Hello, My Wife and I got a Yellow Lab puppy about 4 months ago, and he has been primarily living in my backyard for the last 2 months. I had thought that I had puppy-proofed everything, but didn't even think about the AC unit. The little mongrel chewed through the thermostat wires on both of my units, and caused the transformer to blow on both of them. This damage is not covered under my home warranty, and I just had to dish out nearly $600. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the little **** out of my AC unit? We tie him up and keep him on the other side of my yard, which is 8,000 SQFT, and the first thing he goes to untied is my AC unit.
Wrap the wires in chicken wire, or put a small fence around the unit. Those little pups are destructive!!!
Look, I don't like being that guy, but if I don't bring it up then somebody else will... why does the dog stay tied up in the backyard? If he must be in the backyard unsupervised, you're not going to keep him/her away from the unit unless you physically block it off. However if you supervise the puppy's play-time, there are many humane training techniques you can utilize to teach the puppy that chewing on the AC unit is off-limits.
You have my deepest sympathy The damage caused by our sweet Labradoodle female puppy (now a year old, but she's still a puppy - 70 pounds worth!) has driven us crazy. She took chunks out of two Afghan carpets. I'm not even making a big deal out of the 12x16 foot Beligium carpet in our living room that has a bite out of it, although that one we can get repaired (I think). Needless to say, every carpet we have that she might be able to get at has been rolled up and put away until she gets over her bad habits. A bit late, though. You might consider getting the electric "fence" thingy for your yard that zaps them when they get close to a boundary. Never had need of them (except in the house!), but my brother-in-law had good luck with one. We love her, of course, but it's easily the worst hit I've ever taken from a dog, except for vet bills, if you added up over 40 years of them. :-(-
Lost my iphone charging cord to my 8 week kitten today. Retail cost much lower. Everyday I discover something I did not expect to see.
Dog doesn't stay tied up all the time. I am talking about for a few moments, I had him tied up to either clean up a mess, or mow an area I did not want him to come into. The minute he is untied, he goes straight for the AC unit without hesitation.
I know someone who leashed his puppy lab in the backyard unsupervised. This is a bad idea. He found the dog dead all wrapped up in the leash. I would not do this if I were you. Edit: Should have read further. A warning to others.
Bring that dog inside and make him part of the family. Crate train him. As far as the AC problem, enclose it. You can make a nice looking, secure fence with a trip to Lowes and a few hours work. Hell, you can even paint it to make it extra pretty. My dogs have double fencing to deal with when they go outside. One big fence to keep them in the yard and one smaller fence so that they don't destroy the more delicate parts of yard.
I can vouch for crate training, but you'd need to start soon (younger age the better). I was *very* skeptical when I first heard about it, but our current dog now totally misses her crate. When we come home, she runs to the spot the crate used to be just to show us what a good dog she is. And when we get out the cat carrier, she gets all jealous and tries to get into it. LOL. I should make a movie of that.
Seems like your dog has a lot of energy. You will need to find a way to give him/her more exercise to burn that off. Labs are working dogs and they can easily redirect their energy into destroying things.
I agree with those suggesting crate training. It's the best thing for your dog's well-being and for your property's as well. I have an English Bulldog who could chew clean through a steel bar if he set his mind to it, and thanks to crate training and proper supervision he has never destroyed a single one of my things... not even a something small like a sock.
Slide a piece of flexible metal conduit around the stat wire. The tech should have done that and put 3 amp fuses in series with the transformers if he's going to charge $600 IMO.
Make a Jalapeno and Water solution up in a spray bottle. Spray the areas you wish to not got chewed on. Reapply as it wears, or gets washed off. Dogs are very sensitive to spicy odors/flavors. They will not enjoy it at all.
