# HELP! He keeps eating the window sill molding



## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

I dont know what has gotten into Harley recently but anytime we go to bed or we leave him home alone(work) he decides to eat the window sill!!! He is gated off in the front room...there isnt much in there besides a fish tank, his crate and a work out bench!. Since last saturday he has been chewing on the window sill...my boyfriend replaced the first one thinking that maybe he wouldnt do it again. Now he ate the new one and he has now started on the big front window! This is a major problem because my boyfriend is renting the house!! We tried bitter apple spray and lotion for wood, neither works so far(he likes both). We really dont want to crate him when we leave or when we go to bed...the whole purpose for a gaurd dog(big mush) is to have him be lose! Any advice will help.

He is a chewer to begin with...i just bought him a motorcycle tire(new) to put in the front room for him to chew on...do you guys think that may help. I figured he could chew on that as much as he wants!


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## Sampsons Dad (Jul 4, 2008)

nope...crate is the best fastest method I have come to use in my 18+ years of house breaking pit bulls and any bully breed.


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## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

even if they are almost 2 years old?? He knows better! You even crate your older dogs?


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## aimee235 (Apr 29, 2007)

He doesn't quite know better if he's doing it. 2 is still pretty much a puppy when your talking about this breed. Maybe try something hot like hot sauce or something more unpleasant. Since he doesn't do it when your there you can't really correct it, but you could booby trap it some way. Like for diggers you can bury balloons so when they dig they pop and scare the dog. The crate would be the best thing. Since he is most likely not gonna actually guard anything unless people are just scared by looks. 


Our friends house got robbed the day before Christmas and there pit let them take every single present. Our neighbor a couple years ago had 2 pities chained in front of there door and a crazy guy jumped over the fence and was messing with there dogs. Who were just scared someone was being mean to them. We had to tell him to get out of the yard.


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## NinaThePitbull (Feb 10, 2010)

my suggestions is white distilled vinegar spray on and around the windows, not diluted, will keep insects away and even clean the area of bacteria.

but i definitely agree that you should be crating your dog. even when you leave the house.

a pitbull is not a guard dog when you are not at home, he might even welcome the burglar with a wagging tail, protective when his family is inside , yes. when no one else is around, it kind of depends on each dog. they dont really have the traits to be guard dogs. never did.

i remember watching a video on animal control going in a washington dc apartment to extract a pit because they are banned there. when they walked in empty apt. the pit remained in the living room, cautious but not aggressive at all and they easily put the stick/loop/leash thingy around his neck and walked him into the van. 
i remember thinking, "try doing that with a doberman, rottweiler or GSD."

it will certainly protect you against other dogs though...lol. and yes it does have the intimidation factor and not all pitbulls will behave the way that DC pit did, but no one here will disagree with me when i say they are not guard dogs.

my 3 suggestions
1- crate
2- crate
3- crate
safer and more humane for your dog. and your dog can be easily extracted by emergency responses should there ever be an emergency in your home when you are not there.


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## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

yea i think the crate is what we are going to have to do. I didnt wanna resort to that but hot sauce on the window sill doesnt look so appealing..would it stain?


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## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

I know thats the best thing to do is crate, theres a reason why i really did wanna crate him--he used to be crated all day everday 24/7 when he lived with my boyfriend parents, therefore he was constantly hyper when we took him out. I guess its different now though since my boyfriend took him and he has free roam to the house, so crate wont be so bad now. I just dont want him to be so hyper when we take him out when we get home.


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## NinaThePitbull (Feb 10, 2010)

PittyLover314 said:


> yea i think the crate is what we are going to have to do. I didnt wanna resort to that but hot sauce on the window sill doesnt look so appealing..would it stain?


i would worry about ants ans stuff with the hot sauce. white distilled vinegar is a pet owners friend, just search " vinegar uses" online, and youmight end up throwing away the majority of your household cleaning products. i use it ( different dilution levels) for my dogs coat, to clean her crate, etc. etc.

you will deal with a bit crying , at first, but you will be glad to have a piece of mind when you leave the house.

and you will always have a crate for when you need to travel or when company comes over ( the ones who might not be comfortable wit your doggy running around) , utility people, etc. etc. ( you wont have to lock him in a room). Just make sure you have the right size crate, his puppy crate is too small.

take care and have a great day!!!


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## NinaThePitbull (Feb 10, 2010)

PittyLover314 said:


> I know thats the best thing to do is crate, theres a reason why i really did wanna crate him--he used to be crated all day everday 24/7 when he lived with my boyfriend parents, therefore he was constantly hyper when we took him out. I guess its different now though since my boyfriend took him and he has free roam to the house, so crate wont be so bad now. I just dont want him to be so hyper when we take him out when we get home.


 i hear ya, when i take my dogges out in the morning, they naturally want to go crazy all over the house. i immediate put them in separate areas in the same room ( yet still close by) and we work on "Stay command" ( after i take them for a pee and give them water)

very soon they are dozing in their little corners and i have my time to make my coffee/tea, clear my head and do my morning things before i start them on their walk or exercise.

i would suggest not to do the whole " excitement voice ' with him when you walk in. no matter how happy you are to see him.

My dogs get excited when they see they are about to be de-crated. yet within a few seconds they sit and wait quietly because they know the door doesnt open until that. 
then the door opens and they remain in the crate, waiting for me to give the command to come out.

this doesnt take long for them to learn. then they come out , go pee, come back in and go into whatever are i designated for them to sit/lay and wait for their water. then to just chill and wait for daaddy to put his morning face on. 
this may sound cold, but i give them no love in the process, just words of encoragement for obeying. while i am doing the coffe/tea morning email thing, i periodically go over and praise them or give them a treat.

i purposely did this because getting up in the morning and immediately taking them to exercise was not working out, on the days they needed to wait for me, they werent being patient. so now we have a gradual increase of activity in the morning.

long story short... dont come home, open the crate and go crazy with him if you do not want hyperactivity whenever you let him out.


