# Please help!



## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

Hi - I am the new member to vizsla forum, and need suggestions ASAP regarding the problem with one of our vizslas.
We have a 4 months old v boy - Max and 4 days ago took in a beautiful 15 months old v girl - Skyy. 
Background information on Skyy: We were told she was caged for most of her life and the owner gave her up because "she was too hyper", the couple who took Skyy only had her for 2 days, as far as I know we are the third owners. 
Skyy is the sweetest girl, very smart - she did not have any prior training and in 4 days she is already knows how to "sit", "Lay down" and does not pull on the leash anymore!
We were lucky enough to get her previous medical records. The bad news - she had a surgery 4 months ago - the foreign body was removed from her stomach and intestines (no indication what kind of foreign body).
Unfortunately we figured out the problem... The first chew toy (soft toy) was destroyed in 30 seconds.
Skyy is obsessed with fabrics! She eats everything - carpet, pillows, etc.
On the way to the vet she ate a piece of blanket in the car.
We removed everything that we could, last night she tore apart her dog pillow.
She is crated at night - what can we put in the crate as bedding? I am afraid she will start eating the plastic.
She is not interested in any other regular dog toys...
I am open to any suggestions - please help!
By the way, Skyy is walked twice a day, about 1 hour each time + play time on a yard with Max.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

If she eats everything I would put nothing in her crate but her.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Has she shown that she will eat plastic??? I am guessing this is the base to the crate. If she does chew on the crate base take out the plastic and try ply wood. Agree no bedding in the crate until she is trained to not eat soft fabrics.

Also good on you for taking her in. Sounds like she could use a good home.


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

I am not sure about Skyy eating plastic, hopefully she has no interest in it.
We put plywood in her crate, we'll see if it will solve the problem.

She is in heat now (may be it has something to do with her behavior) and will be spayed in about 3 weeks.


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

Intellectual property removed by author.

Ken


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Skyy is a really lucky to have found such a caring home and I do hope you can sort the problem out.

You don't say if she is under weight or not? I wonder if it is stress related to being caged too much in her previous homes, possibly because of the problem as a puppy. Now she has more stress as she has yet another change of home to contend with. I hope that as she settles down and becomes more secure that the problem will resolve itself.

Two suggestions - how about consulting a behaviourist? The other suggestion is to get some stop chew and spray it on an object and see if that discourages her. I know you can't spray it all over your house, but it might help with the training.

Well done for giving this lucky dog a chance in life.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

One of my three used to be a chewer on everything, but luckily not so much of an eater of things in the house. She would rip a hole in a dog pad then pull all the stuffing out of it. We had to buy her toys without stuffing or she would rip them apart the first day.
We worked on No Chew. Then Give. Removing from her mouth what was off limits and giving her something that was okay to chew on.
She still loves to have something in mouth but doesn't try to chew up the furniture any more. We keep a supply of bully sticks, pig ears, antlers and her toys. What she likes in her crate and to drag around with her is a baby receiving blanket. She has four of them and I change them out every two or three days. Its like she uses them as a security blanket. If she gets nervous she will run and get her blanket. Then come to me tail wagging.


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

When we got Skyy, she did not look her best, first of all - she was extremely dehydrated, her nose was very dry and crusty. 
At 39 lb, she looked very skinny, but so strong - she almost twisted my arm out of socket pulling on a leash.
She is on Taste of the Wild now, we feed her 3 times a day (until she puts on more weight), she eats about 3 cups a day ( we do not limit the food, that's all she wants).
Skyy looks so much better now, and her nose is back to normal!!!!
I am training her 3-4 times a day (5 minutes sessions), she gets bored easily and I do not want to rush her. 
Our walk with Max and Skyy this morning was very pleasant - she "heels" 70% of the time! 
Skyy is amazing, I hope we can give her enough love to help her overcome the chewing problem.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I noticed our boy eats fabric as well. No damage to leather, though :-\ I guess it's because it resembles skin (not sure)

Sam is still young 13 months. And he will devour all soft and fluffy fabrics, just like Skyy, I suppose.
What he *did not* eat were cheap bathroom towels. So he sleeps on his crate teflon  liner and few large and cheap beach towels. 
No toys are left for him to chew on because all toys belong to us and are gathered up at the end of the day. He doesn't play with his toys unless he is supervised and he doesn't get to eat any of them.

The only thing he gets to chew on in his crate is a tough, long lasting Nylabone or his stuffed Kong.


