Have you ever heard someone say, “There’s a toy box full of toys, but the baby is always playing in the (Tupperware, pots and pan, etc.) cabinet.”?
Ever since he was a small puppy Sampson’s chewing preference has been wood.
He liked toys too, but when left to his own devices, he chose wood products.
At our old house we didn’t have a lot of trees, so Sampson found things to chew on IN THE HOUSE.
The first thing he chewed was a old-fashioned coat rack that I had bought in New York on a Thanksgiving visit to my mother-in-law. I wasn’t horribly upset, but I did put some bitter apple on it and it seemed to stop.
The next wood item he chewed was the foot rest to my breakfast bar. I was panicked about that one. Not because I cared about the foot rest, but more that I was concerned that HUBBY would care about the foot rest. (We’d just remodeled the kitchen!)
He didn’t. After anxiously running scenarios over in my mind, when I told him what Sampson had done, he simply laughed and said, “I never liked it anyway.”
Eventually Sampson grew out of that puppy phase and we moved to a new house. With a lot of trees.
This meant that Sampson had access to lots of sticks. The dumb ass silly dog would go outside, eat a stick and then come inside and throw it up. We had to constantly monitor him and attempt to divert him from eating the stick.
Yes, it’s true. I like sticks.
Every time we caught him with a stick we’d do our best goofy dog voice and say, “I like sticks.”
He’s gotten a lot better. Of course, he doesn’t have the freedom outside now that he once had, and he still on occasion will come in with something in his mouth, which we immediately remove.
In the present he is almost always outside on leash, with the exception being when he simply goes out to potty. But even then, either my husband or I am out with him, making sure he doesn’t run or do anything else that might be perceived as stupid.
Of course, on his walks (as long as the Mama is walking him) he is on leash.
Since he’s had his partial CCL tear, he’s put on about five pounds, which is super hard to help him lose, considering his limitations with exercise. He gets tired easily on our walks and it’s not unusual for him to stop and sit or even lie down for a minute or so, until I urge him up again.
Sometimes a dog just needs a rest.
Which is why on Saturday when he stopped at a certain neighbor’s house, I didn’t turn around. This particular house has a cat and the woman who owns the cat lets the cat outside on a leash. Both my dogs make it part of their morning walk to stop and stare at the cat.
I’m pretty sure Sampson just wants to play, Delilah on the other hand, she’s drooling, so DOG only knows that she’s thinking, although I bet I could hazard a good guess.
So Sampson was stopped and after a few seconds I realized he wasn’t just staring at the cat, but that I was getting gentle tugs on the leash, sort of like he was snarfing for something. This is something I have to be aware of with Delilah, but not Sampson.
Until Saturday.
Here’s where the little jerk stopped off.
Looks normal, no?
Here’s what the little asshole came up with!
A chunk of wood!
Naturally I took it out of his mouth and threw if far under the bush, and would you believe, yesterday morning he stopped to look for it again?
How about your pets, do they have a preference when it comes to chewing? Or playing?
Bailie and I both enjoy a good quality stick. I like to break them in pieces, Bailie likes to chew them up. Mom takes them away from us as soon as we start to do anything but carry them as she is afraid they will splinter in our mouth or throat. No sticks allowed with us unless we are being monitored.
OMG, that puppy picture! 😀 Rudy was the most destructive puppy I’ve ever had and he focused on wood. Antique furniture wood 🙁 Though I do have some cute photos of he and Skeeter (the cat) out on the deck and Rudy’s chewing sticks. Thankfully, he grew out of that whole chewing thing and isn’t even much interested in sticks anymore.
Sticks are fun. Hunans just don’t understand
Snorts,
Lily & Edward
One of my dogs was part beaver when I first got her. She never actually ate a tree but she would have if i hadn’t stopped her. Fortunately she now prefers dog chews.
Sticks are pretty much “meh!” to Sam. Better to find a nice moldy partial burger in a wrapping paper on the walk for dramatic effect. *sigh*
As for Delilah, I’m guessing LOL for her means ‘one less cat’ whenever they pass the neighbor’s yard. 😉
I love eating ANYTHING off the ground. Let’s face it, it’s how I survived the first 3 years of my life! Mom says if there’s a chicken bone in a 10 mile radius of my house I will find it and try to eat it. Ummmm… Yes. What is her point…?
Love and licks,
Cupcake
We still have some dining room chairs with chew marks on them – that was both Sheba and her late brother Moses. But outside they didn’t show that much interest in wood, other than occasionally stealing a log off the wood pile. Our Lab mix Maggie loved sticks and when we used to camp with her she’d have quite a collection going!
I think all dogs like to chew on wood. Not sure why that is, but you should see Freighter and Storm’s dog houses. Thunder never chewed, but both freighter and Storm do.
Sounds like Delilah’s wily side might be rubbing off on her brother 😉 Barley also prefers to chew wood over anything actually designed for dogs to chew on–luckily, she refrains from chewing on anything wood she finds in the house, so I can’t complain too much. She also prefers to play with her brother’s kitty toys most days, too.
Callie and Shadow loved chewing on wood, too – some of our antique furniture bears witness to that fact – but they outgrew it over the years. Ducky likes to chew on sheets, pillowcases, bedspreads, and blankets. So, she is still confined to her crate at night (and whenever we leave the house without her). She also likes to chew on the carpeting when she’s really anxious, acorns and other yard trash, and any cloth-type toys. Thankfully, she usually spits out pieces, but now and then I find tiny pieces of her King Wubba toy in her poop.
Kong Wubba, you stupid autocorrect!
The Lab I had growing up chewed every wood item in sight; including the legs of all the furniture. Coincidence? Who knows, dogs are just weird I guess.