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Hello, Two weeks ago, my husband and I have rescued a 1 year old Aussie mix that was scheduled to be euthanized.  Teddy is neutered and housebroken, and gets along with Maya, a four year old lab mix we rescued about two years ago. The problem we have with him is that sometimes when we leave them home alone, he destroys things, Maya has never be destructive.   The first week, I only worked half days, we crated him.  Then last weekend we left the house for short (1 to 3 hours) periods of time.  He did not touch anything and we felt that to be a good sign.  Monday when I went back to work full time, he got into the toilet paper.  Tuesday, nothing was touched.  Wednesday he chewed up the foam on a fake plant, not the actual plant or woven basket.  Today he chewed up another plant, this time including the basket, emptied the bathroom wastebasket, squirted whiteout on our wall unit, ripped our sponges off the showerknob, turning on the shower at the same time,  pulled down our pen and pencil box and proceeded to chew on these, tore a couple pages out of our TV Guide.   By the way my husband comes home for lunch and at that time nothing was touched. Needless to say, this shocked us.  We now have to crate him again.  I never had to crate a dog before, it somehow makes me feel uncomfortable. My questions are: 1:  Since Maya has the run of the house, where should I place the crate? Should they be able to see each other? 2:  How can we soothe Teddy’s separation anxiety in the future?  We would like for both of them to have the run of the house. Teddy was found as a stray, suffered from kennel stress, was adopted then brought back two weeks later, then went to a foster home until we adopted him. Please, any suggestions would be appreciated. Farida

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello, > Two weeks ago, my husband and I have rescued a 1 year old Aussie mix > that was scheduled to be euthanized.  Teddy is neutered and housebroken, > and gets along with Maya, a four year old lab mix we rescued about two > years ago. > The problem we have with him is that sometimes when we leave them home > alone, he destroys things, Maya has never be destructive. > The first week, I only worked half days, we crated him.  Then last > weekend we left the house for short (1 to 3 hours) periods of time. He > did not touch anything and we felt that to be a good sign.  Monday when > I went back to work full time, he got into the toilet paper. Tuesday, > nothing was touched.  Wednesday he chewed up the foam on a fake plant, > not the actual plant or woven basket.  Today he chewed up another plant, > this time including the basket, emptied the bathroom wastebasket, > squirted whiteout on our wall unit, ripped our sponges off the > showerknob, turning on the shower at the same time,  pulled down our pen > and pencil box and proceeded to chew on these, tore a couple pages out > of our TV Guide. > By the way my husband comes home for lunch and at that time nothing was > touched. > Needless to say, this shocked us.  We now have to crate him again. I > never had to crate a dog before, it somehow makes me feel uncomfortable. > My questions are: > 1:  Since Maya has the run of the house, where should I place the crate? > Should they be able to see each other? > 2:  How can we soothe Teddy’s separation anxiety in the future?  We > would like for both of them to have the run of the house. > Teddy was found as a stray, suffered from kennel stress, was adopted > then brought back two weeks later, then went to a foster home until we > adopted him. > Please, any suggestions would be appreciated. > Farida

Hello Farida, Very often the crate itself causes stress related problems… There is nothing wrong with crating, IF the dog is comfortable with it. But generally, they cause more problems than they solve. You are probably going to continue to use it anyway, so keep it in a central location… Here’s the separation anxiety advice you need… Start using it right away for short periods to get him accustomed to it while you go out for just a few minutes, and do likewise when you crate him. SEPARATION ANXIETY Here’s how to deal with the separation anxiety. This usually works, you will have to use it for at least four occasions before it will become effective:  Say good bye to your dog in the usual manner, then make a big fuss over saying good bye to an article, a bone or toy you intend to leave with the dog. Tell it to be a good toy or whatever, and that you’ll be back, and for it to have a nice day while you are gone. Put it down, and do not look at or speak to the pup as you leave. The first thing upon returning, do not speak to the dog, search for the article, pick it up and give it a big hello, saying how pleased you are that it had a good time and behaved so well while you were gone. Make a big fuss over it. Then turn to your dog and tell your pup that he has been good, too, NO MATTER WHAT HE HAS DONE, and be brief with his greeting. After a few occasions of doing this, the pup may learn to bond with and try to emulate the toy’s good behavior to get the big greeting. Never acknowledge any damage he may have done. Do not scold or remark to him about any damage or mess he has made. Clean it up without him being present. When he comes back and looks at what you’ve cleaned up, tell him he’s good, instead of mentioning all of the extra work he caused you. That will break some of the stress that he may feel about having been alone, and you won’t be teaching him howe to push your buttons. Here’s what to do about damage or accidents when you were out. Place in a convenient location, an empty soda can with six pennies in it, and crush it square so it will not roll.When you come into the room and see the mess, ignore it and continue about your business. You must be casual about this, or the dog will get wise to you. With the dog in the room, surreptitiously pick up the can and casually walk past the mess and ask what’s that, as you drop the can next to whatever damage or mess he’s done. Say nothing else and don’t break stride as you do this. Continue with other business until you put the dog out so you may clean up the mess and retrieve the can without him seeing you cuss under your breath at him. When he returns, he will look at the spot and look over at you. You are going to tell him he’s a good boy, and sound like you really mean it. That will blow his mind, and if he were doing that mistake as an attention getting device, he will realize that it isn’t working and he will search for other behaviors to get you to perform for him. This technique may work right away, or it may require a couple of instances. Stick with the method, even if it takes a few days before it shows some results. ;~) DRAINING THE SWAMP, AND RELOCATING THE GATORS… J>>> "CUSTOM WILL RECONCILE PEOPLE TO ANY ATROCITY." G.B. Shaw. "I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives."                                              Leo Tolstoy Is it any wonder that the following sig file has generated more complaints to my personal email than any other controversial post I have made to date, bar none?:                                             caveat If you have to do things to your dog to train him, that you would rather not have to do, then you shouldn’t be doing them. If you have a dog trainer that tells you to jerk your dog around, choke him, pinch his ears, or twist his toes, shock, shake, slap, scold, hit, or punish him in any manner, that corrections are appropriate, that the dog won’t think of you as the punisher, or that corrections are not harmful, or if they can’t train your dog to do what you want, look for a trainer that knows Howe. Sincerely, Jerry Howe, Wits’ End Dog Training http://www.doggydoright.com Nature, to be mastered, must be obeyed.                       -Francis Bacon- There are terrible people who, instead of solving a problem, bungle it and make it more difficult for all who come after.  Who ever can’t hit the nail on the head should, please, not hit at all.                      -Nietzsche- The abilities to think, rationalize and solve problems are learned qualities. The Wits’ End Dog Training Method challenges the learning centers in the dogs brain. These centers, once challenged, develop and continue to grow exponentially, to make him smarter. The Wits’ End Dog Training method capitalizes on praising split seconds of canine thought, strategy, and timing, not mindless hours of forced repetition, constant corrections, and scolding.                   -Jerry Howe-

Response:

You just need more time.  Two weeks isn’t really a very long time considering what the dog has gone through.  Keep all your comings and goings low key.  Just ignore the dogs when you come home  until the pup calms down. Don’t look at him or pet him.  I warn you that it will be hard to do this! Keep crating the dog until you can leave for longer and longer without him eating things.  Make sure the dog gets a lot of exercise and play time.   If you can take him out in the middle of the day it will help. buglady take out the dog before replying

Hello, Two weeks ago, my husband and I have rescued a 1 year old Aussie mix that was scheduled to be euthanized.

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