My poor house!

Storm_rages

Hi guys,

I need more advice, as some of you might remember i found a dog a couple of months. We were not planning on getting a dog but we fell in love with him. He is a lovely quiet dog but lately he has taken to pulling up the carpet and eating the underlay. (he could be around 9 months now)

He gets one good walk in the morning (for an hour, sometimes its a walk and some times i cycle and he runs with me) and my husband calls into him at lunch time for walk number two and i walk him again for an hour after work. (sadly i do have to work during the day but we leave a ton of bones and chewy toys and as i said my husband does come home for lunch)..

The only other thing i can think of is to put him out the back during the day but i don't really want to do that..

Any one got any ideas?

ruben

What type of dog is he?
Is he neutered?

Storm_rages

yea i got him done,

he is a cross, about the size of a Springer Spaniel but overall he a worrier.. he is not great around people but if friendly to dogs and i have been working hard to get him more use to people.

ruben

Sorry in advance if you have tried all these

Kong, filled with peanut butter and frozen - will take him ages to finish that off.
Leave the radio on for him - hearing sounds around the house might help calm him.
A http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/erol.html DAP Diffuser also helps calm and reassure him.

Where in the house do you leave him?

Sigma Force

Sounds like a bit of seperation anxiety, bound to be ways to work on it perhaps contact a dog behaviourist to give you some advice.

Storm_rages

thanks guys,
we do have a kong i will try the peanut butter and freeze trick..
radio is left on..

he had the run of the back garden, the kitchen and the hall and stairs (its the hall and stairs carpet which had been dug up and eaten). I have tried anti-chew spray. The reason i don't leave him in the kitchen is i heard its really important for a dog to be able to look out and see the world going by, our garden gate does not allow for this..

My other line of thinking is getting dog number two but its such a big risk, if it went wrong and we had twice the trouble i think my husband would kick me out and keep the dogs.

ruben

I really wouldn't look at getting dog no 2 until this guy is more settled tbh.
I would confine him to the kitchen, removing as much potential chewables as possible.Plug in a DAP, they do often work.
He doesn't know about the world outside, he is only really interested in his world inside.

If you haven't already I would get Jan Fennell's book the Dog Listener - although many don't agree with all her teachings it isn't a bad place to start.
Also Ian Dunbar's book are full of the most sensible teachings.

Storm_rages

Thanks ruben,

Had never heard of the DAP, will order one and give it a shot, i'm pretty close to trying anything now. Our sky box if filled with "The dog whisper" which is a pretty amazing program. I will get me some book.

Noopti

Also try one of those kong Stuff-A-Balls:
http://www.kongcompany.com/worlds_best.html

You fill it with bits of threats, food etc and your dog will then try and get them out. We got one and our dog loves it, and it keeps her and her brain occupied.

We find it better then the standard kong toy.

Storm_rages

Hi, the one we got is red and you fill it with treats.. (he does like it but i find he gets the treats too quick) i will try the peanut idea.

Where did you get the ball one from Noopti?

Noopti

We got ours from Pet Mania in Santry. Great store by the way.

As soon as we give it to Amie she goes crazy and starts rolling it around and throwing it to try and get the treats out.

Edit: We just break up the treats and pop them in the ball, if you find your dog is getting them out easy, just break them up bigger the next time so they don't come out as easily.

kerrysgold

I think getting a companion would be a good idea, at least he wouldn't be on his own. I suppose now it's just upsetting for him to go from having you both there and then nobody, at least if he had a companion he wouldn't be alone. You could get a dog like a greyhound who are very quiet and well behaved dogs generally.

spurscormac

How about restricting his free reign of the house?

If our little guy needs to be inside while we're not there, then he's put in his den (child's play pen) in the kitchen. He can relax, sleep, chew his toys & has access to water.

Can't say I've ever heard of a dogs need to see the world go by, but I stand to be corrected on that front.
Our guy has a view of the back garden from his den, though it wasn't setup with that in mind, just easy & quick access for him to get out to do his business.

Storm_rages

Hi,

we talked about just keeping him in the kitchen and garden.. (or indeed maybe just the garden) but i think it would just be moving the problem into a different area of the house..and i'm sure he would bark all day long .

I came home last night and we had left down flower pots over the areas of the carpet where he had dug up. He dug up the flowers and then the carpet.

I think its time to ring a behaviour expert...

anyone know a good one?

I'm still unsure about getting another dog, i think it could solve the problem or it could double it... (so hard to know).