So Duncan is now 9 months old this week & has just recently (the past couple of weeks) developed a destructive chewing issue! He was definitely a biter when he had those baby teeth and went through a crocopup phase, which thankfully we got through, but he never used to tear apart his toys, chew on furniture / anything like that even when he was teething. He still had all of his soft plush toys and all other toys still intact from when I got him when he was a little over 8 weeks old... until these past couple weeks. A lot of people told me between 6-9 months they start testing you a lot and being a "teenager" and doing things that they know are bad and he definitely had a bit of a "teenager" phase, but still did not destroy anything... never a shoe, never tried to chew on any furniture, still had all his toys intact from when he was a baby even the really fluffy plush ones with squeakers. Now all of a sudden in the past couple to few weeks he is obsessed with ripping apart his toys, ripping the stuffing out, trying to chew on the corners of the coffee table, etc. I give him a new toy because he ripped through all his baby ones (which I was fine with because he had them since he was 8 weeks and is now 9 months and it was time for some new ones anyways) but now all of his new toys are torn apart and I feel like they are a hazard because he will try and eat the stuffing out of them and I don't know why this has just started! Has anyone else had this problem where their dog hardly chewed before and then around this age started trying to chew EVERYTHING? I have tried bitter apple spray etc. he doesn't care about any bitter apple spray, taste deterrents whatsoever/ just licks through them and then gets to chewing! I work from home so he is constantly supervised and gets a ton of attention,we walk to the dog park in the morning (about 15 mins there and back) and gets tired out playing with other dogs there and running around in the grass, he DEFINITELY gets enough exercise and walks throughout the day - I take him on a walk at lunch & then in late afternoon and then after dinnertime -- and I do training sessions with him in the morning, at lunchtime after his walk, and in the afternoons/evenings to tire him out mentally as well... but it just seems like all of a sudden he just wants to chew through everything! I wanted to start de-crating him, but now I feel like I definitely can't with him trying to destroy things/furniture & when we leave the house and try and leave him out of his crate he panics and starts scratching the door and jumping up at the door throwing himself at it and its left a lot of scratch marks on our new front door .... Again, I work from home, so he is only crated if we need to go somewhere for a couple hours in the evening or on weekends or at night when he sleeps sometimes (approx. 10-11pm until 545am)- other times he sleeps on his dog bed in our room if he is being good and settled down/not trying to steal things to run away with haha - He also wasn't having anxiety/crying anymore at all when I left the house or when both of us left the house but recently (the past couple months) he has a barking crying fit for a couple to a few minutes every single time we leave and recently when we wanted to try de-crating him (before he started chewing everything in sight) whenever we tried to leave him out of his crate and left for an hour or so - as soon as we closed the door he absolutely freaked out and was scratching the door up barking and crying and trying to get the door open - anyone else having either of these problems around this age? How did you handle it?
Quinn just turned 10 months, and in the past month or so has demolished all the toys she can - just like Duncan she had never ruined any of her toys she had since 8 weeks, or a bed or anything. On the weekend, she got a pair of my shorts and chewed a hole in them! I couldn't believe that. She has always taken shoes or socks and run off (but will trade for a treat or drop it)...I'm sure now she would chew a shoe if given the opportunity. For Quinn, when she starts taking shoes etc and trotting around, it's a sure sign she is bored/wants attention (as you said, despite 2+ walks a day, only crated 3-4 hours at a time, 3 times a week, lots of training etc). That's when I'll do 5-10 mins of a stay and find game in the house (I hide her ball) and then she's back to chilling with something of her own. I find dinner time the worst for this - depending on the day, I try to go for her evening walk around this time. I did read that they are still teething for a few more months...I think the back teeth are still coming in maybe? Something to that effect...I have just put away the things she ruins and all her stuffed toys for now. My OH wants to de-crate Quinn but I don't think she is trustworthy yet - she understands what the crate means and settles in with her kong when we leave. The few times we have left her out of her crate to run to the store, we can hear her barking and she lays by the door until we return. It's like she thinks we forgot to take her with us and freaks out, as she is not at all a barker. So for now, we are sticking with the crate at least a few more months. All in all, sound like this teenager stage is common!
Hey Bridget. Wow, I feel for you. Take a breath and a long swig of wine Don't worry, he's not trying to test you, and he's not doing things he knows are bad. That's not how dogs think. He's just doing what feels right for him in the moment. I find understanding that makes it easier to remain calm, because if you believe he's being wilfully "bad", then you can end up taking it to heart. He's not. He's just a dog doing what feels good. So, that doesn't really help you inasmuch as you don't want him to do that stuff, does it? So, yes, he's probably hit his adolescence phase, and it's now that you have to treat him like he's an eight-week old puppy again. Forget that you've already done this stuff and "he knows". He doesn't know. He's suddenly got a whole lot more aware of his environment. It's so much more exciting than it was. It's like he's in a whole new world. So, you have to go right back to basics. Forget you ever taught him that stuff and start again at the beginning. It won't take as long this time, because it is there, buried in the back of his mind somewhere. But he needs some help to bring it back to the fore, so start off again with the training for separation, distraction when he starts to chew etc. Good luck, and let us know how you get on. And stock up on wine.
