## CocoNUT (Dec 10, 2012)

Gus barks in patterns too. Her voice "breaks" when she's super-excited/anxious...but that sound was pretty common in all the commotion prior to her first heat.  She'll run AROUND (the perimeter) fenced area, barking and carrying on in the dark. Other times it'll be in just ONE spot. (We'd NEVER see anything...DH even went out a couple times with the flashlight and walked the fence with her.)  But prior to her first heat, she'd ESPECIALLY run back and forth under out bedroom window, barking and carrying on. Then she'd stop for a few minutes...then start up again. 

Right now, it's dark and rainy out...she's barking like a trooper! Every car that drives by gets a couple barks...I think maybe she's just a noisier breed! (Or we just got lucky and ended up with THE noisiest Shar in North America!). She's got this AMAZING, deep bark. But when she's anxious...she howl/barks. We don't hear her voice 'break' as much anymore...but it will happen occasionally. 

Hmmm...Gus likes to carry on at about 11 pm too. I wonder what that's about?


----------



## Southern by choice (Dec 10, 2012)

Just giving you my 30 years of professional experience in canines. Heat issues start well before heat ever starts. If you look at any human, going into puberty that should help you relate to what I'm talking about. Hormones are causing all kinds of changes in the body and the brain, this is no different in canines. Engorgement of the vaginal area doesn't start right away, only just before and then during prime-time so to speak. Boredom can create some of these things, yes but it would not be "sudden" if all other normal routine and activities have not changed.

In dealing with behavioral issues, or sudden changes I would (past life) visit the clients home and actually observe what was going on, on this forum that is not possible. Perhaps you were just venting your frustrations and not asking for help.  

I have had a pyr breeder call me with unusual things that have "suddenly" happened, ending in serious issues. When giving them recommendations it was passed off and I was told...no, it couldn't be that or such and such. Same breeder lost 2 females to lack of heading advice. Wasted dogs and horrible tragedy. Same breeder called months later another issue, I didn't bother to respond. Breeder has no business breeding, has no canine background, no training experience etc. ...but they are a breeder.  

I share that with you because many people, especially on here are willing to give support, some with little experience but care, some with more experience that care, and everything in between. I think it's great! I recently contacted someone about a canine issue... in other words...I know I can still learn from others, she is an experienced canine professional. It is wise to glean from others with way more experience than you have and not shoot down all the responders simply saying ...that's not it. :/

As I recall you said your dog would never kill a chicken and you knew she would never do this because you would talk to her in a stern voice and always correct her. You were advised by many people that she would, and that you shouldn't be surprised when she does. Then you posted sometime later.... We've had a setback! Your girl killed a chicken, as I do recall.

Differences of opinion are normal on here and quite often good, but have you noticed how many times in this post alone you have contradicted yourself and dismiss those who try to help you?


----------



## secuono (Dec 10, 2012)

I never contradicted myself. I just restated what obviously wasn't said right for y'all to get it.


----------



## Stubbornhillfarm (Dec 11, 2012)

secuono said:
			
		

> Stubbornhillfarm said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes...it's true!  At least for our two.  They usually leave once a night and go way up back on the hill.  There is an old shack that a neighbors son back in the day had built and had all kinds of stuff out there.  Almost daily, they will bring back some sort of treasure from somewhere and pile it behind our house where they spend a lot of the night as they have a good vantage point.  

Theses are some recent finds

An old sweatshirt
An old ball
Another old ball
A deer leg bone
A old wooden bird feeder
A wooden spoon
The grill scrubber
Parts to my husbands truck he is redoing
Some undescribable thing that I have no idea what it was at some point, a stuffed something
Probably 20 sticks

and all of this blends nicely with about 20 marrow bones of various shapes and sizes.

Yes, it all looks really pretty strewn all over my back yard.  NOT!   But we love them and the excellent job they do so much...we put up with it!


----------



## Mzyla (Dec 12, 2012)

Sorry to hear SECUONO that this happening to you.
Someone on here already gave you one best advice: WAIT IT OUT.
Your dog is frustrated and bored to death. Either you give her serious work to do, a play-mate or you play with her...yeh right...LOL
As she mature, she won't be having so much need for entertainment - if you can wait about 2 years....hehe   

I'm so grateful to God for blessing me with wonderful dogs - never no trouble.
But, I think like a dog and before they act, I fulfill all of their needs.

