I've been buying a few outside/active play toys for Eva to use this summer when she is at my house. This is one of them, a Little Tykes basket ball hoop. She loves it and got to put one ball through the basket.
Then Ozzie got the ball away from her and now it looks like this:
In about 10 seconds he did that. Maybe less. In my backyard there is a graveyard of dead balls Ozzie has killed.
He destroyed this one before Eva even got to put her little hands on it.
I feel so sorry for that child. He wants any personal object that belongs to her so he can chew it up. I can't tell you how many little toys he has mangled to smithereens. And now he has moved on to eating her bottles and sippy cups. I don't leave them laying around, honestly. He actually got up on the counter and got this one and ruined it.
Do you have any words of advice? Aside from taking Ozzie to the pet rescue center? In particular, do any of you know of a ball that is dog proof? The baby needs to be able to play with a ball without the dog eating it up within seconds of it coming into the house.
Here is how he has been occupying himself while I write this. Maybe a home for deliquent dogs isn't such a bad idea.
How could someone so cute be so annoying! Perhaps someone at a pet store, or your vet's office, would have a suggestion for this problem. Or you might have to buy the toys in double - one for Eva and one for Ozzie!
Posted by: Donna | April 23, 2013 at 04:27 AM
Oh oh. That is one jealous puppy! Just hope he doesn't take it out on the baby if he can't find a ball or toy to destroy. There must be some kind of behavior modification program for delinquent dogs somewhere! Good luck!
Posted by: Marge | April 23, 2013 at 04:46 AM
It's hard to stay mad at that face, isn't it? Had a cockapoo like that...he was competing for attention...and got it (negative attention is better than none). I'm no expert, but I think he will want whatever Eva has. There are lots of good articles online about dog behavior that may help. Good luck!
Posted by: Bev | April 23, 2013 at 04:51 AM
At the pet store here (think it was PetCo) we got a stuffed animal for our new Westie (adopted him in July 2012) because it was advertised as "indestructible". . . .so far, except for a little tear in a seam, it has survived.
Usualy stuffed animals didn't last 2 minutes in our house.
Perhaps you could get Ozzie one of those toys so that he would leave the little ones things alone?
Or get each of them one so that Ozzie thinks he stole a "good one"?
Good luck.
Posted by: Sherry V. | April 23, 2013 at 06:12 AM
I agree that Ozzie is behaving like a jealous older sibling. Since he may not listen to reason, I wish you good luck in behavior modification!
Perhaps the (maybe) indestructible dog toy is a good start. My father used to employ a squirt gun to "shoot" misbehaving dogs and most of those dogs didn't like that one bit. They learned not to bother the things that caused them to be squirted. I realize spraying water inside your home is less that ideal, but if push comes to shove ...!
I wonder if the simplest measure is to put Ozzie outside when Miss E is playing with her toys, then put the toys away in a closet or lidded toy box before Ozzie comes back indoors. A cake tin or plastic shoe box could safely protect the bottles and sippy cups in the kitchen.
Hope you find a workable solution to this annoying problem!
Hugs!
Posted by: Barbara Anne | April 23, 2013 at 06:36 AM
We have an egg shaped rigid plastic ball for our Rotti. It is indestructible. Here's a link of one. I don't know if it's the same but it looks like it. http://www.amazon.com/Jolly-Pets-Plastic-Ball-12-Inch/dp/B003TAWW9A/ref=sr_1_6?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1366724175&sr=1-6
Posted by: Ann Olson | April 23, 2013 at 06:41 AM
A tired dog is a well behaved dog. When our Westie was chewing up sofa pillows we were advised to take him for a long walk every day. Then he was to tired to chew up stuff. Also it was quality attention. He settled down nicely.
Leslie
Posted by: Leslie Myers | April 23, 2013 at 07:02 AM
I have a ball from the pet store that is indestructible; Ozzie may want to play with it but he won't be able to destroy it. I've found that my dog doesn't want to play with something she can't chew up.
Posted by: Sue | April 23, 2013 at 07:19 AM
Any thing by Kong.. Nyla Bone is another for chew bones. Our dog is 9 and these have survived whereas lots of other toys were destroyed in less than a day- maybe even an hour or less.
I've gotten Millie's toys from the big box pet stores.
Some of the Kong toys, you can fill with a treat and it keeps the busy.
Posted by: Pam | April 23, 2013 at 07:22 AM
OK, I"ve finally stopped laughing enough to comment, dang, he's the cutest. He's jealous, plain and simple. My dog had decided to be jealous of the cat, they've lived together for 9 years, but now the dog spreads out in front of her food/water bowls and sleeps there, protecting it from the cat!! Good luck.