Thank you both! It really does sound like I need to start off again with the training for separation and distraction when he starts to chew etc. Training for separation got a lot easier when he was a baby when I would leave him with a filled kong and gradually build up the amount of time I left, but now when I give him a Kong and try and gradually build up the time that I leave he starts licking at his Kong and when I go to leave and open the door he drops it every time and starts going nuts... it is seriously worse than when I first started building up the time I left him when he was a baby! I will just have to keep at it and show him we always come back and vary the amount of time I leave and act like it is no big deal when I return so he starts to understand I always come back and it is just a part of life that we have to leave him sometimes! thank you both!
It always seems that just when one thing starts going well, there is another focus! Some ideas from a complete novice: Do you leave a radio or TV on for him? We recently saw an ad for in home monitoring where the family leaves a screensaver up of pictures of the family for the dog - we're thinking about trying it! We leave on a fan or the radio for Quinn - we have a lot of traffic noise outside and so we have always done so in case the noises make her anxious or unable to settle (no clue if it helps, but it can't hurt). Have you tried going right back to basics with him in the crate while you stay in the room, slowly moving out of the room and building up time before you actually leave the house? He probably associates the crate with you leaving so I would try going back to treats in the crate and giving a cue to going in, treat, then he can come out etc. Working up to you closing crate door while at home, then eventually leaving. I'm no expert - all trial and error here! Quinn hated her crate so we spent a lot of time going in and out for a treat. I hid treats for her in there etc. Worked hard to make the association that the crate = something yummy. Took a lot of time, but now she will run to her crate when she sees a kong in my hand - she doesn't get kongs any other time.
Yes, unfortunately we do both, we leave a TV on always on low for him and we have tried to go back to basics with the crate & he is completely fine in there if we are eating, doing the floors, I am in my office nearby working, etc. he literally only panics when he sees us opening the front door to leave! I don't want to just relocate his crate so he cannot see the front door because I want to be able to de crate him sooner or later and I don't want him absolutely panicking once he can see us leaving through the front door again! so just really unsure what to do I always give him a treat/kibble/kong to go into his crate and he gladly goes in there and I can close the door and walk away, go in another room, even go out the back door quietly so he cannot hear and he doesn't bark or panic at all... it is just when he sees us leave out the front door he barks as loud as he can and seems to completely panic! I have only snuck out the back door a couple times when I have really had to without him barking as loud as he could because I try to go out the front door every day to show him I always come back but it isn't getting better unfortunately
How about taking up a sport, or a more advanced training routine. Gundog training, agility, flyball, rally, scentwork etc? Something really challenging that will take up some of the energy and give him a really healthy outlet. Dog parks and playing with other dogs and training at home might just not be enough for him? Perhaps try something that is really stretching for you both now.
My 7.5 month old has just started to destroy his toys too - I brought him a tug toy that had a tennis ball in the middle and then two loops of rope either side of it. Within about 30 mins he had utterly destroyed the tennis ball, it was in a million and one pieces across the floor - he now walks around with the rope just hangin out of his mouth . He has also chewed a leg off of his long legged monkey that was the first toy I brought him, poor old Eyore is looking decidedly chewed, with his tail missing and seams nibbled (although as he is also the recipient of Bailey's more amorous feelings it was a little inevitable really), countless tennis balls stripped of their coverings, every cardboard box that exists on the planet has to be attacked and destroyed (including one left outside somebody's house on recycling day!). This is all new behaviour that appeared a couple of weeks ago. He is also pushing us on his kibble - apparently that is NOT what he is going to eat, he will have what is on our plate thank you very much! I will win this one! He has also got very "jealous" for want of a better word - if the OH and I have a cuddle he inserts himself between us! Doesn't bite or bark or growl, but he just has to be in between us! So far he's left the furniture alone, but as he is a soon to be qualified thief we have to make sure socks, shoes, tea towels, bath towels, t-shirts in fact almost anything is out of reach!
