Piranha with 4 legs and curly tail!


  • Thanks, no more blankets. Wouldn't he swallow the pieces of paper towel or newspaper?


  • We do brisk walks, no running, but I work up quite a sweat and he looks pretty tired after an hour, he comes home and lays down.


  • He might, but they aren't made with string, so the small bits sould'nt bind up in his gut.
    I wouldn't use newpapers because of the ink and chemicals in them.
    Get a papertowel wet and see, its pretty easy to get into small pieces.


  • I went through a stack of old sheets before I remembered the old saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and still expecting different results. Both dogs sleep with sheepskins in their bedtime crates and are just fine - no shredding. But if I put anything in or within reaching distance of the crate they are left in when I go out to run errands, it becomes a thousand little pieces. I come back to find the shreds and two defiant looking basenjis. Little brats!


  • Jajajaja.. You are so right!!! by that definition I am definitely going insane! all my old sheets now have huge circular dented holes in them!!!! Sheepskin??? I wonder. It just seems really un comfortable to leave the crate bare. also we sleep in air conditioning and I probable shouldn't worry about 18 degrees celcius but I feel cold without a blanket!


  • Which is better? Being uncomfortable leaving the crate bare or loosing your dog to an impaction of material caught in his gut?

    Paper will not bind in the gut like blanket material… and even worse are sheets and towels that will produce strings of material...


  • Try the paper towels..what do you have to lose?? The dog will have something to "tear" up and it will also have a nest of small pieces of papertowel to lay on.
    Lose the fabric items…its just a vet visit waiting to happen.


  • I agree, definitely no more blankets or sheets, will try with the paper towels…
    Thanks a lot
    D


  • I don't put the sheepskin in their daytime crate. They would destroy it!!!! Only at night time when I know they don't chew because they know we are in the same room.


  • @BasenjiDiva:

    I don't put the sheepskin in their daytime crate. They would destroy it!!!! Only at night time when I know they don't chew because they know we are in the same room.

    We do something similar with Malaika. We are lucky that she doesn't chew her vet bed when put in the crate when we are out, but the minute we return and let her out she dashes into the crate, hauls the bedding out and attepmts to chew it. Consequently we keep the crate shut when not in use.
    Also watch your bathroom towels, we have to keep the door closed because she chews the towels.


  • Hello,
    I tried the paper towels, he tore the roll up in seconds. But today I caught him chewing the pieces and swallowing them. What should I do, in the meantime I removed them, I know it's not string material like you said but still….


  • Just a word of caution.. I had a ROTTWEILER bloat on paper towels. If they ingest enough, it can cause a problem.

    Sheepskin is wonderful, but I have also had 2 dogs able to shred it. Only 2 in all these years but most won't. Certainly worth a try.

    You can also try crate flooring: http://primopads.com/

    They guarantee them and a rottie rescue friend swears by them.

    I have had 2 dogs… Arwen and my first Rottie, Tasha, who never quit shredding. Fortunately Tasha didn't have to be crated. Arwen only shreds certain materials and doesn't eat them so she has some options.


  • How about using cardboard as bedding - rather warmer than paper and when shredded it is quite comfortable.

    Two of my current Basenjis (Spring and her daughter Gbala) eat their bedding regularly and I've never had blockages so I'm always surprised to read on this forum about serious problems some people have had. I never allow them to eat anything which chew up with stringy bits as I feel that the lengths might be too long and so cause problems.

    I think we keep my dog bedding supplier in business!!


  • I'm pretty sure Simon would shred anything. It's his second favorite hobby after eating. Or maybe third after harassing the cat.

    I had heard that fleece was better because it didn't come off in strings? No?

    Also, one night we heard him methodically ripping the towels – the way a quilter rips strips. Loooong rip sound. He was very pleased with himself, especially when it meant we got up out of bed and took him outside and cleared all the bits out of his crate in the middle of the night. PARTY!


  • Patty, just because you have lucked out without blockage doesn't mean you won't. Having seen a dog die from blockage and having to deal with my own dog's bloat… I can only ask is it worth the risk? Dogs cannot digest material. Period. And in dogs this small, blockage is a serious life-threatening possibility.


  • @DebraDownSouth:

    Arwen only shreds certain materials and
    doesn't eat them so she has some options.

    HEY! I only eat the good stuff.


  • yeah, i,m not sure what to do. in the meantime ive kept some newspaper, which although i agree e chemicals arent good it seems to be the only thing he doesnt eat, I am going to order the primopad for his crate, see if that works…..


  • Got some raw bones from the supermarket today, he should enjoy that as well. Can you believe, one of the supermarket chains down here wouldn't give me some bones, they said it was company policy that they can't give them away, even though they throw them away!!!


  • Well! I have to say that I knew this would happen, and it was kind of funny, but Ayo is extremely protective of these bones. I had to repeatedly remove it from him and give it back with him growling like crazy to get him to let go of the bones without growling.


  • LOL yep once they love raw they love it. I just feed mine in crates so no fighting.

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