Hope things work out for you.


----------



## Shelly May (Dec 12, 2012)

I agree with MZYLA, give her a play mate of or around the same age.


----------



## secuono (Dec 12, 2012)

Two nights ago I set her out in the pastures, with the sheep and horses. First night- silence. Last night- silence until 11:30-12, some real barking for a few minutes and then silence. Thirty minutes later, more real barking for a short time and then silence. That's all. 
She's started playing with the sheep, so I was out since morning until 20min ago to work on her chasing the wrong animals. Played with her some and every time I stopped, she'd wander off to a flat area and take a nap. 
I'm thinking she was freaking out because she couldn't really do anything other than sit in her 140x140ft pen. Now that she has room to actually go after or move about all over.


----------



## secuono (Dec 12, 2012)

Shelly May said:
			
		

> I agree with MZYLA, give her a play mate of or around the same age.


I don't have $500 for a puppy nor $1000 for a trained adult. There's no in between lgds around and I don't want them going after my small animals. That's why I got her as a 8wk pup. My other dogs won't play with her and they will go after the sheep and horses or anything that moves away from them.


----------



## secuono (Dec 12, 2012)

Mzyla said:
			
		

> Sorry to hear SECUONO that this happening to you.
> Someone on here already gave you one best advice: WAIT IT OUT.
> Your dog is frustrated and bored to death.* Either you give her serious work to do, a play-mate or you play with her...yeh right...LOL*
> As she mature, she won't be having so much need for entertainment - if you can wait about 2 years....hehe
> ...


I don't get how that's sarcastic/funny?
I do play with her, but she's not very good at human/dog tag, she doesn't fetch nor chase any kind of toy. All she wants to do is roll, flop, squiggle wiggle about all over me and be in my lap. Which I let her do, she's so fluffy! Just gotta watch out because she always whacks my jaw.  
But I can't spend all day on the ground wrestling with her. 
I haven't trained her to do any dog things, like to walk on a leash, sit, come etc. I don't want strangers to just call her and walk her off, she's too nice of a dog and would allow herself to be stolen...


----------



## secuono (Dec 12, 2012)

Stubbornhillfarm said:
			
		

> secuono said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nope, no neatly organized hoarding with her. She just steals random stuff, chews it up and leaves it all over the place. I'm always cleaning up the yard, never ending little bits.


----------



## Mzyla (Dec 12, 2012)

Oh, Secuono  I didnt mean to be sarcastic whatsoever  Im just happy/humorous person all together. Sorry, if you took it wrong way, or that I worded my thoughts wrongly.
I meant that we farmers didnt have a time to play with dogs. I dont play with my at all, besides petting them daily, so they know I love them.

Im very glad that you put her on a pasture. Now shes got job to do.
Her barking was on predators. Thats what she supposes to be doing.


----------



## marlowmanor (Dec 12, 2012)

secuono said:
			
		

> Mzyla said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, if she's not trained to even do something as basic as walk on a leash you will have a fun time getting her to a vet if she ever needs to see one. As for a stranger walking off with her, I don't see it happening if she is actually trained well and knows her job well. She should alert you to strangers and be willing to defend herself and the flock against strangers. I think you'd be better off starting some basic training with her.

I'm no LGD expert or owner so take my advice as you wish. My dog stays in the backyard in a kennel but I have no issues with him if I need to take him out on a leash. Used to have issues with him jumping on people, but he's grown out of that. He listens well now and is good with my kids. But no, he is not a LGD, in fact he's not been with the goats (nor would I put him with the goats), though he has been introduced to them through the fence.


----------



## secuono (Dec 13, 2012)

We have a farm vet who makes farm calls, I don't need her learning she can just walk off the property into our driveway and getting hit by a car. 

She loves all people, people are not seen as predators to her, that's not her fault, just how she is. She's not a breed that is human aggressive, she's a people loving and gentle breed. None of the GPs I've met were aggressive to people or even barked when a human walked up. She comes over and watches if my other dogs bark at a strange car in the driveway, other than that, no reason for her to bark at them.


----------