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## Moose (Oct 2, 2010)

Moose used to chew everything he could pull into his crate, when he was a puppy.He ate a teether toy off a highchair [it was attached to the tray, and the chair was apparently too close to the cate that night...], a wig he yanked off the top of his crate [we put a cardboard box on top to use as a shelf back in our university days!! ha] ,etc. His strangest thing he ate was an incandescent lightbulb...all but the metal screw end. the vet laughed when I said who it was , when Icalled. he was fine- for the record.

I wouldn't put anything in with her until she's no longer chewing/eating. S0 great you took her in, looks like she needs some lovin' .


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Well did for taking her in. That's a really great decision for her by the sounds of it. 8)

I have one V, Ozkar, who we got as a puppy and one V, Astro, who I rehomed at 6.5 months of age for apparently similiar reasons. The previous family thought Astro was just too energetic for them. (He turned out to be the most relaxed Vizsla I have yet met)

I also rescued a female German Short Haired Pointer, Zsa Zsa, when she was 12-13 months old. (It's a guess, as we really had no history on her... a long and sad story about her start to life... I won't go into it.)

But, Zsa Zsa has similiar issues with destroying anything soft. Cushions, fabric on lounges and any soft toy given to her, requires the stuffing removed before she is happy. However, thus far she hasn't eaten it. (Until recently, she has never chewed anything hard including my leather lounge....but that is in an other thread)

My solution was to simply remove anything which was a potential chew toy when I was not going to be around. It meant blocking off the front of the house so that when I was at work, the dogs no longer had access to it. This worked for nearly a year without incident. Then just this week, she destroyed the leather lounge. But, having said that, after I patched it with some leather patches from a trimmer and duct taped them on, she has not touched it again. (When I have the money, I will get it repaired, but am leaving it for a while to see if this behaviour returns)

The difficulty with curbing this behaviour from your new girl, is that we probably will never know why she does it. If something in her past has made her frantic over soft things?? To me, having her for only 4 days means she is still to really settle in and become comfortable with her surroundings. Just like us in a new environment, it can be a little stressful not knowing the rules, not knowing what the family wants from her, or how to please you.

So I guess what I am saying, is just continue what you have been doing. Give her love, give her your time and keep the training that you have commenced with up. I think you have actually done really well for the amount of time you have had her. She sounds like a really smart girl. 

You may never change this chewing behaviour and it may well be something which you will have to continue to manage throughout her life. It's not her fault, but most likely a product of her previous experiences. 

Once again, I admire you taking her on considering the reasons she was given up and I truly hope she becomes a well loved and well adjusted girl and a loved and cherished member of your family.

I lay in bed last night with Astro lying next to me on the right and little Zsa Zsa lying next to me on my left, with her little head resting on my shoulder and I felt very pleased that I took her on. She is as much wanted and loved as my pure Pedigree Vizslas are. 

From memory, it took Zsa Zsa a good 3-4 months before she really became completely secure in her new family. The bond between us took probably a little longer to establish than it did with Astro, who was only 6.5 months when I got him. So give her time and I am sure she will be all she can.


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

Everybody who replied - Thank you for the advice!
Hopefully Skyy will loose interest in any soft objects. However, our vet said it might never happen (she talked to Skyy's surgeon) said that she in fact ate her bedding and had multiple incisions to remove it from her stomach and intestines.... 
We'll start working on "leave it" and "no" today. 


From memory, it took Zsa Zsa a good 3-4 months before she really became completely secure in her new family. The bond between us took probably a little longer to establish than it did with Astro, who was only 6.5 months when I got him. So give her time and I am sure she will be all she can

Ozkar - I look forward to seeing how Skyy will change in a few months!


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

Cover the fabric *(that you can throw away)* in hot sauce, red pepper powder....so on and so forth....


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## Lindsey1420 (Jan 28, 2012)

datacan said:


> The only thing he gets to chew on in his crate is a tough, long lasting Nylabone or his stuffed Kong.



I get Jack those Nylabones and he ruins them in mins. I bought him a Kong toy and he had chewed the end off in a day and a half. The only thing that it seems he can not chew up is the Kong that you use to stuff with treats. I only give this to him when it is crate time. Something nice to "look forward" to when it is crate time. How long does it take for ur V to ruin the Nylabone?


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Lindsey, 
the FlexiChew lasts about 3 or 4 days if I let him chew it will http://www.nylabone.com/product-finder/my-pet-is/dog-large/flexi-chew-bone-chicken.htm It's made so it's easily digested, however, I make him spit out the pieces he rips off. He drops stuff on command, most of the time 

The DuraChew lasts for a long time. He can take it into his crate and work on it http://www.nylabone.com/product-finder/my-pet-is/dog-large/dura-chew-bone-original.htm 

Sam prefers the flexi, though.


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