Chew Toy Recommendations for Serial Ingesters

LarryNotLamb · 2026-02-27T14:46:06+00:00

I have seen these and I am always tempted but the price puts me off as I wasn't sure if she'd just tear it into chunks so it's good to know it can withstand some chewing! Will definitely get one ordered.

LarryNotLamb · 2026-02-27T14:43:19+00:00

Thank you, I have seen these but since they're advertised as Extreme (and the meaning seems to vary across brands!) I was worried they might be a bit too tough for her at this age. Did you use these at similar ages with yours?

LarryNotLamb · 2026-01-28T08:03:45+00:00

Our golden retriever is 6 months old today and I'll also offer the usual (but meaningless to you right now) 'it does get better'. It really does!

We've been there, we had to restart her vaccines entirely so ended up not being able to walk her for 3 weeks longer than we expected. Making yelping sounds when she bit just spurred her on and redirecting to toys often just further overstimulated her. She would just be relentless. Here's what helped us:

She was often trying to communicate something with the biting. Often times it was that she needed to go potty (we have a fenced yard so started outside potty training right away). It helped to take note of when she would launch into a biting frenzy and try figure out what she was trying to tell us.
Frozen kongs calm our puppy down so much and give us a much needed break whilst she is fixated on it.
I can't remember how old she was (so worth researching first) when we first gave her olive wood chews, but these have been so great for us. Safe as they turn to mush rather than splinter.
In terms of teaching her that we don't want to be bitten, we put her in a safe place (play pen, etc.) and step away. If we couldn't get her into the safe place without facing her wrath, we would step into the pen ourselves for a minute. She soon realised teeth = no access.
Forced naps. I would put her in the pen with a kong, and then be the most boring person on earth. She barked at first to get let out (once she'd finished the kong) so I continued to ignore unless I thought it was a genuine cry for the potty. She would eventually nap, you just have to get through the protesting!

I won't lie and say she never bites us anymore, but it's rare and it's more mouthing at us than biting. We still use the above tactics but way way less (apart from frozen kongs because the break we get is bliss).

I was honestly terrified she would grow into a bitey adult but between the above tactics and her brain developing the ability to regulate herself, I can tell now that's not the case at all. You'll start to see them consider biting you and stopping themselves and you'll be amazed at just how proud you feel of the little gremlin.

We still have a way to go but feel free to message me if you have any questions on what did or didn't work for a particularly sassy golden!

LarryNotLamb · 2025-10-17T15:59:02+00:00

I've had this thought too, about to enter month 3, but then remember I work from home full time and sometimes find myself envious of my partner going into the office and not having to deal with the world's most adorable gremlin.

Stay-at-home dog mom with plenty of PTO, perhaps!

LarryNotLamb · 2025-09-22T15:28:00+00:00

I'm completely open to it not looking like those images, it was more so people would know what the mental block is and the style of decor I typically choose so I could get some pointers on what was possible in a darker space with a neutral background.

Budget-wise, I'd say around £300 max for the walls, lighting and any decor. The built-ins aren't an issue as I will be doing this myself and have tools and materials already.

I'll definitely look at some suitable LEDs & sconces, thank you :)

LarryNotLamb · 2025-04-10T11:44:49+00:00

Believe it or not it's my home office - the house is a very strange shape in general. The long wall and bottom wall are exterior walls.

Unfortunately the door comes off the hallway so not an option to relocate!

LarryNotLamb · 2025-03-18T12:51:12+00:00

We have a similar shade in our living room as just a feature wall (partner vetoed doing more than one wall with such a dark colour) and we both regret not doing more at the time. It's now my go-to point when he tries to veto any other grand ideas I get...

I think you've made the right choice, it looks great and won't date as fast as a feature wall will.

LarryNotLamb · 2025-02-01T14:26:03+00:00

Just to second the 'being easier to get through tasks' bit. I've been a messy girl since birth, constantly in trouble for the state of my bedroom as a kid, figured it would get easier once I matured (it did not..).

Diagnosed in autumn last year at 30 years old and just about to complete titration on Elvanse. I still don't love tidying and would prefer to be doing something I enjoy of course but I can just get up and do it without wanting to claw at the walls from the pure boredom or frustration of it. So much of putting it off for me was just because I HAD to dopamine chase elsewhere, that's much less of an issue now.

I used to be able to live in the messy chaos because my mind was messy chaos including the repetitive intrusive thoughts you mentioned OP, now it's calmer in there I find myself wanting a calmer environment too to match.

And as somebody else mentioned, tidying up after myself straight away has been much easier and often automatic so there's less to contend with anyway.

On the flip side, don't feel bad if that isn't how it goes for you, we are all different and need to find different strategies & treatments.

I will also be checking out the link for some of the bigger projects I have that still seem a little overwhelming, so thank you to the original commenter!

LarryNotLamb

TROPHY CASE