[rannmiller]

My roommate's dog (we're guessing he's a border collie/pointer mix about 1 year old) eats the trees in our yard all the time and it's getting really annoying (mainly because I rent so they aren't our trees for him to eat anyway). Any suggestions to get him to stop this?

I might also mention my roommate doesn't spend a lot of time training him so he's not really good with basic commands like "leave it" and "come" to him those seem to me "keep chewing" and "run away chase me play time!"

As much as I love dogs, he's not my dog, not my responsibility to train and driving me crazy! When I talk to her about it she says "He's just a teenager, he likes to be outside, I'd rather have him eating the tree and digging up the yard than locked up in his crate."

So if you know of any simple methods I could use to shape him up or maybe deterrents for chewing the tree (like Bitter Yuck or whatever that stuff is) or a way to approach her so she's more receptive to this, I'd love any and all suggestions. :biggrin:

 

[chowder]

Rocky is a stick chewer big time but he limits it to dead branches and logs. We did have a border collie mix when I was a kid that chewed down every small tree in our yard.
The one thing that i can think of that they do at our park here for the beavers is to wrap the bottom two feet of the tree trunks with chicken wire. It is cheap, you staple it on at the top and bottom, and he can't get to the trunk that way. It doesn't hurt the tree and the trees can keep growing. I use chicken wire to keep the dogs out from under the decks and stuff and they learn pretty quick not to chew on it. It's not too hard to handle and you can get a roll of it at Home Depot pretty cheap. I don't think your landlord would mind. it's not too noticeable.

 

[ChattyCathy]

I have to agree w/Chowder. I think chicken wire is the best way to go. If you spray something bitter on the tree it will only get washed off each time it rains and won't last long while the chicken wire will still be there.

 

[rannmiller]

Wow that's a brilliant suggestion, I'd never even thought of something like that! Thanks guys!

 

[jeffitup]

We have tree chewers also, they sometimes chew on a part of a big root or the tree bark, sometimes try to crawl up the tree a little to chew on the bark. Sometimes they'll try to dig up a piece of a root if they find one in the dirt & make a big hole that we then have to fill back in. Throw up when they eat too much of it, haven't done it much lately though, we watch them pretty carefully when they're in the back yard & when they do it we bring them inside or go out with them & play with them or get them to do something else. They're usually pretty good about just watching for birds & squirrels & stuff & that keeps them busy. We've done the chicken wire thing-works but make sure you secure it real good/tightly because they'll try to chew through it. The "tree" in our backyard we'd like to get rid of anyway so we don't care if it dies, we usually try to get rid of anything on it they can chew off like pieces of bark & make sure there are no ants or anything that'll hurt the dogs.
Good luck with it.:smile:

 

[sunnych]

Thats really kool

 

[BabyHusky]

yea i used chicken wire in the past also. does your roommate know she's responsible for replacing those trees when and if your landlord asks? i made an old roommate, who let her dog literally mark everywhere, pay for carpet cleaning. she fixed her act asap.

 

[claybuster]

You could probably sprinkle some thumbtacks down and discourage...Stop...I'm just teasing you!

The chicken wire sounds like a good idea. Whatever you do, it's not good for the dog. Wood splinters in mouth and gums is a possibility. Definitely something your roommate should try to discourage IMO. The wire or maybe long range water pistol?