Help! New four-legged terror in the house.

[Muppet]

I just rescued a yuoung adult doxy/beagle cross from the county animal shelter where I go to take photos for the weekly adopt-a-pet column in the paper where I work. (Hazard of being exposed to those sad little puppy-dog eyes)
At first Lucy was shy. (abusive past?) But now she has turned into a terror. She has not only ripped the flooring up in the kitchen while we are away at work, but she has also helped to untrain my four other doxies.
Yes, I know that it is time to break out the crates once again. But what other suggestions do you all have to help out with her destructive behavior, such as chewing and grabbing my leg (gently) in her mouth when I have to leave?
I'm really in the dog house over this one because while the rest of the family has taken to her, my husband hasn't. (His hours have been cut at work so the added vet and repair bills to the home aren't exactly helping the situation out. I know that given time, he will soften to the arrangement after all after I adopted Lucy, a strayu hound showed up at our place and Bryan started feeding him and named him Elvis. Yes, Elvis, it even says so on his new name tag...after all he's nothing but a hound dog.)

[~8DachsieAngels~]

Have you tried bitter apple spray you can put it on anything u dont want him to chew on... also you might want to contact someone about obedience classes i know u said that your hubby's work hours were cut but u still might come out cheaper getting him in there than having to replacing the rug or kitchen floor ... petsmart has a class that runs really cheap you might call there ... they should be able to help you get a handle on your new pup. Also dachshunds as you know are tenacious as a rule and beagles are real chewers too ... put the 2 togather and i bet you have a lean mean chewing machine... <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm42.gif" border=0> Good luck with your dogs... im sure others on this board will probably have some really good idea's also.

Jen

<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by ~8DachsieAngels~ (edited August 26, 2000).]</font>

[TessieMom]

My most recent adoptee was a chewer. She chewed holes in everything: bedspreads, throws, dog beds. Now I just keep a large supply of chewies (booda velvets) around and she prefers corn starch chews to material and other off limits stuff. After 5 months she is better about not having to chew constantly, but I suspect it is a nervous habit. She even has to chew herself to sleep at night.

<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by TessieMom (edited August 26, 2000).]</font>

[Penny's Aunt]

Trainer/Behaviorist Jean Donaldson says that dogs see the entire universe as divided into 3 parts: edible, pee-on-able, & chewable. By far the greatest part is just another chew toy. He's not being destructive, he's just being a dog.

Get some chew toys: those cornstarch chewies, rawhides that have been chopped up & put back together in sticks (safer than plain rawhides), Macho Six from Sitstay.com, sterilized bones stuffed with cheese, peanut butter, etc., cheap stuffed animals from thrift shops & yard sales, etc.

Every time you see a dog chewing on the wrong thing, get a chewie & "trade".

Instead of a crate, you might want to try a tether, which has been wonderful for me & my pup (no room for a crate). Anchor a 3-ft tether in a place that is out of traffic but still in a place where people congregate, & there's lots of light. When the dog is in the house & no one is paying attention to her, she should be on her tether with her toys within reach. I have 3 places to tether my pup: beside my bed (but we're not using that now, she is good loose w/ the door closed), in the kitchen in a cubbyhole under the counter where the dishwasher used to be, & in the living room where she won't be tripped over.

If you need some instructions on how to make a chew-proof tether, e-mail me.