It is when either of us leaves out the front door and he can see us leaving - moreso me than my OH because I work from home and he is with me all the time - but he barks and cries and scratches at the door when either of us leaves separately... it is definitely the worst when both of us leave together out the front door and he can see us leaving ... It is just so weird because he can be put in his crate and completely fine when I leave the room and I am still in the house or in my office or whatever, but when he sees us leave out the front door he has an absolute fit even though we have never left him for a long period of time (never over 4 hours without someone coming to take him out/for a long walk), always come back!, and the only people we have ever left him with for a weekend before are my husband's parents, who he loves! I guess I just need to try going back to square 1 with leaving him during the day while I work from home and whatnot, but I have been trying and every single time I leave him even with a Kong he goes nuts! It is worse than when he was a tiny baby! Will just have to keep trying.... or accept that he is going to always freak out whenever we leave out the front door!
Do you ever leave him for just a few seconds, or a few minutes (less than 5)? Do you make a fuss of him when you come back in?
Haha ours is definitely a thief as well and we have to keep towels, tshirts, everything away from him or he will run off with them (he would never chew them before, just wanted to play come get me and come get your tshirt from me) and when I wouldn't run after him and act disinterested he would bring whatever it was over to my feet and try and put it right near me to get me to chase him - he does this with other dogs at the dog park too and runs away with the balls so that other pups will chase him! haha and he also had not chewed any furniture up until very recently (past few weeks) and that was when he decided chewing on the sides of the coffee table is a great idea (Sigh) thankfully we didn't get that new coffee table we wanted before getting him knowing it may get chewed! He hasn't tried to chew any other furniture just absolutely destroying all of his toys even the super tough ones that are designed for aggressive chewers, which he has had since he was 8 weeks and never gotten even close to destroying and then all of a sudden it is like every toy needs to be destroyed and chewed apart and it takes him about 5 minutes to tear open a new toy or chew through those really hard aggressive chewers toys! I guess we will just have to keep on keeping on and redirecting his chewing to other things / give him rawhides or the other things he loves and will sit and chew on forever so that he can get the chewing out of his system! I guess I just was surprised this all surfaced at around 8.5 months and not during teething or when he was younger but will just have to go back to square one redirecting his chewing and training him not to chew on furniture!
Yes, I leave him for a few minutes or few seconds all the time! and when he was a baby I realized I was making a bit of a fuss of him when I would come back so I stopped doing that really early on and when I come home or come back in the room when I have left him I make sure and act like it is no big deal and not fuss over him at all... still hasn't seemed to help at all -- I have told my OH to do the same and even when he gets home from work every night he tries his best to make sure he doesn't make a huge deal about it even though Duncan is ecstatic to see him!
I do think I should start leaving him more often during the weekdays for short periods of time and leave out the front door and come back and vary the amount of time I leave like I used to... I do leave him on the weekdays and go get groceries, run errands, work out etc. but I don't leave him every day and vary the amount of time like I used to when he was a baby and I was training him on being alone and not freaking out when I left... It is just really hard to juggle full time job, working from home with him here, giving him enough exercise/training time, eating breakfast/lunch myself AND leaving for periods of time during the day to train him on the separation anxiety, but I will have to go back to fitting that in more often!
I know, it's tough to fit it in. Try saying to yourself that, every time you get up, you're going to pop outside the door for a few seconds. So every time you go to the loo, get a drink etc. Stand outside while the kettle boils or once dinner's cooking for a couple of minutes. When it's nice weather, could you take your laptop outside and work in the garden for ten minutes here or there?
Yes, I should definitely start doing this more - I could sometimes take my laptop outside and get some work done for 30 minutes here and there, I will try doing this more often before the weather gets too cold! thank you for the good ideas!
We are suffering from exactly the same situation, it's so nice to know we are not alone! Gary, our black lab puppy is 5.5 months old and like yours does not currently do any destructive chewing and has not ripped his toys apart..... yet. It's clear this may happen in the coming months so I will be prepared. We've just sorted the sleeping/waking routine and like someone said, you fix one thing and another problem starts... Gary has started to bark and cry when we leave the house, which he wasn't doing as much any more. We have de-crated him already as he's a big puppy and he likes to spread out and whilst we have a large crate, it's been really hot in the UK and he is much more comfortable in the kitchen which is cool floors and he's closed off by baby gates. This could be an issue later if he starts destructive chewing so i will be prepared for that. Up to now he hadn't been crying so much but the last few days we've left the house and he's started barking a lot and crying, with only a few seconds in between starting up again. I think like you we need to go back to basics, leaving multiple times in the day, just stepping out the front door, closing it and then coming back in. Waiting will the kettle boils is a good idea. They read the situation so well, he knows when we put shoes or coats on and pick up keys that we're leaving so we're also trying to break this down by picking up and jangling keys but without going anywhere. Also putting shoes on and not leaving. We were doing this a fair bit but i think we got complacent and stopped. I'm hearing from everyone that if in doubt return to basics and also to be persistent, so I will start again. Really helpful to hear everyone's approach
