Chewing Woodwork: Cayenne's the Cure

None of the usual advice worked with our black lab rescue pup. He arrived fully formed at five months, and soon proved himself amongst the great chewers on the planet.

At seven months he merely chewed shoes. At eight months, he chewed all the woodwork in our kitchen, and then peed on it to boot. The house looked absolutely terrible.

The only solution: until he broke his habit, we painted the woodwork with a mixture of the spiciest cayenne you can imagine.  The red stain actually improved the appearance of our woodwork, in the interim (it looked that bad).

Have a dog that continuously "explores the world with his teeth?" Here's the regimen I would suggest:

1.As a first step, you need to un-invite the pups from getting into things, by puppy-proofing the house. That means:
*putting a latch on all doors they have gotten into in the past
*getting a dog-proof garbage bin
*temporarily going minimalist with the coffee-table books
*Trying to remember to put all loose papers high up on the kitchen counters
rather than on that low coffee table
*keeping the bedroom door closed
*putting smooth pebbles at the base of any plants they might wreck.

2. To make your expectations clear (make it very clear to your pups that you have not invited them to chew away your house):
-Mix together the hottest cayenne pepper you can find, with water and a
lemon, to create a "basting sauce".
-Get together some old socks, some ruined shoes, even some cardboard boxes or whatever else you can think of that they like to tear up, and "baste" them with the cayenne mixture. Strew a bunch of the bait all around the front entryway where the dogs usually go nuts.This will teach them that chewing your stuff is not fun. (Along with the basting, I also recommend giving this a try).
-If your dog is going nuts on the woodwork, go right ahead and baste it - all of it.

3. ALWAYS offer alternatives. Now, next to this unpalatable stuff, leave them treats and bones and toys. Every time you catch them in the act, take their mouths off of whatever it is they should be avoiding, and place the kind of toy they are welcome to, in their mouths. What if they don't love the alternative? Baste their bones in something really tasty to the dogs, like  barbecue sauce.

4. Finally, be certain your dog is getting enough exercise! None of the above will make a huge difference if your dog is idle, lonely, and looking for attention and an outlet!

Be patient! Punishment does not work with this kind of thing. A simple "no" and "tsk!" will get your expectations across. Do not expect them change their patterns immediately. The process may take a few months at least. Your furniture may get ruined, your living space taken over by your pooch! But if you're diligent about sending the right messages to your dog, he'll get over it, I promise!