Hi All, My 7 month old lab Tucker has mastered the sit, stay, shake, leave it, wait and getting there with give and no jumping. But he has got bored and returned to being destructive when I'm at work. What are some new things I can teach him to keep him mentally occupied during the day when I'm work so he will stop being so naughty. P.s he has so many toys that often get roatated but it doesn't seem to work.
Hi Olandeh, I don't think there is much you can train to occupy himself with....they do tend to go 'self employed ' when left to their own devices.How long is the period you are leaving him for ?and what is his routine? This is what we did.....At 7 months Dexter wasn't left for any longer than 2 hours max.He definately couldn't have been trusted in those 2 hours not to go on a rampage.We opted for a containment policy when we weren't there .We gated off the the utility room and had his crate in it ....up 7 months we'd leave him shut in his crate with a food filled frozen kong ......he was never in there for longer than that though ...gradually we left the crate open and built time up and he probably got free run downstairs by 12 months.....as long as he'd had plenty of excersise before hand,he would sleep the morning away ...he's nearly 5 now but you know I've never left him for longer than 4 hours ever!
He is outside when I'm at work. For 8 hours 4 days a week and doggy daycare one day. He has another dog (golden retriever) to play with but I think they ignore each other for most of the day. I know he gets separation anxiety when I'm not home which could be a cause of the destructive behaviour ( I don't know what to do about this either). Thankyou for your advice I may need to try a frozen Kong more often.
Hi @Olandah do you have anyone that could call round a few times during the 8 hours to play/train and walk Tucker as he is on his own for a long time which is why he is being destructive, he's bored and anxious? You can't teach new things if you are not there. At 7 months old Tucker needs lots of human interaction to grow up with good social skills as they are sociable dogs. I am the same as @Dexter never leaving my grown up dogs of 9 years and 6 years alone for more than 4 hours and if I am ever delayed my neighbour has a key to allow them outside or feed them or one of my children stays with them as I don't think it's fair on them. I really hope you can sort something out for him and your GR as this behaviour might get worse. x
Tucker is not being naughty - he's bored! He is shut out for 8 hrs with no human interaction or play with. All the toys in the world are ppointless unless they have some one to play with and an older dog diesn'the even come close. If Tucker is suffering seperation distress you need to act now otherwise it will only become worse. At the moment his behaviour is marked by him destroying things but this can be augmented by vocalisation (barking) and even self harm through biting paws, legs, tail etc.The only real options are to arrange for dog walkers to call in several times a day for walks and some time to interact with Tucker. I never leave my dogs for more than 3 hours and that has been built up over many months. If they have to be left longer than that I arrange a visit from my local walker/dog carer.
