Methods used for saving cutters?

I've had some really destructive high strung dogs that would lost cutters before the age of 2 or 3 mainly from fighting the chain or fences. I've come up with a few methods of prevention but just curious what methods everyone else uses.

 

If they dont kill themselves from overworking, a springpole and or other detouriants that are easier on the teeth would be the ticket...
But then agian they have to choose to bite something softer, and if theyre chewers they probablly will chew on whatever anyhow...

I had a small bitch that was crazy on the cable and a coule tennis balls was her chosin option to more destructive ways...
If she shot the ball of the spot , she would fall aslep watching it, but she was really savty with those balls and learned to run back and forth down the cable run facing the house and using it as an opponet like alot of the mexicans do with a soccer ball... She was amazing with that ball, and would take it in a barrel house and chase it in circles inside the lip of the entrance... One time a buddy stopped by and greated her as she had he ball inthe barrel, he came in the house and couldnt find his phone... Well after we called it we found the little dog putting on a light show in the barrel, pushing it up with her nose to catch it rollong down the other side... We retreived the hone that still worked wit some scratches and got a good laugh, I sure miss that little dog...
When on the cable she seemed wound up by the others and in the house she was mellow and great, another detouriant is the animals kept around them antiginzing them into chewing, sometimes moving one dog can change the way the whole yard acts... I do believe one bad apple ruins the tree...
I am interested in what you and others have come up with...

 

Not only do they chew it, they wrestle with it as well. Those can be had pretty cheap too. Be sure to remove the reflective material.

 

Overhead tie out and take the house away during the day.

 

IMO most, IF not all of these so called destructive dogs are bored out of their minds, hyperactive because no other activity is provided to them. Don't get me wrong, some dog Will att a fool Even IF they half dead from being overworked, but they are rare! Most dogs in keep don't chew shit after work. They lay in there house sleeping, or relax in the sun/shade.

Dogs need shit to keep em active in there chain spot or kennels, big as bones works wonders. Walking your dog and spending time with IT everyday will also make your dogs more dosile in their living quarters.

I know many disagree with me on this and feel that i preace the animal rights gospel, but im just calling IT like i see IT.

Small yards is what i belive in.

 

Your post was spot on, what made you feel that many would disagree with you?

If one speaks the TRUTH it doesnt matter who it comes from.

Dogs usually fight the chain due to boredom like you've already mentioned. The worst part about a chain a fighter though is that it CAN teach other dogs who would never had thought about fighting there chain to fight there chain as it is a learned or mimicked behavior as well.

1.Chew toys like a huge Nyla bone or Kong ball can help deter or curb some bad chewing habits. (Should be supervised though as some dogs can tear up a kong ball in short order)

2. Toys like the Varsity ball or Jolly ball can also help with boredom. (also needs to be supervised as no toy is indestructable)

3. Last but not least good ol fashion hand walking/jogging/sprinting. You could also use any type of other activities that the dog will enjoy to do like flirt pole , spring pole , swimming, fetch, tug o war, mills etc...

 

My issue is that dogs get bored with if the activities are always provided. When i had spring poles in every dot the dogs aren't as excited to work them and still are their houses and fought the chain. I took them away and now they go crazy to get to the spring pole. My mentor almost lost a ch dog to a Kong ball so that's out! I don't have a large yard and my dogs all get worked. They don't do it when they are bored, they do it when they get worked up. It's actually the opposite. I've tried deterrents and nothing worked. The best thing i find was chopping up pvc pipe and putting it over the chain. Then using cheap house that would break before the teeth would.

 

All good post, Ive seen the pvc technique on a mans yard that had a bunch of hight strung tants AAA dogs, it seemed to work for some but I worry about them eating pvc and not digesting it...
The idea of giving the dogs more play to exerte extra energy is spot on for some dogs as the bitch I mentioned, but...
Alot of these high strung dogs get some exersize and actually have more energy, unless your peaking them out and really putting in some work, but thats not good year round...
I tried the exersize the highstrung dog idea and it just made them more crazy and it would take alot of patients to housebreak such a dog to slow them down...
The best thing I found was keeping them fat and a spring pole on thier spot, I seen a man that had a heavy garage door size spring with a rope trough it, tied at each end with each side of the rope in each dogs spot, they riled eachothe u and would stay on it all day... it was on its own axel in the middle of te dogs and the owner said he had to put it up at night to give them rest, fed up in the morning and let them play all day...

keep them fat and give them a knuckle bone was the old mans advice...
thier all individuals that have individual results...

