Dangerous Habit

[greyinmaine]

Nike has been home for almost 3 months and has settled in so well. She is loose in the house, but muzzled, when I'm not home and as far as I can tell she eats her treat, goes directly to my bed, digs up the bedding and sleeps until I get home She is a bit of a hoarder, stealing things but not chewing them with one exception- she like to chew on wires. So far she has chewed 2 extension cords and the headphones to my daughters ipod. Fortunately the cords were not plugged in, and fortunately for my daughter she didn't chew the ipod, just the headphones. She also picked up the cord to a lamp but saw me looking and quickly dropped it, so she seems to know it's not allowed, but will try it when no one is looking. I did correct her when I saw this. She has no interest in chew toys, but does like rawhide bones. Since there is no real way to dog proof the house to the point that she could never reach a cord this is a big concern. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[MerlinsMum]

I'm not sure if you're saying that she is managing to chew those wires while she has her muzzle on? If so she is one smarty pants! I hope you just mean that she does it when she is unmuzzled and loose in the house and you're around.

 

I unplug everything. I get way too paranoid about coming home to the house burning down but that's just me The only things that stay plugged in are literally the fridge and the oven, and they can't get behind those anyway.

[greyinmaine]

No, she is not chewing them with her muzzle on- thank goodness she hasn't figured out how to do that! It's when I am home and she is just so quick ( and sneaky ). The second cord I had told my daughter to pick up but...

[silverfish]

She needs some training, perhaps, but there is a concern that when you're not there to reinforce it, she'll do it anyway. I'd spray all wires and plugs with chew deterrent, and make sure they're thoroughly dry before plugging them back in. You may only need to spray the loose length of the wire - try it and see.

 

Also, if she's a girl who likes to chew, try a kong, or a good quality smoked bone that won't chip and splinter. Renie needed one (plus the chew deterrent) when she first came home or she tried to eat the walls, cupboard knobs, etc. One top quality smoked bone outlived her, with only a few tiny bits nibbled off the ends.

 

Edited to add: I do understand the problem because DS has a house rabbit who only has to hop past a wire to leave it dangling. Is there any way you can tape the wires flat? They're a lot less attractive that way.

Edited October 16, 2010 by silverfish

[greysmom]

Duct tape wires to the floor or mouldings. As for the Ipod, if they have to buy new headphones a couple times, maybe they'll learn to keep them picked up!!!

 

Chew deterrent is good. Also, a squirt bottle for those longer distance corrections.

[jenn8]

You could try a Marshall cord protector. They sell them on line at Foster & Smith or Petco.

 

 

Jenn

[Fruitycake]

I always wondered about those cord protectors. Are they a flexible rubber tubing? If so, if they were small enough to fit into my cat's mouth he would LOVE them. He likes chewing on rubbery things, and plastic things (I have a lot of Bic pens that are "autographed" by ShadeMan because he loved chewing on them, and the best toy for him is actually a drinking straw from MacDonald's).

 

I like the taping the cords down, but if you don't want to tape them I know that some hardware stores sell rubber covers (for cords crossing doorways or walkways) that might work. Home Depot has one that I found by doing a Google search for "floor cord protector" and they call it a "Over-Floor Cord Protector" (good guess on a name, eh?).

 

Good luck!

[Cheryl2]

Wrap any exposed cords with aluminum foil. Very few animals will chew on that stuff

[Guest avadogner]

I'd try buying the cord wraps and a bottle of Bitter Apple chew deterent. Spay them down good and then wrap your cords. I worked Level I trauma at Children's Hospital of Alabama and have seen too many kids who bit cords. You don't want any details it was awful. I can only imagine what would happen to a grey. Talk about nightmares. We have taped down all cords or put them above our new boys reach. Thank god he is only interested in eating books right now. I now consider myself lucky.

-ava and augie's mum

[silverfish]

I always wondered about those cord protectors. Are they a flexible rubber tubing? If so, if they were small enough to fit into my cat's mouth he would LOVE them. He likes chewing on rubbery things, and plastic things (I have a lot of Bic pens that are "autographed" by ShadeMan because he loved chewing on them, and the best toy for him is actually a drinking straw from MacDonald's).

 

 

 

I thought those cord protectors sounded great .. until I read the reviews. Apparently they really stink, and what's worse, many animals still chew 'em.

 

I worked Level I trauma at Children's Hospital of Alabama and have seen too many kids who bit cords. You don't want any details it was awful. I can only imagine what would happen to a grey. Talk about nightmares.

