7 month oldchihuahua chewing puppy pads

bj1982

Hi folks,

Im new to boards and just wondering if anyone has any advice on my puppy.

I have a 7 month old chihuahua. He is a very good natured little thing and loves his cuddles but the problem im having is that he has now only starting shredding his puppy pads and pulling them all over the place. I leave down d pads as he is at home at least 8 hours a day alone and dont expect him to hold it in. Until a few days ago he was excellent and always used d pads if he needed to go during d day. now the last few days he has been ripping d pads apart and dragging it in2 his bed. He has loads of toys balls dentastixs etc to chew so i dont know why he is doin this all of a sudden.

Any advice on what 2 do???

mymo

Sounds like he's bored, my fella ripped paper for fun as a pup, came home to many a shredded paper, loo roll, kitchen towel!
I make sure my two are well walked before I leave, I leave kongs some days stuffed with part of their daily food allowance (freeze them to make them last longer), and chew toys. I also left dry food in one of those treat balls they roll around to get food out.
Thankfully they grow out of it as they get older, mine are 4 and 5 next month and it doesn't happen often, mainly if I don't walk them enough.
Have you tried a litter tray? Put a soiled pad in bottom and add a bit of litter, haven't done it myself but heard of people doing it.

DBB

There's a fair chance your pup is doing this out of boredom OP: 8 hours is a long time for a pup to be alone, and many pups don't play with the toys that are left for them, for any length of time anyway. So, you could leave a mountain of toys, but it's quite possible that ripping up the puppy pads trumps any of his other toys!
Do you have any alternatives to break the day up a bit for pup? A dog walker? Daycare? At worst, perhaps more interactive, fun toys like tasty stuffed Kongs, Kong Wobblers, puzzle toys (Nina Ottosen type toys), hiding treats etc. But these are all a poor relation to some real, proper social contact during those long hours alone.

bj1982

Thanx for advice guys!! I know i feel bad leaving him for so long. Unfortunately i live out in the countryside so no one close by to walk him for me. I do bring him for walks every evening and let him out for half an hour every morning. I will defo try the Kongs, never heard of those till now!! Hopefully he'll grow out of it soon.

mymo

Just a tip, if you feed dry food you can stuff the kong with it, but need something to make it stick, I use left over veggies, carrot or potato mashed up, or sardines, mackerel from tins, even peanut butter.
Then just pop in freezer over night and leave out for 5 mins before giving it too him.
Don't forget to reduce the amount you feed him by the amount you put in the kong.
A short walk in mornings may he too, 10 or 15 mins even may help.
8 hours is a long time, is there no one you could ask to call in to him?