Question:
<SNIP> I think a crate for a little while is a fine idea – the problem is, my husband and I both work full-time. That’s at least 8 hours a day that she’s be in the crate, and I just don’t want to resort to that. See my earlier post as to why no one can come walk her in the middle of the day. I admit to being very clueless on the indoor dog "thing", as the only other dog I had, as a child, lived outside for 17 years. So silly me thought chewing was only a puppy problem – none of my dog-owning friends have had this difficulty with their "teen-aged" dogs. I just want to do what’s best for her, while keeping my home intact. Katrina Katrina, Clueless is AOK by me since you are asking questions and trying to do the right thing!! Yes, 8 hours is a little long, however, take heart — this stage does NOT last forever. I have a Lab and Labs are NOTORIOUS (and very powerful) chewers. She is now just about 3 and is just now being given full run of the house. From the time she was about a year until she was 2-1/2, she was incredibly destructive and I was, of course, upset that she destroyed some carpeting and my sofa (and my shoes and my husband’s shortwave radio and ….) but I was MUCH more afraid that she would chew something that would hurt her. So into the crate she went. Never had a dog before that was so persistently destructive. Any dog that I’ve crate trained was really for housetraining only and then they only used the crate to snooze in (door open). Cindi has some good advice in her post. One other thing I might add is if you feel strongly about not crating her for 8 hours (which I can’t really blame you), you might baby gate a dog-proofed room (bathroom maybe?). At least this limits what she can get to to destroy. Good luck and don’t get discouraged. They really do grow out of it. — Michelle, Cassie the Lab (aka LittleOne) and JakeyBuddy the GSDx to e-mail, remove the "_"
Response:
Why don’t you try restricting her to a "dog proof" room, like your kitchen or bathroom at least until she learns the Rules of the House. Then be sure that while you’re home you watch her carefully to correct her behavior if she starts to chew on something she shouldn’t. Our dog started chewing on everything when we first got her. She just didn’t know what was "toy" and what was "shoe". We corrected her with a sharp "No" and a squirt of water from a squirt bottle (put one in every room! hook one on your beltloop!) and she has learned very well what is acceptable. But our backyard…well she chews it to bits! We are Still working on that part of the house (had her for a year now) but there has been significant improvement. If plain water doesn’t work in the squirt bottle, try lemon water, or the Bitter Apple spray they sell at dog stores. Good luck and keep trying, don’t think you need to take your dog back to the pound. Another book to read is "People, Pooches, and Problems" by Job Michael Evans. Tammy & Loki (who is thinks the "self -waterer" is a great toy – gone through 4 now…still working on it) I think a crate for a little while is a fine idea – the problem is, my husband and I both work full-time. That’s at least 8 hours a day that she’s be in the crate, and I just don’t want to resort to that. See my earlier post as to why no one can come walk her in the middle of the day. I admit to being very clueless on the indoor dog "thing", as the only other dog I had, as a child, lived outside for 17 years. So silly me thought chewing was only a puppy problem – none of my dog-owning friends have had this difficulty with their "teen-aged" dogs. I just want to do what’s best for her, while keeping my home intact. Katrina
Response:
> I think a crate for a little while is a fine idea – the > problem is, my husband and I both work full-time. That’s at > least 8 hours a day that she’s be in the crate, and I just > don’t want to resort to that. See my earlier post as to why > no one can come walk her in the middle of the day.
