Question:
I know nothing's going to really WORK (), but what do folks do to try to stop their chins from chewing on things they're not supposed to chew on? I'm especially worried about wires, and would love to try to protect the walls too. I saw a spray product called "Fooey!" that's supposed to be very bitter -- has anyone used that? I was also wondering about possible coverings -- wrapping wires in tinfoil, for instance...would that help, or will his little teeth tear right through it? There are also plastic wire covers out there, but everything looks like it'd get chewed through pretty quickly. Anyone got any tricks that help reduce the gnawing?
--maia


Answer:
Try placing wires inside pvc pipes (you can get them in white as well which might match your apt better in case you are worried about looks )
I've tried something similar to Fooey but Tinsel just licked it all off
I found I can somewhat "train" my chinnies not to chew on certain things. Usually, when I first let them out in a room that I've made as safe as possible, (chinnies always find the stuff you've missed LOL), I will physically move them away from spots they decide to chew on that are innapropriate. I will move them as often as it takes, but if I see them being really persistant, I just pick them up and put them in their cage for a "time out". It usually only takes 5 mintes before they are begging to come out again, so I usually take them out again. I repeat the whole process again if they insist on chewing on something. It's alot of work at first but after a while they seem to get the hint and do other things like actually play.


Answer:
Diego responds to a clicking sound that I make and stops chewing. Another thing you can do is break a raisin into as many pieces as you can. Then, when the chin starts chewing on something they aren't supposed to, shake the treat container. They should come running and you can reward him/her with a small piece of treat. As they get the hang of this, you can alternate between treat and an ear scrath, or something.


Answer:
Sophie,,,the only thing I disagree with the method of time out in the cage is that of course they love to play out of their cage but we also try and make their cage as fun as possible also so they enhoy their time in their cage also so when you put them in their cage, they are on time out and I think they know it but you don't want then to think their cage is a bad place,,,,like when Dakin still slept in a crib, and it was hard for me to find ways to put him on time out because he was onlt 1 and people told me to put him in his crib,,,the way i looked at it is if I put him in his crib for time out, I don't want him to start thinking of his crib being a bad thing or when I put him to bed at night I didn't want him to think he was being punished for something,,,,I don't know if this made any sense, I feel like i've just been rambling


Answer:
It makes sense, but the chinnies learned fast and I don't really use the method anymore. They now know that when I say no, they can move away and do other things. They haven't seemed to associate the cage with a bad thing and it has worked for us as far as the learning process went.
Jigsaw was a different story when we got her since she's a bit older and I think she was somewhat trained while at bear's place. She knows what no means and will just trot away and do something else.


Answer:
We have put ALL our wires in PVC tubing. You can get them in black or white and a 8ft piece costs around $4. The tube is hard (impossible to chew) and requires a hacksaw to cut.
We have also put apple twigs/ hay/ treats wherever Taboo likes to chew. She will run up to a wall or chair leg and get distracted by a yummy apple branch instead.


Answer:
well thats good,,,I have never had to sau No to my chinnies becuase there is nothing they can do worng in the bathroom,,,,,there is 2 small teeth marks in the rubber runner but I don't think they liked the taste of it because they haven't chewed it sinse,,,,and we do have wood molding but my cat has already runined it by using it as a scratchiong post so i'm not worried about it,,they haven';t chewed it yet but I'm assuming one day one of them will take a bite out of it,,,


Answer:
The only thing I've had to say no to is wall corners or baseboards. Obviously I can't take those out of sight for them LOL
Rincewind the apple branch/hay/treat trick is a good idea. I may try that if I have trouble with the chinnies again. Thanks for the tip!


Answer:
Oooh, thanks, everyone -- the PVC tubing over wires is a GREAT idea. Thanks for all the tips!
--maia