 

Dogs get bored if the activities like a spring pole is always provided. You said it yourself you took the spring pole away and now they go crazy for it again as dogs like people get BORED of the same ol shit everyday, its just common sense hence why MOST people will not have a activity that is always provided to them 24/7. LOL

Like I said , any type of toy should be supervised and never left alone with the dog for prolong periods of time as some dogs can wreck a kong ball in short order. With that said I prefer the heavy duty huge Nyla bone that you can get at walmart for a decent price as the nyla bone usually comes off in small shavings instead of huge chunks like the kong ball.

Most dogs are calm unless there is a REASON for a dog to get worked up and even at that most will just run there chain spots while barking. Dogs usually get worked up when there about to be let off the chain, worked,feed,fight and fuck. LMAO

Those few that do it when they get worked up regardless of boredom have a bad habit and like most BAD habits they are hard to break the longer that bad habit is allowed. I've heard of some people who will cull chain fighters because they can teach and pass on that bad habit to all the other dogs on there yard.

How does one treat this bad habit? The same way you treat any bad habit which is through consistent reinforcement training, the same way you deal with a dog who barks too much. The training methods you can use is what ever works for you that gets the job done. LOL.

Or if money is no option put him in a custom made kennel with a chain link gauge of 6 or lower with the very small openings so its way harder for the dog to bite and pull on it due to the space between the links being very small.

P.S. When I said cull it doesnt always mean to kill, it can also mean to give away or separate LOL.

 

Elias that's pretty much how i had my yard set up a couple of years ago and it worked decent but moreso for the dogs that didn't need it but it also made it harder to work dogs when it came time.
Saiya i agree with most your post but for me it's stuff like seeing rabbits deer or coons they can't get to. Or when i pull up they get really fired up and the worst is when I'm walking towards then with a leash.
I fully understand an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure but i was just curious what people do when the prevention doesn't work. Lol

 

I had a dog that just LOVED to crunch on Rocks! Boredom and exercise level had nothing to do with it.
He was born this way. I played Frisbee with him, hand walked him daily, Flirt pole daily, chased a Kong daily. The second I gave him "free" time..he's grind
on rocks. I live in the woods...can't get rid of them. Just like some dogs graze on grass like a Cow, I had an alligator female that would eat a few
pieces of grass all the time. She thought she was a goat I guess.

 

Man I just had to comment because you said he was BORN THIS WAY. LMAO

 

As it looks like some of you guys have more or less the same opinion about this as me, i'll go a little bit further and hope i dont offend to many people...

What i think is that people often times like to think that they've done everything correct and they still have the same problem, so it's the dogs fault and now you have to adapt to the problem.

Seldom times its the stupid dogs that get destructive, its mostly the other way around. Sure, your dog is walked and exerciced daily, but is he challenged? These are working dogs and not house pets that do good with a walk a day and some fetch. Some need to be challenged mentally, usually the smart once. Obidience, basic obidience is a great way to do that. It teaches your dog to listen to you and your commands and that can be usefull in when it comes to working time, what ever your using em for. What you put into your dogs is what you get out of them when its crunch time

If the dog bites stones all day long, use positive reinforcement to make him see that he will gain from not biting the stone. We're Dogmen, not dog feeders or dog-shit pickers. The dogs needs so much more than that.

 

My dog is not on a chain, so I can't comment on that per se, but she is a heavy chewer and has destroyed every chew toy that she's been given.

Someone here on GD once recommended a spare wheelbarrow tire, and that is the only thing that has lasted. It has holes in it now, but it's still around. When shredding her toys, she spits out the pieces, never eating any of them. We always supervise her when she has her toys cuz you never know. Better to be safe than sorry.

Hope you find something that works for you and your dog(s).

 

good informative post ryan...

 

Don't keep dogs on chains but reading this thread gave me an idea! Run a length of copper wire to where the chain is hitched. Use a length of wire long enough so you can be at the other end , hidden behind something so dog doesn't know your there. Wait for dog to chew chain, then tip the wire off a small battery with just enough voltage to give him an uncomfortable zap the instant he does it. Stay hidden and repeat every time dog starts to chew chain. I realise this method could take a lot of time or very little time before dog gets the message. Sounds cruel but it's no different then using an electric collar to stop a dog barking . I reckon it shouldn't take too long for some dogs to understand the negative accosiation but I think the key to it would be good timing, meaning u might have to stay watching the dog for a long time to catch him in the act so he doesn't get any chew time before he gets zapped, and also I reckon staying hidden is the most important thing so the dog doesn't associate you with the correction and therefore knows he can have a good chew when your not around. I personally would figure out a safe voltage before trying this though so you don't barbecue the dog. Maybe experiment with the neighbours cat first lol

 

yes try on yourself to make sure the little poochie can handle the jolt,lmao...