And...

[prosodic]

Reece just ripped a large chunk of drywall off the wall.

She does this. She scrapes the paint off the wall with her teeth (we have to make a few touch-ups here and there, after the windows are installed, since we'll probably need to repaint around the windows anyway).

She chews on baseboards. She chews on corners.

Lance is very angry with her right now. She doesn't really understand why.

I mean, it's FIXABLE. But still...

What is wrong with this dog? Our drywall eating, rock eating, mulch eating dog?

Comments

[wendywoowho.livejournal.com]

D'oh.

Sounds like she might benefit from increased crate training or leash training time. If she can not be directly supervised by either of you for any length of time, crate. If you are out and about in the house with her, leash her, and attach the leash to you (your belt loops, most likely, to have both hands free). You'll be able to keep her from situations where she'd act out, and be able to redirect her if she starts giving the wall an amorous eye.

[dimwit68.livejournal.com]

It's not that unusual in adolescent doggies. Here are some ideas.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

Calcium deficiency, eh? Well, I suppose I can look to see if there are calcium supplements for dogs. We already switched her to a more nutrient-rich food in the hopes that it might curtail her odd eating habits.

[dimwit68.livejournal.com]

I'd guess it's just behaviour, not diet. My mother swears that none of her puppies ever chew things, but they all seem to go through a chewing phase as far as I can tell. You just have to train them out of it.

Also, labs have a lot of energy and get bored easily. Are you giving her two walks a day (even if the morning one is just around the block) ?

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

I usually only give her one walk a day (haven't lately due to my illness). But she gets plenty of play in the evenings...Lance runs her all over the house.

[dimwit68.livejournal.com]

This, sounds about right to me: "From six months your puppy can have twenty minutes free running and half an hour walking on the lead daily. When your dog gets to eighteen months old, he will be able to endure as much exercise as you are able to give him". (You can over-exercise puppies, though, if not careful. Once adult, I'd guess at 1:30 - 2:00 hours / day).

I have more experience with beardies, which require similar (if not more) exercise.

Labs are quite sociable, so she'll do better out of the house, with other dogs around. The back yard isn't really enough for "free running" (unless you have a big one).

Depends on how much of a lab she is, of course!

Oh, and stick to the routine as best you can, especially while young.

[heartsinarmor.livejournal.com]

If you figure out how to fix it, let the whole world know. Sadie did the same thing, to an extent. She did chew on the baseboards, but the walls only got licked. Constantly. We had windows that started about a foot from the floor and went clear to the ceiling in our old house - they constantly had Sadie Tracks (TM) on them. She's a licker.

[a-rockett.livejournal.com]

She has the spirit of the Rockbiter from The Neverending Story!