Ain't dogs a hoot? It's always the small, cute ones that surprise ya. We have a female Chihuahua that just turned a year old yesterday. She is everything but what a Chihuahua is believed to be. Hazel is quiet unless she is playing...no yippiness in her at all. She is bold and confident...none of that shakiness commonly seen in small breeds. She fetches like a champion and will bring the toy right back to you and drop it by your hand and sit without having to be told to do so. Great little dog...other than the fact that she is too smart for my own good. A few nights ago, my nephew and I ordered pizza for our gaming night....had the pizza left overs sitting on the kitchen table, in the box, waiting for round 2. Hazel decided she wanted pizza and climbed up in one of the chairs, which was pushed in all the way....stretched and contorted her body until she could get her head up on the table enough to grab the box, pulled the box off the table and onto the floor. When the box hit the floor, it sprang open and Hazel and Brutus (our 3 year old Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix) both grabbed a slice of pizza and had a blast eating it. Unfortunately, Hazel decided that the slice she wanted to eat was the one right in the middle of the box...so she stood on top of the pizza and ate the toppings off the middle square...so much for my nephew and I eating more pizza.
I agree with the use of bitter apple to stop the chewing. Breaking that habit is the key. Buying tougher stuff will not prevent the pup from chewing. Bitter apple works like a charm in most cases.
Hazel, as it turned out, likes the taste of bitter apple. Breaking her of chewing was pure torture...and I still don't have her fully broken of it yet. I have been 90% successful in redirecting her chewing to include only approved items....tough rubber balls, bones....that sort of stuff. She has not chewed any more keyboard cords, electrical cords or furniture for a while. Though she did do a number on the shoe string in my left sneaker the other night.
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