18 month old Lab still chews his blankets ?

As the title says, he loves to chew his blankets or of course his chew bones , leaves everything alone for the most part. He has a stash of firewood he likes to play with outside. He was gifted to me about 7 months ago and I'm lucky to have a thrift store nearby so blankets are cheap but I wonder about this becoming a bad habit or will he grow out of it ? We live a fairly laidback lifestyle and he uses his kennel willingly or as needed but I recently rolled up a newspaper to swat a fly and when he seen that in my hand he tucked tail and ran out of the room. I suspect someone may have disciplined him that way when he was younger ? I use 3 tones when dealing with him; the soft baby talk for his cuddle time, the normal run of the day voice for the most part and of course for discipline or immediate action my louder, deeper barking commands type voice which he knows means I'm not happy with whatever he was doing but it does bring him to attention and he behaves. Sometimes all I have to do is give him "The Look" and he knows.

So ? Will he grow out of it or does he have an anxiety issue ?

I don’t see anxiety here, I see boredom.

If the blanket chewing is taking place in his kennel …..the easy solution ….. Stop putting blankets in his kennel until he learns a blanket is not a “chew toy”. Ensure he has something else to “play” with instead of a blanket.

Could be boredom. Sometimes the weather isn't conducive to play time and sometimes I have to kennel him to get work done around here as I'm on a 50 acre farm with a regional road out front and leaving him unsupervised is a no-no. Now that we are getting cooler temps I can increase the retriever training so that may help. I did remove the blanket but make sure he has his Nylabone always available. It's been 14 years since I had a puppy and should dust off my training books as I remember one main quote " Training a dog is easy, training the master is the hard part".

I agree with others, labs get bored easy. I'd agree with the rolled up paper though, seems like someone has used that before. sounds like your voice levels are good and she listens. My girl really doesn't like it if I use my loud voice, she will stop what she was doing and come right to me and cuddle as to say I'm sorry.

Sounds like you have a good working dog. As other stated boredom, or lack of work, is the the most likely cause. Pick a hunting style you enjoy doing and teach the dog how to particpate in that activity. IMHO, dont let the dog chew wood as the splinters get in the gums.

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Originally Posted by Dakota Creek

I don’t see anxiety here, I see boredom.

If the blanket chewing is taking place in his kennel …..the easy solution ….. Stop putting blankets in his kennel until he learns a blanket is not a “chew toy”. Ensure he has something else to “play” with instead of a blanket.

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Good advice.

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Originally Posted by Marker

Sounds like you have a good working dog. As other stated boredom, or lack of work, is the the most likely cause. Pick a hunting style you enjoy doing and teach the dog how to particpate in that activity. IMHO, dont let the dog chew wood as the splinters get in the gums.

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My vet - well, my dog's actually - recommends sticks as the best dog teeth healthcare tool. Softwood though, not hardwood.

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Originally Posted by werner.reiche

My vet - well, my dog's actually - recommends sticks as the best dog teeth healthcare tool. Softwood though, not hardwood.

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Good to know, thank you.

The baby talk isn't helping things. Dogs don't understand baby talk.

Keep your command voice consistent.

Treat the dog like a dog and not a human unless you enjoy bad behavior.

Labs need daily off leash runs to get that energy out. If I don't exercise my chocolate daily, she gets extremely annoying... :)

The team I was on used the Kocher method, this included positive verbal commands and also negative verbal commands. For example, a positive verbal command would be 'good dog' spoken at a high pitch or a noise like a bird chirping when the dog did part of its training successfully. A negative verbal command could be saying "BARK" loudly (yes a person would say BARK) or a noise that sounds like a buzzer which is used when the dog gets distracted by something like a squirell, the negative command could be done at increasing volume depending on the situation. Hounds respond well to both positive and negative commands, they can be very perceptive to human emotion.

I have had a few Labs in my life and my last dog was a Chessie that I had to put down last November , she was 13 1/2 years old. I've forgotten the joys of puppyhood. LoL ! So far the positive/negative reinforcement is working as I haven't seen anything new chewed up.
As for his log chewing ? He likes to carry them around and some of them are quite hefty so fetching a goose won't be a problem.
As for baby talk ? I know it's stupid but they do love it for some reason and of course it's not my normal working tone albeit I live alone and YES, I do talk to my dog and know that most of what I say is just blah, blah, blah to him but my commands are one worded and most times don't need repeating.

hey I talk to my girl (lab) all the time, carry on a conversation with her several times a day, of course it is a one sided conversation. a chessie shouldn't have any trouble with geese, my girl last year got tired after about 5, then just went out and put a pawn on them so they couldn't run, we had to go pick them up, field hunting.

My old dog was a Chessie and she was a big girl 105 Lbs but not fat all muscle. My new guy is a male Chocolate Lab and he weighs in at approx. 80 Lbs now and carries a big firewood log around all day. He is not chewing up his blankets as far as I can tell so between the reprimands and extra time outdoors training things look good !

Thanks for the advice and comments !

We have a couple black labs
male 10 years American field lab (he's BIG!!!) an absolute perfect angle except for food
Male 3 years old English lab (he's tiny) and an absolute terror and just an odd duck. he's been extremely oral since day one and to this day if he gets nervous of anything or even unsure he needs to chew on something (99.9%) of the time it's his own stuff but he gets in his own world and kinda sucks/chews on stuff

If you’re outside a lot and have to kennel the dog, I’d consider either building a run to put him in or a dog box and chain him out. Or another option is a zip line.. Either 3 would work and give the dog exercise at the same time…

Update on chewing things;

Would like to say he quit but every once in awhile he chews on his old blankie or a throw rug . He has three Nylabones to chew on in the house and one in the truck plus a pile of logs outside to play with.

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Originally Posted by DanE

We have a couple black labs
male 10 years American field lab (he's BIG!!!) an absolute perfect angle except for food
Male 3 years old English lab (he's tiny) and an absolute terror and just an odd duck. he's been extremely oral since day one and to this day if he gets nervous of anything or even unsure he needs to chew on something (99.9%) of the time it's his own stuff but he gets in his own world and kinda sucks/chews on stuff

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Re: "sucks/chews on things". The black Lab we have now is 11 years old and has done the stuffed chew toy "suck" his old life. From what I can observe it's just like a horse that "cribs", or wind-sucks on things like corral rails. This action releases endorphins (the "feel good" hormones). The dog almost goes into a trance, and gently pulses his jaws on the toy, sometimes for a good ten minutes. I've never had another Lab that does this. I wonder if it's due to the fact that his mother had mastitis and the breeder took him away from his mom early. We got him at seven weeks, which I feel is too young to be separated from his mother and littermates.

If someone is going to have A "SPORTING BREED", then they must have time to give that dog daily hard running exercise... dog park better than nothing. If they can't do that a variety of problems will arise.

I agree with the post from Sharon. The dog needs to be on a "What have you done for me lately?" program. Does this dog get affection for breathing, eating his food, sitting next to you, etc.? A formal exercise regimen is ideal. He needs activity, structure, an expectation, accomplishment. In the absence of a decent work-out, he needs his mind stimulated OR as Sharon stated, the bad/stressful behaviours can be many and varied!