A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Houseplants and a puppy....HELP!!

Any suggestions for getting my puppy to quit chewing on my houseplants- They are too big to put on a tabletop and I don't want him getting sick. I have a 4 foot Philo, a scheffelera, and a Ficus Benjamina(sp) He keeps getting the leaves and chewing them.So far we have retrieved all the leaves(we think) and he has not gotten sick. Please Help!!

Toxic houseplants

I don't know what to tell you...puppies are gonna chew anything they can.
You're gonna have to figure out a way to keep him away from them.

Give him something he CAN chew on, and destract him with it. I still have raw beef soup bones (big thick sections of cow femurs from the grocery store - uncooked so they won't be brittle) available for my now 5&6 year old lab and golden. Those breeds are notorious chewers and we never had a single problem with them as they always had something they were allowed and wanted to chew on.

He has his toys and I take the leaves away, tell him NO! and then play with him with his toys(chew bones, socks, etc). I tried "blocking" them off, but he finds a way around to them...

Storm has never been a chewer to speak of. She learned very quickly what was hers and what was not. He is not learning as quickly. Just wanted to see if there were any new ideas out there, or just plain old persistance and time...

Have you tried Grannick's Bitter Apple? I used that when my cats decided to dine on one of my plants. One taste of that and they never did it again. You can spray it on anything. PetCo has it for like $5....you'll only need the smaller bottle, I'm sure. I'd offer to send you my bottle, but I think I'll be in the same shoes as you come thursday.
Grannick\'s Bitter Apple at PetCo

I am going to have to get that stuff myself cuz Piper, as I knew she would be, is a chewer. She just loves the kids toys and is a sock maniac.

I guess I should mention that he just started doing this....Like within the last couple days....don't want anyone thinking I just "let" him do it....

I never thought that Tonya. Puppies will be puppies and labs especially enjoy chewing on anything they can get their lil teeth into.

My lab licked the bitter apple stuff like candy. Tonya, toys aren't natural for a dog to chew. Work with his genetics; they are programmed to lie around the pack home and gnaw on bones. Heavy, raw bones (they get the meat bits off very quickly and the bones do not smell or get slimy/moldy/anything nasty) will keep dogs busy for hours. Since your puppy just started this, he's A)noticed your behavior and trying it out himself, or B)jealous of the time you spend with your plants or anything else and not him. You've got to nip this behavior in the bud, as it were.

I will pick up a bone or two for them on my next shopping trip....he is learning quickly about everything else, but the plants are toooo tempting for him, I guess! Now if he will just potty train a little quicker. We're getting there!

Have you been able to uset he crate with him yet? Piper has already moved out of the cat carrier to a crate we borrowed from my in-laws. I will be getting her a permanent large dog crate after the holidays as I know she will not last long in this small one either. She is growing like a weed!

He is getting better about going in there, but he whines at night and eventually keeps me awake if I don't let him out. He only had one accident last night I know what you mean about the crate. It won't be long before I can only put one of our dogs in ours and it is the biggest one they sell.... I don't have room for another one, tho!

Piper was whiney the first couple of nights but she quickly realized I was not going to take her out and she does great now. She is still needing to go out once in the middle of the night but is doing great with it!

our crates are stacked. three high.

Mine is under my kitchen table.... I may have to move them into Summer's room.... She has lots of floorspace....