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My 10 month old chiweenie eats everything, quite literally everything. He eats shoes socks underwear plastic foam pens/pencils Kleenexes paperclips carpet you name it and he will try to eat it. He brings everything into his kennel.

He is an extremely smart dog and knows that what he's doing is wrong. If you so much as look at him when he has something he knows he should not eat in his mouth he immediately drops it.

I thought that maybe getting him fixed would help at least a little but to no avail. He is costing me more then I can afford. My kids would be heartbroken if I have to get rid of him but I'm almost at that point. bit as a single mother of 4 I can not keep replacing everything.

How do I train him to stop chewing?

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Keep things out of reach that you don't want him to be getting at. This shouldn't be too hard with a dog as that is typically just floor space. Even easier with a small dog. Keep the floor clean and have your kids help. He should be finding toys that he is supposed to be chewing/eating rather than your garments.

Since it is still a puppy (and will be for a while longer) you aren't going to be able to get him to stop altogether. Training could help but the real issue is in addressing the tremendous amount of pent-up energy he has. He needs copious amounts of exercise and activity to wear him down.

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It's a bit late to say this, but in your situation I would have suggested an adult dog rather than one who is still really a puppy. Your lifestyle, as you have described it, is not optimal for raising another infant, and unless one of you kids is mature enough to seriously take on some of the responsibility of training the dog it all lands on you.

The best suggestion I have is an actual dog training class, which will both improve the dog's obedience and improve your ability to be the Alpha and convince the dog to pay attention... If you can make the time for that, or, again, if one of the kids can take that responsibility. Good luck...

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  • Thank you I will get us into a class. Yes my older two kids are 11 and 10. When I got the dog I wasn't single and didn't plan on ever being single again :(
    – Brittany
    Commented Mar 7, 2016 at 15:23
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Dogs are considered fully grown at two years of age. 10 months old is still very much a puppy and puppies chew. This is a common behavior --- which, believe it or not, is a good thing because that means there's a wealth of possible solutions out there to try.

This stage in your pup's life is critical in what sort of adult dog he becomes. Impress upon him what is okay and what is not okay as early as possible and as firmly as possible. You may have to repeat yourself over and over, but this is okay! Repition is key, as exasperating as it is.

Victoria Stillwell is one of the best resources out there for using positive reinforcement to train your dog and I've found an article that I hope proves helpful : https://positively.com/dog-behavior/nuisance-behaviors/chewing/

  • Mariah
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