Cord chewing

GeeRome said:
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!
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The only problem with this is we work all day so I'm not around to "catch" her doing it or lurking near cords. I do have one of the chewed up iron cords, I could leave that out to see if she is still interested in chewing.

I know it's not due to lack of attention. I give them both so much attention when I'm home; I'm always talking to them and touch them every chance I get. In fact, they kinda get tired of me sometimes. lol

Oh and yes we have thought about the crate idea, so that's not completely off the table for ideas here.
 
OntarioSheltie said:
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 :lol:
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I have to admit, I'm hesitate to use this as I do have light colored carpets. If anything, I may give the bitter apple a try first. I do have some chewed cord I could experiment with and see what happens.
 
mcguiregirl2248 said:
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?
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Yes, she is 13 years old. And like I said earlier, NEVER chewed on anything her entire life. That's why this sudden interest in cords has us puzzled.
 
Since we are talking behavior here, I also wanted to mention that she has become very clingy to us. She has NEVER been clingy to us before. In fact, she rarely kisses us and usually walks away from me until SHE is ready to be loved on. Very aloof most of her life and now all of a sudden she wants to be held. There were some nights she wouldn't let us sleep, walking around in circles and panting heavily until I got up and held her in my arms as we reclined in the recliner. Then she would finally calm down and go to sleep.

I told hubby maybe she knows her time is near and is trying to spend as much time with us as she can.
 
I don't know if you have done this already or not, but now that you mention she is being clingy, maybe you need to take her to the vet. Maybe she has something going on that you can't see and that is why she is chewing and being clingy. I think I would take her to the vet and have them run a full health panel and see if anything comes up. I hope Casey is doing well.
 
I agree....my suspicion is that something is stressing her out.

My vet told me that Shelties have a remarkably high pain threshold. So if she's suddenly chewing and clingy, these might be symptoms of something bigger going on.

Good luck!
 
Sounds like she might not feel good. I think taking her to the vet is the best idea.

But, if they can't figure it out either, I did come up with one solution to cord chewing... I got frustrated when Zoe started chewing cords so I went out and got some PVC (big enough to get the plugs through) and threaded the cords through that, even buying the little fittings that could allow it to go around corners and up the wall to where it plugs in. I mainly did it for the computer room where she LOVED to chew the expensive cords. She never really chewed in other rooms. Oh except the vacuum cord which she chewed through one day. I was mainly worried that she'd electrocute herself or start a fire!
 
Thank you Mcquiregirl22, BarbV, and Indy500 for all your responses. I think I will just take her to the vet. I just have a real strong feeling it’s because she’s getting old but a visit to the vet can’t hurt. Again thanks!!
 
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest it may be a form of doggy dementia. No joke -- she's an elderly dog, and it just may be aging.
 
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