Well, being crated for 8 hours per day won’t last forever. For now, the most important thing is to prevent her from doing any more destruction around your house. You want her to learn she’s not allowed to do that, and being able to do it when you aren’t home won’t help. When you’re not at work, you can work slowly on teaching her appropriate manners. Start out by leaving her in one small room for 5 minutes (or 3 minutes, or 1 — whatever she can handle without chewing something up!) Then come back in and reward her for her good behavior. As you move up in time, eventually you’ll come in right as she’s chewing something up. You can then scold her and give her one of her toys in exchange and praise her for chewing the toy. Also, during the rest of the time you’re home, encourage her to have a toy with her at all times. Praise her for chewing on her bones or toys. Praise her for carrying them to you. Encourage her to go get one if she doesn’t have one. This way she learns that’s what you want. Continue over the next several months to work on leaving her for a few more minutes at a time. Get in an obedience class with her, and make sure you take her for a long long walk before crating her in the morning and again in the evening when you get home. You can leave her with a Kong stuffed with peanut butter and kibble when she’s in her crate. And always give her a nice treat for going in her crate in the beginning. Once she obeys your ‘crate’ command, give treats intermittently when she goes in. Eventually, maybe after you’ve had her for a year or maybe less if you’re lucky, she can be loose in one room, with her crate door open so she can rest in it. There’s really no reason to ever leave your dog with the full run of the entire house; I think that’s way too tempting and it’s better safe than sorry. One room is plenty, IMO. good luck and thanks for adopting a dog in need! cindi
Response:
A lot of it may also be the age of the dog — at 1-1/2 YO, she is in full-throttle adolescence and needs some special training considerations. I recommend a book called "Surviving Your Dog’s Adolescence" by Carol Lea Benjamin. You might also check out a book called "Second Hand Dog", same author (I believe — someone correct me if I’m wrong). The first deals with specific behaviours and modification techniques as well as just some good information about the terrible dog-teen years. The second deals well with adopting a dog. Remember, crating a dog is basically just providing a SAFE den for the dog. While you don’t want to abuse it (like leaving the dog in a crate 24×7), it IS a good place to be for a few hours at a stretch when you can’t be at home with her. Most dogs view crates as cozy, snug dens — not at all the way humans view them. And they are safe by keeping her from chewing electric cords, poisonous houseplants, or any of the hundreds of other things that could harm and chewing dog. Hope this helps. — Michelle, Cassie the Lab (aka LittleOne) and JakeyBuddy the GSDx to e-mail, remove the "_"
Response:
I recommend a book called "Surviving Your Dog’s Adolescence" by Carol Lea Benjamin. You might also check out a book called "Second Hand Dog", same author (I believe — someone correct me if I’m wrong). The first deals with specific behaviours and modification techniques as well as just some good information about the terrible dog-teen years. The second deals well with adopting a dog. Thank you, I will try to find both of those ASAP. Remember, crating a dog is basically just providing a SAFE den for the dog. While you don’t want to abuse it (like leaving the dog in a crate 24×7), it IS a good place to be for a few hours at a stretch when you can’t be at home with her. Most dogs view crates as cozy, snug dens — not at all the way humans view them. And they are safe by keeping her from chewing electric cords, poisonous houseplants, or any of the hundreds of other things that could harm and chewing dog. I think a crate for a little while is a fine idea – the problem is, my husband and I both work full-time. That’s at least 8 hours a day that she’s be in the crate, and I just don’t want to resort to that. See my earlier post as to why no one can come walk her in the middle of the day. I admit to being very clueless on the indoor dog "thing", as the only other dog I had, as a child, lived outside for 17 years. So silly me thought chewing was only a puppy problem – none of my dog-owning friends have had this difficulty with their "teen-aged" dogs. I just want to do what’s best for her, while keeping my home intact. Katrina
Response:
You should crate-train this dog. Are you saying there is no behavior modification training that can fix this? That my only option is to pen her all day? And when you get home you need to play with her and pay a whole lot of attention to her. I already do that. I would also look into having someone walk her daily while you are at work. Maybe a mid-day walk would tire and satisfy her enough to keep her from being destructive. That would be nice, but we live on federal property and our home is owned by the government – we are not allowed to have non-residents enter our home unattended. All of our neighbors work all day, as well. It sounds like she is just plain bored. She is still a puppy and is in need of a lot of stimulation, mentally and physically. It sounds like she is getting little to amuse her, and therefore becoming quite bored. So what can I provide for her amusement? She ignores the toys we have purchased. Leaving the radio on all day hasn’t helped. My two cats are there and they seem to get along. I just don’t know what else to try. I guess I’m trying to figure out if we are not the right people for her, if we should take her back to the shelter and hope that she gets adopted by someone who is around more. She’s safe, loved and well-cared for with us, but it seems unfair to her to crate her if that is the only way we can keep her. Katrina C.
