Boredom Behavior: Many dogs may chew drywall because it provides sensory reinforcement – that is, dogs just love to chew! The behavior can persist or escalate merely because of the enrichment it provides for the dog.
Dogs chew on or eat drywall for a number of reasons. They could be frightened of something, bored to tears, anxious, or simply seeking your attention. Drywall in itself is not necessarily dangerous, but this behavior is a call for help that needs to be addressed.
Destructive behavior in dogs is fairly common and can be normal behavior (playing/exploring) or associated with anxiety due to boredom from lack of exercise and/or confinement, being separated from a family member, loud noises (thunder, fireworks), and being an obsessive-compulsive individual.
“It’s very common for dogs to eat drywall and most will just have an upset stomach. Drywall is an irritant to the digestive system, but should not kill a dog, unless they suffer and internal obstruction and blockage.
Hunger or Thirst. Your pup could be licking walls simply because he’s hungry or thirsty. Your dog could have discovered some moisture on the wall or even a yummy scent. Check your dog’s water bowl.
The Root of the Behavior
He could be anxious, bored, hear other critters roaming in the walls, looking for attention, or have pica, an eating disorder. He might be an anxious pup, and destroying your wall is one way for him to relieve that anxious energy.
Your dog is bored, stressed, or anxious.
As with little kids, dogs have a hard time knowing how to direct boredom, pent up energy, or stress. Often they resort to some sort of compulsive or obsessive behavior like chewing or digging. These behaviors act as a relief valve for pent up stress and anxiety they’re feeling.
Signs of pica in dogs can include things such as vomiting and diarrhea, but lethargy, a loss of appetite, and excessive drooling can also indicate a problem. An intestinal blockage is one of the side effects of untreated pica in dogs.
Any of the following medical issues could lead to pica:- Anemia.
The sole symptom of pica is compulsively eating things that aren’t food or have no nutritional value or benefit. Most people with this condition prefer a single type of non-food item they eat. However, pica can cause other conditions or issues, which have their own sets of symptoms.
Taste deterrents might also be helpful for destructive chewing, provided they are unpleasant enough to deter the behavior. Products such as bitter apple, bitter lime or Tabasco sauce are often recommended, but many dogs do not mind, or learn to enjoy the taste.
Ensure mental and physical stimulation
Once you have found out that your dog is messing up objects and chewing them out of boredom, you should definitely provide more exercise and stimulation in its daily routine. Short walks around the block are absolutely not enough to satisfy your bored dog.
The Bottom Line. While there have been concerns about contaminated drywall emitting sulfurous gases, there is little evidence to show that uncontaminated drywall is linked to serious health risks.
The desire to investigate interesting objects and the discomfort of teething motivate puppies to chew. Much like human infants, puppies go through a stage when they lose their baby teeth and experience pain as their adult teeth come in. This intensified chewing phase usually ends by six months of age.
The most common side effect dogs experience from eating plaster is an upset stomach. After a while, your dog may start to feel uncomfortable. Not long after that, they may start to throw up the plaster they ate. They may also suffer from a bout of diarrhea caused by the plaster.
Pica. Pica is the most dangerous reason a dog might eat wood. It’s a nutritional deficiency that can cause dogs to eat all manner of objects, including wood, rocks, and dirt.
Most puppies will outgrow their desire to eat everything. For others, the behavior will lessen but perhaps not go away entirely. However, if we make too big a deal out of it, then it can become a more obsessive behavior that turns into a more serious problem.
A: Dogs develop a penchant for excessive licking of surfaces (ELS), the clinical term for what Licky is doing, for a few reasons. According to research, the most common reason by far that dogs lick floors and other unusual surfaces is dysfunction or pain of the stomach or intestines.
Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD or OD) is an inflammatory condition that occurs when the diseased cartilage separates from the underlying bone. It most commonly affects the shoulder joint but the elbow, hip, or knee (stifle) may also be involved.
Possible reasons why your dog scratches walls are that it is anxious, bored, it hears something in the walls, or that it has learned that the behavior is rewarded. There are actually a number of possible reasons why your dog does it and it might be due to a combination of them.
7 Proven Ways to Calm Your Anxious Dog- Exercise Your Dog. If your dog has separation anxiety, the obvious way to ease their mind is to never leave them alone.
Physical Contact.
Massage.
Music Therapy.
Time-Out.
Calming Coats/T-Shirts.
Alternative Therapies.
Dairy products, like yogurts, cheeses, and cottage cheese, are a great source of calcium for dogs and can be mixed in with dry dog food. Vegetables and legumes such as broccoli, spinach, and beans are rich in calcium, but many dogs will refuse to eat them, finding their taste unappetizing.
You can easily make a chewing deterrent spray using vinegar or citrus oil. Alternatively, you can rub some clove oil on items that are most “chewable.” The bitter taste will deter your fluffer from noshing on your things.
Vinegar, ammonia, hot pepper mixed with water and even alcohol all work. Or you can get a commercial pet deterrent spray from your local pet store.