Posted by: Sharon | April 23, 2013 at 07:37 AM
I have a doxie and he loves to chew so I bought him an antler! Here's what I'd do let little Eva touch it and get her hands all over it (I'll bet she has good tasting stuff on her hands even when you think they are perfectly clean)then let the dog have it. By the looks of what he's picking to chew on he enjoys a hard chew. My doxie loves the antler and it has reduced frustration chewing because he will actually go and get his antler when he needs a little chew time.
Posted by: Linzey | April 23, 2013 at 07:58 AM
Not so funny to you but the posts about Ozzie's mischief always makes me laugh. No suggestions though. It could be that he is jealous of Eva/doesn't want to share your attention with her. But he is a rascal regardless, isn't he.
Posted by: Annette | April 23, 2013 at 09:12 AM
Sorry - I'm not much help. These are just reasons #1225,1226, 1227... that I'm a cat person. Not that I don't like dogs, but ... I'm a cat person. :) Good luck!!
Posted by: Jennifer G | April 23, 2013 at 09:45 AM
lol, that dog is a big STINKER! ;p On the bright side: he doesn't proceed to eat the balls...that would be HUGE vet bills. ;p
Dogs learn quickly and they spend a lot of time trying to out smart us. It's working...it's working. ;p
Posted by: ina | April 23, 2013 at 10:21 AM
Try "kong" toys, or a "jolly" ball or maybe a "Beco" bone?
These have all been great with my dogs
Posted by: Chris | April 23, 2013 at 10:55 AM
I love that basketball hoop for Eva... too bad that Ozzie did too! That little boy is trouble:)
Posted by: Sinta | April 23, 2013 at 10:59 AM
Oh, I do love that dog!!!!! When baby Eva is not around, coat one of her balls with Bitter Apple. See if that helps.
Posted by: Jean | April 23, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Doggie treadmill...
Posted by: Jennifer | April 23, 2013 at 11:56 AM
All I can say is, been there, done that. I liked the suggestion above to keep things put up when she is not there and maybe put him outside when she is. We had to really watch our Welsh and knew his limitations. As he got older, we had to limit his time around the grandkids. I wish you the best of luck....it's not easy, I know.
Posted by: Elaine S. | April 23, 2013 at 11:57 AM
Ok so he's supposed to look annoying but how cute is he with that scrubber in his mouth! Sorry no suggestions, don't have a dog, but that sippy cup is just what my lids looked like after my youngest son got through with them :)
Posted by: Anita | April 23, 2013 at 12:21 PM
We have bitter apple spray from the pet store to use when chewing is a problem. That might be something to consider but you'd have to keep it away from Eva. Heavy Kong toys would help Ozzie but that's not really the problem!! He wants HER stuff!!! Do they make Kong sippy cups?
Posted by: Jan | April 23, 2013 at 12:30 PM
Right now Copper's favorite toy is the 'Wubba' by Kong. It looks a squid. When we had a similar basketball goal we would store the ball up high so the dog couldn't get it. Then we only played ball when the dog was outside, away from the basketball goal. That may not be possible for you, depending on if Ozzie goes outside by himself or not. I know keeping little toys away from dogs isn't easy!
Posted by: Michele | April 23, 2013 at 12:47 PM
Your story made me giggle, but when I got to the picture of Ozzie I couldn't help but say, 'Awwww!' He's so cute. It reminded me of a time I was dog-sitting a friend's yellow lab in my home. She demanded constant attention, and for the 5 minutes that I left her to her own devices while I ate my breakfast she chewed my blood pressure cuff. That was $50 down the drain. I didn't have the heart to tell her 'parents' about it when they returned.
Posted by: Norma Carter | April 23, 2013 at 01:18 PM
I'm sorry! It drives me nuts when my dogs are destructive. Whenever my dogs get naughty, they need more exercise. Also, I had to specifically train my dogs not to touch the baby/kid stuff.
I have one dog that the only way to get him enough exercise is a trip to the dog park in the morning and a long walk in the evening.
Good luck!
Posted by: Monika | April 23, 2013 at 01:59 PM
My local vet suggested rubbing the things you don't want chewed with citronella and offering an alternative that they can chew. It worked for my dog, I chose some old things to rub over but she got the message pretty quickly and only played with her own toys after a few days. Other than that all you could do would be to confine the dog whilst Eva plays but personally I prefer method one then they can play together.
Posted by: Margaret | April 23, 2013 at 02:20 PM