jocaribbean

So Bruno is now 9 Months old and he is been doing great with training, especially potty training. He can hold it for about the 8-9 hours we are away with no problem and for so we decided to let him be alone at his will. The problem with that is that for about 2-3 weeks now he started eating all our decor that is made of wood.

For some reason, hes is after the picture frames, little wood boxes, aminal figures etc that are made out of wood. Its not like he doesnt have tons of toys to chew on, and plus he has tennis blls, socce balls, ducks, alligators, empty bottles of water and you name it...but the damn pooch loves our wood decor!!! !^%$@&^%$#

Do you think it may be a deficiency in his diet? I feed him Blue Bufalo (plenty of food by the way) and he has at least one hour of dog park EVERY day and dog beach on weekends. Already dewormed him so thats out of the list. Any suggestions?

Thanks

CatherineM

What they eat has always been a puzzle to me. Had one eat a gallon of wallpaper paste once. Sure made him constipated.

roscolaylamommy

It sounds to me as if it's separation anxiety rearing it's ugly head. Some dogs when left alone will "act-out" by chewing up things. My cousin had a lab that would eat entire books and loaves of bread if she was allowed to roam free when no one was home. For his safety (and your sanity), I wouldn't leave him unattended until you resolve his issues.

mhvonalmen8908

Dogs will eat some weird stuff for sure. I would also keep him confined when you aren't there to directly supervise. That's what we do with ours. It saves our house and sanity. Plus we're renting and we can't afford to replace dry wall and baseboards. Good luck with the wood chewing though!

__________________
Megan & Chris
-Mom & Dad to Doppler (2 year old Basset/Redbone/Golden mix) and Virga (1 year old Basset)

Basset Momma

Once when Jake was little he chewed a hole through the wall outside my bedroom... I was taking a bath and he did not like being on the wrong side of the door Sadly we had just built the house so it was my brand new wall... Jake is now 7 and still sleeps by the tub when I bathe

I have to crate our 10 month old when we are out or pen to the kitchen area (tiled) as he likes to find mischief as well.

__________________
-Wendy
Mom to Samantha, Jake, Cuddy, Frodo, & Indy

jocaribbean

My concern is not about separation anxeity, because obiously -since he is a needy hound- he suffers of that but rather the preference for chewing wooden object. He has bones, bottles, stuffed animals, etc...but instead he goes for the wood.

I'm definitely confining him to the balcony (once they fix the hole on the wooden floor). Would it be ok for him to have a wood toy to chew on? I never had this problem with my previous basset so that's why i'm so confused on what he wants.

LY909

My Porter likes to eat wood, but it is in the form of sticks from outside. He likes to find the right sized ones and gnaw on it for a while. Maybe you can see if he'll eat a stick?

jocaribbean

I agree. I'm definitely going to limit his dwelling to the balcony. He will survive alone, if i pay atention to everytime he has anxiety i would go crazy. He whines even when sleeping so go figure

jocaribbean

Yep, that's a good idea. I need to find the right type of wood. He eats all sticks at the park but then he purges. Maybe he is bulimic

Lightning&Stomps

Unless you want to spend a few days and a few thousand dollars at your vet's, I wouldn't recommend you give him any kind of wood to chew on. Being with a basset (or most any other breed) isn't enough: When you're home with him, teach him tricks to stimulate his brain. Make sure he gets plenty of exercise. He's hungy for stimulation, not wood.