Re: dog chews covers at night

In Reply to: dog chews covers at night
Category:   Breeding
Posted by:  lynn
Posted on:  August 31, 2002 at 14:51:31

: We have a 7 mo old female JRT. Recently she began to chew at covers and pillows on our bed at night. Since we are asleep we can't correct her. What should we do.

: thanks

Response:

Dear Lynn,

Dogs do things for a reason; our job as owners is to put ourselves in their "shoes" (!) and figure out what happened to cause the behavior. Inappropriate chewing can be a symptom of (1) pain; check her teeth to make sure they've all come in properly, none are broken, etc and/or (2) anxiety; has there been a recent storm, has she fallen off the bed, etc. Her behavior may also be the result of what we think is harmless "playtime" -- teasing our terriers by hiding under the covers or whacking them with our pillows can lead them to believe that our bedding is one big toy...as in chew toy.

Until you've figured out "why" your pup is chewing your bedding, I suggest you have her sleep in her crate -- in your bedroom, of course. Once you've figured out the reason for her behavior, you can change it. Please use our search engine to read more about problems and solutions when "Sleeping with the Terrier"... :-)