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## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

i totally understand that. It just stinks to have him in the crate for 8 hours sometimes. We are going to have to start working on it...i know its for the safety of my dog and the saftey of the house to crate him so i guess i have no choice! Thanks a bunch for the advice. I apprecaite it.


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## Sampsons Dad (Jul 4, 2008)

If i am not home or the dogs are not out side i crate them. At night I crate all of them except the ones who has matured and proven to be trustworthy. I rotate who can come inside and be the "house dog" for the day.
Since my pit bull died I don't really have a resident couch potato.
My other dogs were always yard dogs and my pit bull was the house dog.
It took 3 years for my pit bull to stop chewing (window sills, toys, chair legs, etc...) and being a goof ball in the house. 
I put him down at thirteen years old so it will be a while before I will have another 'house dog.'


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## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

Yea i guess he's still very much a puppy even tho he has matured alot!! I know once ge grows out of this stage..he will be a wonderful house dog. Hes already wonderful he just needs a little of improvement with the chewing lol


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## ATEXAN (Feb 11, 2010)

Get a rag and hold it under the sill, put some Louisiana hot sauce on the ledge and sprinkle cayenne pepper on it; sit back and wait. Have some water ready, let the dog get into it then tell him "NO." Give him some water and wait to see if he goes back, 9/10 he won't. It will clean up with 409.


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

does he possibly have a vitamin deficiency? It sounds like he's very frustrated, did you have him neutered & does he get walked daily - it makes a difference, trust me? What kind of food do you feed?

Lex went through a chewing phase but not to that extreme. Just flip flops, phone books & anything soft or fluffy, like tp or pillows. Basically anything that could make a mess he could spread all over the house. He also chewed a corner of the ottoman once, he got popped on the hiney & scolded profusely - didn't do that again...

Reintroduce crating as a positive thing - it's not punishment so don't think of it as such. Give him special treats he doesn't normally get for the crate only. I give Lex the extra tough black rubber kong, stuffed with pb & treats that I freeze the night before & he gets the next morning in the crate. He was hesitant & honestly a pain in the butt at first but after gradual daily encouragement he now gladly gets into the crate & I PRAISE him to go in I don't scold. Just have to get up an extra few minutes early each day to coax him in & I always remind him of 'cookie' that's the key word. My husband looks at it as bribery, I look at it as positive influence & things are no longer torn up.

Fell asleep on the lazy boy & for the first time last night, Lex slept out in the living room with me, nothing was missing & no poop or pee. It just takes alot of patience & encouragement. Typically he sleeps in the room with us every night to be on the safe side, finally he's maturing now that he's a year & a half. But I make a concerned effort to always crate him, positively with a key word he understands

Hang in there & hope things get better for you!


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## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

Lex's Guardian said:


> does he possibly have a vitamin deficiency? It sounds like he's very frustrated, did you have him neutered & does he get walked daily - it makes a difference, trust me? What kind of food do you feed?
> 
> Lex went through a chewing phase but not to that extreme. Just flip flops, phone books & anything soft or fluffy, like tp or pillows. Basically anything that could make a mess he could spread all over the house. He also chewed a corner of the ottoman once, he got popped on the hiney & scolded profusely - didn't do that again...
> 
> ...


He goes for long walks every day..thats not the problem he also gets his vitimins. He has been neutered from 6 months. This is how he always has been he likes to chew...i dont think he is frustrated or anything. He is normally very calm and relaxed when we are around, its only when we arent home or if were sleeping and he is up and bored. I would blame it on being bored if anything. I would get another dog to keep him company but with the living situation and the fact that my boyfriend is renting is a problem with a second pit. He's good with going into his crate just to lay down but now we are going to have to start closing the door.


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## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

ATEXAN said:


> Get a rag and hold it under the sill, put some Louisiana hot sauce on the ledge and sprinkle cayenne pepper on it; sit back and wait. Have some water ready, let the dog get into it then tell him "NO." Give him some water and wait to see if he goes back, 9/10 he won't. It will clean up with 409.


hot sauce would end up probably doing more harm then good for him...he has a sensitive stomach to everything, he is hypo allergenic and can only have his normal food from the vet and hypo treats. Im afraid if i did that he would get the runs....otherwise that would be a great idea


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

PittyLover314 said:


> hot sauce would end up probably doing more harm then good for him...he has a sensitive stomach to everything, he is hypo allergenic and can only have his normal food from the vet and hypo treats. Im afraid if i did that he would get the runs....otherwise that would be a great idea


Yeah, I would think twice before running for the hot sauce. their are natural *detouring* scents that you can get from the health food store if you check at your local health food market. The people that work there are typically very resourceful, not sure if you have a whole foods or vitamin shoppe but they might be able to help.


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## PittyLover314 (Dec 25, 2009)

Lex's Guardian said:


> Yeah, I would think twice before running for the hot sauce. their are natural scents that you can get from the health food store if you check at your local health food market. The people that work there are typically very resourceful, not sure if you have a whole foods or vitamin shoppe but they might be able to help.


i actually have both near me. i'll check it out!


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

PittyLover314 said:


> i actually have both near me. i'll check it out!


Sorry had to edit:

There are natural *detouring* scents that you can get**

improper sentences bug me - sorry


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