Cord chewing

[GailA]

Help! My 13 year old, Casey, has starting chewing the power cords around the house. So far she's gotten the power cord to my laptop, one wall a/c unit, my good iron and a little bit on my puter cam cord. I've gone around the house and picked up all the other cords. We now keep the door to our office shut at all times because there are a bunch of cords in that room.

She has plenty of dog toys laying around the house so I know it's not lack of available chew options. This is the only odd behavior she has exhibited; all else is status quo.

 

[Shelletlover]

Me too!!! Let's see- vacuum cord, tv cable, cell phone charger, and I think that's about all. Our fault about all of them, we should have had them picked up.

 

[Ann]

If you can, try smearing your cords with some liquid cayenne or red pepper. You can buy it in the supermarket spice aisle. Just be careful, it can stain carpets. You can also buy Bitter Apple designed for pets, but it's not as effective. Other than that, the only solution is vigilance and no reachable cords!

 

[GailA]

Thanks for the suggestion Ann. I never would have thought of that.

Sheltielover ~ That is pretty much what we have done so far is try to keep everything but their toys picked up. I've even been picking up my shoes just in case.

What makes this all so odd is she has NEVER chewed anything before but her toys and she doesn't even really chew them, just squeaks them.

 

[Izziesbud]

Is she having any dental issues that need to be checked out?

 

[Chris]

Or maybe she thinks it's Sheltie dental floss!

 

[GeeRome]

I wouldn't pick up the cords, that isn't going to teach her not to chew them. It will just make it even more exciting when she does finally get a hold of one. Rather, supervise supervise supervise! And when you can't supervise, crate.

Good luck!

 

[mcguiregirl2248]

I'm not sure what I would do in this case. It seems rather odd that a 13 yr. old dog would just start chewing on cords. Is that the correct age posted below?

 

[OntarioSheltie]

If you can, try smearing your cords with some liquid cayenne or red pepper. You can buy it in the supermarket spice aisle. Just be careful, it can stain carpets. You can also buy Bitter Apple designed for pets, but it's not as effective. Other than that, the only solution is vigilance and no reachable cords!

Make sure that you test that your dog doesn't like the taste of cayenne, bittler apple or whatever you use.

Sadie LOVES bitter apple. I realized this after spraying it on a basket handle she showed interest in. When I got home she'd chewed the whole handle off

 

[GailA]

Is she having any dental issues that need to be checked out?

I don't know. She does eat dry hard dog food and I do give them milk bones. I'll have to look at her teeth and see what's going on. Her teeth had been cleaned at the vet about 2 years ago.