We had great success using a small water gun. If Elmer started chewing on something he wasn’t supposed to, we would say NO and pick up the water gun. When he saw we had it and if he still kept chewing, we would again say NO and squirt him. It took two days to untrain all of his habits that were ‘incompatible’. He had been an outdoor dog, completely undisciplined but turned into the best dog in quite a short time. Good luck!!!
I tried the water gun trick (actually a squirt bottle) on our new Sheltie last year, and it only makes her angry, and she not only barks at the water bottle, she tries to eat the stream of water. She does the same to the garden hose, running under the water stream and biting at it, trying to bite the nozzle, and even the faucet when I’m turning on the water.
Otherwise, this dog is pretty good - and smart - and doesn’t chew things up, but she barks at EVERYTHING. When I sneeze, it sends her into a barking frenzy.
I’m told it’s the nature of Shelties, as is herding. She tries to herd everything that moves. I think she’s really a democrat.
But, she’s not quite a year old, and we’re hoping she’ll grow out of it. I think I’ve made a little progress, as I only have to yell “Shutup” three times now before she starts to quieten down.
That worked for me for about a week.
Then our dog started opening her mouth and trying to drink the stream of water.
She’s a real stinker