 

I've seen (and helped treat and nurse) a dog who bit through a cord. I agree, not pretty. You want to avoid that, IAAP.

[Tallgreydogmom]

Did anyone suggest attaching a muzzle cup to the muzzle? You can probably get one thru your adoption group.

[Guest Audeamus]

Another vote for duct taping the cords. Or could you try to run them above an easy chewing level if at all possible? I'd also give the bitter apple spray a try.

Just remember to WASH YOUR HANDS after applying it to the cords. Don't make the same mistake I did and eat something right after applying bitter apple

[greyinmaine]

Thank you all for the tips. I will try taping the cords down and spraying with Bitter Apple. Does anyone know how long it last after spraying? As this is something she does so infrequently it is that much harder to correct- I never know when the urge will strike! It has happened on the average of once a month. Wouldn't be a big deal if not for the danger that she will chew one that is plugged in. She is not really much of a chewer- she has a Kong but unless it has food in it she has no interest- has never chewed on it. She does like to chew on rawhide bones after she eats, which has kept her teeth nice and clean- a bonus since brushing is not something she wants to allow. Something about the cords just seems to appeal to her unfortunately.

[kamsmom]

Wrap any exposed cords with aluminum foil. Very few animals will chew on that stuff

 

I've done this and it only takes a few times that they try and then they leave it alone. I also line the counter tops with foil for dogs who are counter surfers and it scares them off... It's a cheaper idea and worth a try.

[Guest sheila]

if it's the feel of the rubbery wire that Nike likes to chew they also make decorative cloth cord covers that may dissuade her. If you google decorative cord covers you should find some. Heck if you sew at all they would be easy to make with strips of fabric.

[Guest greytloves]

I always wondered about those cord protectors. Are they a flexible rubber tubing? If so, if they were small enough to fit into my cat's mouth he would LOVE them. He likes chewing on rubbery things, and plastic things (I have a lot of Bic pens that are "autographed" by ShadeMan because he loved chewing on them, and the best toy for him is actually a drinking straw from MacDonald's).

 

 

 

I thought those cord protectors sounded great .. until I read the reviews. Apparently they really stink, and what's worse, many animals still chew 'em.

 

I worked Level I trauma at Children's Hospital of Alabama and have seen too many kids who bit cords. You don't want any details it was awful. I can only imagine what would happen to a grey. Talk about nightmares.

 

I've seen (and helped treat and nurse) a dog who bit through a cord. I agree, not pretty. You want to avoid that, IAAP.

 

 

I was just going to mention how bad they stink! They do! Badly!

[Guest lasharp1209]

We have had this problem with our cat. I don't know what it is that attracts her to cords, but she is lightning fast and as soon as she reaches for it, it only takes one chomp for her to bite it in two. She chewed through a total of 4 ethernet cables, a pair of ipod headphones, an xbox controller cable, a laptop charger, and a few other things. We tried bitter apple spray which did nothing (for her, but it is worth a shot because it does work for some animals), wrapping with cord protectors, and finally we ended up just putting all cords away when we weren't using them, if possible. Laptop power cord and ethernet cable went in a drawer, ipod went in a drawer, etc.

 

One day about a year ago she decided to take a bite out of the TV power cable... she dashed away as fast as her legs could carry her, hissing and spitting, and didn't go near the TV for days afterwards. She was fine, but she has not touched a cord since. We count ourselves very lucky that she was not hurt, but we do enjoy the added benefit of no more cord chewing

 

All this to say, I feel your pain -- it is extremely frustrating. My advice is just to try several things and see what works for her, because different things work for different animals. And definitely continue to muzzle when you leave the house!

[Brindles]

I haven't had time to read the responses so forgive me if this has been said already, but I pained my cords with Tabasco sauce and they haven't been touched since.

 

My puppy is the culprit, not the greyhounds.

[Guest greybookends]

Bitter Apple is great stuff but it does not work on every dog or puppy. You may need to try different things that have different bad tastes. Sour, hot etc.

[Guest Profgumby]

Apparently Beauty is a cord chewer and PatC is a paper chewer! So, since we crate while we are gone, simple measures with not leaving cords blatantly exposed seems to work fine.

 

And I say apparently Beauty is the cord chewer as we found one cord that had one side of the copper wire broken and partially expose on the only extension cord we use in one room....Luckily for us, not to mention her, the the cord was unplugged when she chewed it!