Response:
Crating is not a mean thing to do to your dog. How long is she alone during the day? Yes it would be unfair to have her crated for 8-9 hours per day. Can someone come home during the day? Yancey You should crate-train this dog. Are you saying there is no behavior modification training that can fix this? That my only option is to pen her all day? And when you get home you need to play with her and pay a whole lot of attention to her. I already do that. I would also look into having someone walk her daily while you are at work. Maybe a mid-day walk would tire and satisfy her enough to keep her from being destructive. That would be nice, but we live on federal property and our home is owned by the government – we are not allowed to have non-residents enter our home unattended. All of our neighbors work all day, as well. It sounds like she is just plain bored. She is still a puppy and is in need of a lot of stimulation, mentally and physically. It sounds like she is getting little to amuse her, and therefore becoming quite bored. So what can I provide for her amusement? She ignores the toys we have purchased. Leaving the radio on all day hasn’t helped. My two cats are there and they seem to get along. I just don’t know what else to try. I guess I’m trying to figure out if we are not the right people for her, if we should take her back to the shelter and hope that she gets adopted by someone who is around more. She’s safe, loved and well-cared for with us, but it seems unfair to her to crate her if that is the only way we can keep her. Katrina C.
Response:
You should crate-train this dog. And when you get home you need to play with her and pay a whole lot of attention to her. I would also look into having someone walk her daily while you are at work. Maybe a mid-day walk would tire and satisfy her enough to keep her from being destructive. It sounds like she is just plain bored. She is still a puppy and is in need of a lot of stimulation, mentally and physically. It sounds like she is getting little to amuse her, and therefore becoming quite bored. Yancey http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ykpaslay My husband and I adopted a year and a half-old pit-bull mix about three weeks ago, and she has rapidly developed a destructive chewing habit. It may help to know that she had always been an outdoor dog with her first family, and was given up because she kept climbing their fence and they didn’t want to tie her up but didn’t want her inside, either. We want her as an indoor dog, because we have no fence and don’t want to tie her, plus we live in south Florida and think it would just be cruel. But she is obviously having a hard time being cooped up for long periods of time (we both work full-time) and every single day she finds something to destroy. She even stands up to get at things we put up on shelves. We have tried several different chew-toys, which she ignores in favor of pillows, stuffed animals, ink pens and books – things that she can completely shred. So far she has not started in on the furniture, or – luckily – our two cats, who just have to growl a bit to send the dog off with her tail tucked. She doesn’t chew on anything when we are home. If it means anything, she is spayed. So, can this behavior be changed, or is it a sign that she just can’t be a house dog? Could she eventually get aggressive with our cats if we eliminate all the "soft" things for her to chew on? I have called the *one* trainer here in my area and left messages for a couple of days with no response, so I’m getting desperate. Thanks for any help – Katrina C.
Response:
My husband and I adopted a year and a half-old pit-bull mix about three weeks ago, and she has rapidly developed a destructive chewing habit. It may help to know that she had always been an outdoor dog with her first family, and was given up because she kept climbing their fence and they didn’t want to tie her up but didn’t want her inside, either. We want her as an indoor dog, because we have no fence and don’t want to tie her, plus we live in south Florida and think it would just be cruel. But she is obviously having a hard time being cooped up for long periods of time (we both work full-time) and every single day she finds something to destroy. She even stands up to get at things we put up on shelves. We have tried several different chew-toys, which she ignores in favor of pillows, stuffed animals, ink pens and books – things that she can completely shred. So far she has not started in on the furniture, or – luckily – our two cats, who just have to growl a bit to send the dog off with her tail tucked. She doesn’t chew on anything when we are home. If it means anything, she is spayed. So, can this behavior be changed, or is it a sign that she just can’t be a house dog? Could she eventually get aggressive with our cats if we eliminate all the "soft" things for her to chew on? I have called the *one* trainer here in my area and left messages for a couple of days with no response, so I’m getting desperate. Thanks for any help – Katrina C.
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