Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When I leave the house my dog stays in the living room, and all other doors are shut. I leave every toy he has in there with him, and when I get back, my house is destroyed.....sometimes. At first I thought it was the lenghth of time that I was gone. No more than 2 hours at a time, and made sure he was fed and went to the bathroom before I would leave. So I cut down on the time I left him alone and he still did it. He chews the doorframe, the windowsill, takes all the cushions off the couch and ripped one open and all the stuffing out. gets into my papers, which I thought were out of reach, and rips them up, and bites and bends the blinds. He leaves the garbage alone, surprisingly, but will find the occasional soda 12-pack box and rip it up. When I act like I leave to catch him, I end up waiting hours on end to no avail, and I know he thinks I left because I even park my car away, and walk back and sneak through a back door I left open. I've caught him in the act a couple of times and corrected him, but he still does this. This is only sometimes. other times, I come home and the house is how I left it. but when I praise him, the next time I leave, it's destroyed. PLEASE help me, I'm 7 months pregnant and this is too much stress to deal with. I don't know what else to do. PLEASE, again. any advice is very much appreciated. Thank You.

This sounds like boredom or separation anxiety. The only solutions I can offer is either crate train your dog or baby-gate him into a room where he cannot destroy anything. And maybe buy him a few different Kong toys (they are hollow and can be loaded with kibbles, peanut butter etc and frozen) and leave him one when you leave so he has something to do for a good long time. Sometimes, leaving on a tv or radio on low level also helps because then he has "company". Sometimes, however, it doesn't seem to help at all.

My sympathies - and congrats on your baby.
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Tasha

Natasha, now waiting for Mom at the Bridge
Amber, not doing well with her hip displasia
Harlequin - sweet black & white kitten gone before
Roscoe the stray who came to be guided Home
All my beloved pack who have gone on ahead

my dog is a little over 1yr and he destroys everything if i am not watching. i had to crate him. he doesn't like the crate because he knows that means i am leaving but deals with it. if your dog becomes dead weight when you try to put him in the crate try put the leash on the dog before you try putting him in the crate. my dog gives up the fight when the leash goes on him.

Thanks to both of you. I actually do leave the t.v. on and it doesn't seem to help. I have to hide the couch cushions when I leave so I have them when I get back. I have actually had him to where he could only be in one room, but he chews the door frame every time, even when I catch him and correct him. I got him from a friend's friend when he was 6 months old, I don't know how they had him. I guess my last resort is the crate, I was going to buy one but recently lost my job, so I gotta get the money first. Again, thank you very much for your advice, It is VERY much appreciated.

My Amber has separation anxiety (or is just so bonded to me that she can't stand it when I'm gone.) The tv doesn't help her that much either, nor did having Natasha around. But, she wasn't really destructive....except for paper....she ate bills and prescription boxes - and kleenex out of the bathroom dustbin. So, I made certain that the bathroom trash didn't have used kleenex in it and that I taped (with duct tape) the kitchen dustbin. She can be inventive...I can be inventive. Oh, and she also countersurfed, so I keep the counters bare.

With your dog, I'd suggest that you barricade the couch with something (boxes maybe) if you don't want him/her on the couch itself. Hiding the cushions is good....essentially, babyproofing the room you leave your dog in. It may not completely eliminate destruction, but it helps cut it down. Also, check the local paper for used crates to buy. You might get a good deal on a cheap one.
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Tasha

Natasha, now waiting for Mom at the Bridge
Amber, not doing well with her hip displasia
Harlequin - sweet black & white kitten gone before
Roscoe the stray who came to be guided Home
All my beloved pack who have gone on ahead

Its 4:30 am, I'll Be BOCK

>>Its 4:30 am, I'll Be BOCK

We've just been visited either by the Terminator or future Governer Schwartzenegger - tee hee! Okay, Snakey....waiting to hear.....
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Tasha

Natasha, now waiting for Mom at the Bridge
Amber, not doing well with her hip displasia
Harlequin - sweet black & white kitten gone before
Roscoe the stray who came to be guided Home
All my beloved pack who have gone on ahead

