Please Help - Doggy Destruction!

monty-doggy

My vet told me to get a stag bar, it's the only chew safe to leave them with and if it's a big dog you can get different sizes.

Thundershirt I can't recommend it enough. Pets at home do them at £35 with a money back guarantee so if you're not happy you can get a refund but I bought a second one when pup outgrew the first, that's how good they are. He only wears it when we leave.

I agree with making sure he's tired out too. We walk round the block in the mornings or if it's raining heavy we okay fetch with a ball up and down the kitchen and hall until he's tired.


This is the treat ball

http://www.snackandtack.co.uk/pets-c5/dog-c6/toys-c7/activity-ball-p273

I use a mix of treats and normal food to avoid too many treats!

pawsies

Also consider what food he is on. If he has an excess amount of energy he needs to exert it somehow!

Lastly, chewing and licking is very stress relieving. I would seriously consider freezing a kong with paste or similar so he has to lick it for ages to get it out. By this time the licking action should have calmed him down

Well done for perservering and not dumping him off to rescue which undoubtedly would make his separation problems worse!

catkins

monty-doggy wrote: »

My vet told me to get a stag bar, it's the only chew safe to leave them with and if it's a big dog you can get different sizes.

I've been told the opposite, that a dog should not be left alone with a stag bar.


In fact I no longer let my dog have them as I have heard too many stories of dogs breaking their teeth on them

Kevie192

Just a quick update.

We left him in his crate on Monday and popped home at lunchtime. He seemed fine. Again, after work he was fine too.

However, today when we came home it was evident he had been trying to escape the crate. He'd been biting some of the bars and there was blood from his tongue and nose. We had no choice but to do the best we could and get back to work. When we came home tonight he had clearly been continuing trying to escape, even more cuts and scrapes on his nose and face and more blood.

We have been leaving him with a treat ball and some treats and the radio on but he hasn't touched the ball, even though he loves it when we are at home.

I really am at the end of my rope. I just don't know what to do for the best. I can't take time off work to be here and train him. I can't afford a behaviourist but I can't just allow him to hurt himself every day and destroy the house.

I really don't know what to do anymore. I just want the old Duke back :'(

Pthree

Probably a huge long shot, but is there a chance you may have mice (underfloor maybe?) and he is trying to get to them?

Kevie192

I don't think so. He's attacked the carpet on the ground floor too and that's concrete.

Free_Spirit_31

Sounds like serious separation anxiety to me.

We have a dog of a similar age. At first we both worked full time and a family member would come and sit in with him for a couple of hours during the day to let him out. Now, we both work part time and when we leave for work he is in his cage. He is out of his cage when I get home at 12pm and he is out for the rest of the day.

To crate train him when we were full time, we used to leave the radio on and I would give him and old piece of clothing of mine with my scent on it so that he would know that we have not left him and are coming back. Now, we just let him be in the cage and he knows we are coming back, we cover the crate with a sheet so he knows it is time to be quiet and relax.

Does your dog get alot of social interaction, such as walking and playing? If not, it could be pent up energy and he has no way to exert itself.

Kevie192

He gets walked for an hour every morning and another 20 mins at lunchtime, as well as usually a walk in the evening.

sitesafe

Hi
Maybe after the possible electric shock he is now anxious about being left alone, whereas before he wasn't so bothered. He is probably now protesting and letting you know he doesn't want to be left alone by being destructive but may also be a little under-stimulated.

Maybe he chewed the cable initially because he was bored - a few toys in a small space doesn't sound likely to combat the boredom which can often result in destruction. I guess the crate all day is not such a good idea for a young, energetic dog.

When your niece visits during the day does she take him for a long walk (an hour) or does she just 'let him out' for a short while. He really needs a proper long walk where he can exert himself.

I used to look after a dog and walk him every day for at least an hour. I always knew if I'd been away that day, if he hadn't been walked as he would become mischievous and full on! After I left that job no-one walked him regularly any more. When I last spoke with the owners recently they said he had become very destructive, destroying and chewing his bedding etc. I asked if he was being walked - they just shrugged and said no. So there was their answer.

Kevie192

Nobody has enough time to walk him for an hour in the middle of the day. I am beginning to think I will have to submit and try to rehome him. It's the last thing I want but if I need to give him 3 hours of exercise every day it's just not fair on him because I can't do it.