When I first brought Georgia home at 8 weeks she explored the 2 rooms she was confined to by putting her mouth and teeth on everything. No worries. A little diligent supervision/coaching and some bitter apple channeled her energy away from chair legs and onto chew toys etc.

She is around me most of the day (I can work from home and can bring her to my office too) and over time I've slowly expanded her free range as she learned what's what. At night she's in the crate but now if I head out to the store for 45minutes here or there on the weekends I leave her out of the crate on the first floor of the house (no access upstairs) and she basically naps under the table. No chewing etc. My perfect puppy. UNTIL TODAY. I was in the room next door and heard an unusual noise. (I'm always aware of where she is and always at least keep a careful ear on her.) For some reason though this time I didn't investigate the odd noises and when I came to gather her for our walk I found her laying in an awkward position against the base of the bannister. I swear at first I thought she was hurt because of the odd way she was positioned. And also because that's not one of her 3 usual favorite spots to lay. Then, I saw the white painted bannister chewed through to the raw wood. I was so pissed! .....At her for doing it and at myself for not investiagating the odd noise I had heard earlier. I could have caught her in the act! The bannister can/will be fixed. Not the end of the world. My real concern is WHY OUT OF THE BLUE DID SHE DECIDE TODAY TO CHEW THE BANNISTER? Plenty of chew toys/antlers/ropes available to her. AND NOW I HAVE TO GO BACK A FEW STEPS TO CLOSER SUPERVISION. Is this the terrible teens I was warned about? Is she going to all of a sudden become a chewer? I did direct her attention to the spot and admonish her about the bannister. But I was fairly moderate because I hadn't caught her immediately in the act.

The best part of the story though is this: the awkard position she was laying in: I SWEAR SHE WAS TRYING TO HIDE THE DAMAGE FROM ME BY ARCHING HER SHOULDER UP IN THE AIR OVER THE GNAW MARKS!

Reminded me of when I drew all over my parents wall with crayons and then scotch taped white paper over the marks to cover it up.

Funny stuff.

Have a good day Golden Lovers

8-13 mos is worse for chewing than as puppies. The adult teeth are setting into the jaw and the dog MUST chew it helps that process so for many people they think that chewing is over once the baby teeth are in but that is nto the case ... you are going to need to get some good heavy hard chewables for the next 4-5 mos. if you want to save your furniture and house...

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Shalva and the Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhound
Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhounds

Shalva wrote:" 8-13 mos is worse for chewing than as puppies. The adult teeth are setting into the jaw and the dog MUST chew it helps that process so for many people they think that chewing is over once the baby teeth are in but that is nto the case ... you are going to need to get some good heavy hard chewables for the next 4-5 mos. if you want to save your furniture and house... "

This should be a sticky.

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May i run for cover now? I have 8 more months of chewing to manage??

\shivers scaredy-cat


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It will get better after the adult teeth are in for a while and then it will get horrendously worse again... so be prepared... having lots of chewables will be really helpful in avoiding damage

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Shalva and the Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhound
Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhounds

Thanks!!!

Bear has 12 teeth coming in right now. The ones right before the molars. 3 on each side both top and bottom. I heard they should have 42 teeth total, but i'm only counting 32 at the moment.


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This thread is a beautiful example of why I love this forum...

Is it possible to make this a sticky? I seriously didn't know this fact (8 - 13 months teeth setting into jaw, chewing will get worse) and I've always had dogs. GDog, I'm sorry about your banister. I hope it's not beyond repair and I'm glad your pup is ok, didn't swallow a bunch of splintering wood. Thanks for the public service post

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Ellie and Mack

Those pups that are very good and those pups that are very naughty usually calm down for a little while and lull us into believing they can have less supervision and that they know the house rules............ Then the teen age time shows up and it all flies out the window.
They are so very smart that when they are not managed or occupied they will find things to do that are fun for them but either not be safe for them or damage our homes.

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Libbie had an out of character chewing spell at around 9 months of age as well. She chewed a HOLE IN THE WALL one day, and she chewed the base of a chair leg another day. She had also never chewed anything she wasn't supposed to. I highly recommend either an antler or a nylabone chew. She chewed the heck out of one nylabone already and I just bought her a new one.

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Liberty - 10 months




Kim - Mommy to fur-baby Liberty and 2 human daughters 12 and 14 years old

Thanks All! And yes Nole fan......agree this forum is awesome!

Just to expand: we have large antlers, nylabones, other nylabones, kongs, tuffies, ropes, and more. Long tiring, interactive Play dates with neighbor dogs and running at the park time. No way around it......Back to close supervision......