I say you need to get a kennel. You said you can't afford it right now so you will HAVE to compromise. You see, allowing the dog to do that will only intensify the problem. You are allowing the dog to create a bad habit and when it gets bored or lonely it resorts to its way of having fun. Problems like have many solutions but I do what I know works. Confine him when you leave. He has no choice but to sit there and deal with it. Period. You say you can't afford a kennel. Well, Do like I do when I used to leave. Get about 4-5 cinder blocks from Lowe's, Hoem Depot or whatever. Stack them up. Go to walmart and get the heavy duty tie-down for dogs to hang outside on which connects to the post that goes in the dirt. Wrap the tie down cord (get the heavy duty ones, not the red ones, it should be clear) through the holes of the cinder blocks. Leave enough cable( it is actually a cable with a plastic sheath) like appx 6-8 ft. It is more room than a kennel and he won't fell like he is in one. Put that in the kitchen against a wall and make sure he won't go under the table or anything and get it all tangled up or else there will be a disaster when you get back. Put a rug down for it to lay on. Blankets tend to get caught up and wrapped around the cable. I used to have my kennel divided and put on inside the other. I put the blankets in there and at the end of the cable was the little bed. Do that and it will forget about the bad habits with new better habits that aren't so destructive. Or confine it to the bathroom. Put the board against the door way. Have supports on the board so you can "lock" the board in place to prevent pushing it over or squeezing through the sides. Put a blanket in there and some toys. Get a cattle bone that is RAW. Raw bones do not splinter. Only tiny pieces come of from chewing and are fine if swallowed. This is for tension. The intense chewing will elieviate stress better than rubber other toys. I on;y use hard rubber balls or king kongs for play and nothing else. These won't get torn up easiely and will provide years of enjoyment. If he doesn't like them then make him like them. When you tell him to sit or ? then get REALLY EXCITED and give him that. After a while he'll enjoy that old thing. They will become the best buddies and will look forward to getting it. Just like police dogs. They only give a simple cheap toy for the treat when something is done well for what ever job it was taught. That's all you need. Then that'll save money on outrageous treat prices. Also if you must use food then most people don't think of this but use the dog food. Each kernel is a treat and now you have thousands of them.

I posted an example for you to show you what I mean about the bathroom barrier setup. This should be all you need. Then you created your own kennel that is alot larger than a kennel.

The chain is pretty explanitory with the cinder blocks. The chain setup and the bathroom-barrier will both cost less than $20-$25. So that should be efficient enough.

Also, like Tasha said, check the papers for kennels. They usually have them available from time to time. Also check the net....

Look.......

For $30.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2353310375&category=20745

for $15....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2353336613&category=20745

Here is the link so you can do the rest of the looking.....You can find one if you really look around.....You have to do your homework....

http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/GetResult?sokeywordredirect=1&ht=1&sosortproperty=1&satitle=dog kennel&from=R8&sorecordstoskip=0

Anymore questions just ask......

Thank You for all of your help!!! Wow. something there has to work. I did bring him a raw bone. I went to Albertson's and got a huge raw cattle bone for $7. He wouldn't touch it. Needless to say that thing is gone, I had it for a long time and he hadn't even made a little bite mark in it. So I got rid of it. problem is I don't know what his previous owners gave him to play with or chew or what. He has a horrible habit of sniffing and licking EVERYTHING. even the furniture he'll lick. And he chews stuff he know's he's not supposed to be because when I get up to tell him no, he runs and hides. He knows better. I'm gonna try that kennel thing you suggested. It has to work. The problem whith keeping him confined in a room is that he destroys whatever he can. I used to keep him in our laundry room (it's huge, bigger than our bathroom) and put all his toys and bone in there, and he chewed the door frame and the door and put holes in the walls. It did no good. I don't know what to do. do you think an animal behaviorist can help? Maybe the problem is bigger than I'm seeing. But thank you for all your help. I'm definately trying the kitchen kennel thing. Thank you again.

No, an animal behaviorist is quite expensive and all they will do is try to trouble shoot.I say move to round 2. Buy a shock collar. Everytime he chews on something he shouldn't zap him. You said he'll do it in front of you or if he won't hide and watch him. After a few sessions of that he'll never do it again. He is going to think the handles or the doorway is shocking him. You don't say anything. No bad dog, or good dog, or anything. He'll look around and realize it can't be you and it had to be the thing he is chewing. Start with the laundry area. After that is shock proven then you can leave him in there. Then expand over time. I have to go to this party and maybe I can come up with a few ideas for you.....

n/p

Sure does and it's a fairly clear diagram. Should help.
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Tasha

Natasha, now waiting for Mom at the Bridge
Amber, not doing well with her hip displasia
Harlequin - sweet black & white kitten gone before
Roscoe the stray who came to be guided Home
All my beloved pack who have gone on ahead

Yeah, the first time I posted it it didn't work as I erased it. I guess you have to have it in the gallery to work correctly....Hopefully if she comes back, she'll see what I mean with the picture. Took me a little bit but is worth it if it helps in anyway.....

>>Yeah, the first time I posted it it didn't work as I erased it. I guess you have to have it in the gallery to work correctly....

That or elsewhere on the net, like a website, yes.
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Tasha

Natasha, now waiting for Mom at the Bridge
Amber, Forever in my heart
Harlequin - sweet black & white kitten gone before
Roscoe the stray who came to be guided Home
All my beloved pack who have gone on ahead