Need advice for our old boy

[robynkendall]

We have two dogs in our family- Joe, an Australian Shepard mix age 10, and Sam the boxer age 2.
The problem is that Joe has started chewing on things and destroying them. He usually prefers to chew up plastic toys that belong to the kids (I have found at least 4 GI Joes missing their heads) but last night I did find a mutilated beanie baby.
This has started within the last couple of months. While I understand a dog's need to chew (they do get bones), Joe has never previoulsy been a big chewer. He never used to like rawhides or toys of any kind (believe me, I tried) but now he will find some of Sam's toys(or the kids' toys) and chew them up. Is it normal for a 10 year old dog to suddenly discover the joy of chewing, or could this be due to something else?
For the record, they eat Canidae and there have been no recent changes in the household.
Thanks in advance for any input

 

[bucca]

i would have his mouth looked at this happened to a friends dog. his gums were in bad shape and chewing helped relieve the discomfort(that what she was told. had gums fixed problem stopped) just a suggestion, hope its that simple. good luck.

 

[Mollie_T]

We used to have an Aussie Maybe he's bored, or stressed about something. I have always been told that as an older dog progressively ages it can return to the puppy stage. This happened with our Lhasa Apso, at about 12 she started chewing and messing in the house, she lived to be 14. Maybe take him to the vet to make sure nothing is physically wrong, in the mean time get him a Kong. You can stuff it with any of his favorite treats & he can chew it to his little heart's desire