Hi All I’m after some advice please. Solo is 11 weeks old - we’ve had him 3 weeks now and he’s doing well with crate training, we use it as his bed too at the moment, and he takes himself to it when he needs a nap/he’s ready for bed at night so he seems to like it. However, the last few days, when it’s time for bed at nighttime he’s started to pull all of his bed/toys out of the crate. I think he thinks it’s a great game as he has to really tug on it. Trouble is, when it’s out he starts trying to destroy it all by chewing/digging on it (he may just be playing but i don’t know how tough it all is). He has a piece of vet bed and then a pet bed cushion on top. He’s managed to get some bits off of the vet bed and obviously don’t want him swallowing those. When it’s in his crate he doesn’t chew any of it at all. Any advice appreciated - lots of articles online say it’s natural behaviour but really don’t want him thinking his bed is something to eat or destroy! Do we stop him pulling it out at all (and how without turning it into a wrestling match)? Thank you
Personally I would not have any toys or a soft bed in the crate, especially at night, just the vet bed. He sounds like he's overtired, resulting in this behaviour. I would probably remove all toys and soft bedding and pop him in the crate before his usual bedtime, see if you can interrupt the behaviour.
Yes it's all a bit much having a pup for the first time. Everyone has an opinion, google has lots of advice and it becomes overwhelming. What I've learnt is to keep things simple and think about how to change a behaviour
My pup did the same thing, the bed in there actually got her over stimulated for some reason. I line her crate with a beach towel, she has another that she props up like a pillow, snd she has one chew toy only in there. That’s worked out perfectly since I had the change. I don’t get it because she has a bed she loves in the living room and sleeps in it during the day. She just hates a bed in her crate! Goofy! Lol
Thank you for your reply, we’re trying the different approaches, will write back when we find what works!
Just thought I’d write an update, in case it helps anyone else. We’ve done a few things, so not sure can say it was one thing that worked! However, it’s stopped now. Vet bed not good (shame as I bought a big roll of it in preparation for the puppy!) but he just tears the fluff off. I suspect a lot of the digging was to try and eat more of that! What’s worked for us in his crate: Old bath towels on the bottom Pet bed (these are fleecy 2-3” pads) A couple of fleece dog blankets (he builds a snug nest out of these) Crate is now at full size so he can stretch out His snuggle sheep (toy he’s had since we bought him home, loves to snuggle with it, only thing that doesn’t get thrown around!) For about a week we shut the crate door for a short while whilst he was in the witching hour We’ve also made sure he goes for a good sleep morning and afternoon Now, if only the biting us would stop…
The biting will stop. I never thought I’d survive the biting phase. I was even concerned my puppy was aggressive. But she wasn’t and she finally stopped biting around 4 months and it seemed to happen almost all at once. Hang in there!
