Hello Since we have had Cody (since April) he has chewed 1 pairs of shoes approx. 4 weeks into pet ownership 2nd pair of shoes approx. 7 weeks into pet ownership Today - he actively sought out a PS4 game (case in a million pieces) and lipstick from the TV unit - he must have swallowed some of it - and most definitely the lipstick. These were behind large candles and also large crystals to get to them. There is no rhyme nor reason and there doesn't appear to be a trigger. He has 2 kongs and the rest of the time he is fine (except for picking up stones in the garden - again more recently despite having previously stopped) Any recommendations of food chew/bones type thing which are suitable to leave with him when we aren't there. We don't leave bone with him at the moment due to the risk of choking. However I firmly believe that if he did have a bone all the time he would be distracted enough.
It's best to put things out of reach so he just can't get them. That's going to be the best solution to him taking stuff to don't want him to have If he was a little kid (and he is the doggie equivalent) you wouldn't expect a toddler or kid to know what they should and shouldn't have - you'd just put it out of reach and make it safe. Same deal with a puppy/dog. Most edible chews don't last very long or, if they do, are so hard that they wear teeth down. Have you come across the idea of stuffed Kongs or treat dispensing toys? You can put your dog's daily food ration in these toys instead of feeding from a bowl. A collection of food-stuffed toys will keep him busy for quite a while.
Just another question - how long is he being left for? Sometimes it's worth going to the next level and thinking of things like dog walkers popping in during the day if it's to be a long period of time alone.
He is left for no longer than 4 hours. We return at lunch. We will be getting a dog walkers from aug/Sept for lunchtime walks as working location is changing. It's only happened 3 times in 4 months so it's not a regular thing. The Kong's clearly weren't entertaining enough on these days
Hey, still in need of advice. Cody gets walked AM and Evening. We come home at lunch and let him out/quick play. He has a kong. Giggle ball and has the lounge/kitchen area. He isn't allowed upstairs. Today he was given a kong and ball after lunch after a 30 minute play session and we returned to him having chewed the skirting. Last week the coffee table. We seems to be moving toward 1 incident a week rather than 1 a month. We don't really understand as we have increased his entertainment / interaction. Dog walker starts 1st Sept. Until then I am kinda nervous about what I may come home to
There are usually 2 main causes of a dog causing damage when left alone 1. BOREDOM 2. SEPERATION DISTRESS or a combination of the two. A 30 minute play at lunchtime and a kong to break up the day for a young growing pup may not be enough which leads to the boredom and destruction. He may suffering from seperation distress as he is left quite soon after you have arrived home. Is it possible to reduce the length of time he spends alone each day? Can the walker not start before September? Could a neighbour/friend /family visit once or twice a day ?
I'm sure that this is enormously frustrating and stressful. I think you might need to bring in a behaviourist here. One who is experienced at dealing with anxiety issues. They would be able to help you work out the degree to which it's boredom versus anxiety. My money is on anxiety being a contributor....chewing odd things into a million bits is anxiety in my experience. But boredom can also cause anxiety. The chewing relieves both boredom and anxiety and is therefore reinforcing, which is why you're seeing an increase in frequency. An experienced behaviourist will be worth the money.
From your first post, I'm thinking your puppy is around 5 month. Is he crate trained? I would seriously consider a crate or pen. We used a crate until our dog was a year old and then slowly built up her access to the house when we weren't home. Puppies chew and he may still be teething (back teeth) plus is bored as he is young, even for short periods.
Hiya He is 16 months and never been crate trained. It's also not a route we want to go down. He is fully house trained and shows no other signs off anxiety so I do believe this is boredom. He is quite chilled out when we leave. He goes and lays down. He is never waiting for us when we return. Often we wake him up. He is also not noisy. We cannot start the Walker earlier nor do we have people who can just pop in. I'm not trying to put barriers in but it just isn't possible He has only chewed once after lunch. Most of the time he is fine. As I say it's happened just 4 times in the months. But twice in the last 2 weeks. We really need to be able to occupy him for the next few weeks. Before we got him he was left 8 hours a day every day whilst they worked.
An option with toys is to rotate them. I had 9. At night we put them all away and in the morning he got one he hadn't seen for a few days, at lunch another, later another. Usually three a day, all put away for the night. Still, I've never had a dog who will play with toys for very long by him/herself. If you can't crate (or don't want to, I didn't either) what about a safe room? Or a large pen? They can ruin a room pretty quickly though our kitchen did survive Oban. But my sister's table was emasculated. When Sis got it was a canon ball table. Laddie chewed the balls off.
I have also never used a crate BUT my last Lab also chewed (destroyed) the sofa when left. I walked him morning and evening and he had different people come in during the day, plus someone there all the time from 2.30 pm but, looking back, it clearly wasn't enough. He did grow out of it but not until around 18 months of age. I think when you get your dog walker it should help a lot and in the meantime, move as much 'stuff' as you can and resign yourself to some puppy damage. For those of us who don't use crates/pens, I think it's unrealistic to expect to get through puppyhood without damage. With Molly someone was at home with her all the time, but she still succeeded in chewing a chair leg while I wasn't paying attention! Even my super-well-behaved cocker, who also wasn't left alone, scratched the wallpaper when little. It's what puppies do.
I don't think we use crates/pens rather than accepting damage, there is also the risk of the puppy/dog doing itself harm by chewing inappropriate items for example a sliver of wood getting stuck in the dogs throat or chunks of plastic being swallowed and lodging in the stomach or intestines, clumps of chewed carpet fibre lodging in stomachs or intestines. For me, my pups are too precious to run those preventable risks
