Dog has started to chew things when left alone

witnessmenow

Hey,

My dog is about 1 year old and is a Husky X Golden Retriever.

Generally a very good dog (other than being a little distracted if there is something more interesting than me around )

In the past few weeks she has started to chew stuff when she is left in the house be herself. Normally it's just cardboard or something that she gets from the box beside the fire. Normally just makes a mess. Never anything expensive or important thankfully.

She does love chewing on raw hindes and her toys, and loves nothing more than lying on the grass chewing something (her toys or sticks sometimes)

Initially when we moved into the house we are in now, every now and again she might cause a mess if left alone but she had gotten very good for a couple of months.

My partner then got a job that required her to be away for a couple of days at a time. But the dog was happy enough and didnt cause any trouble while I was at work. (8-6 ish).

Then one week I was kayaking every evening after work so I dropped her to my partners parents house for a few days. They have a couple of dogs that she gets on great with, and she loves it at their house.

But ever since that few days, you can't leave her on her own for any amount of time without her making a mess.

She does get a walk most days, definitely more than she was getting before I was kayaking (I tore my ankle ligaments a few months ago, so im only getting back into jogging now). But it doesnt matter if she is brought or not, she still makes a mess. Even if its in the morning before I go to work.

I even leave rawhindes and there will not be a toothmark on them!

She knows as soon as you come in she has done wrong, without you saying anything she goes off hiding.

Anyone have any suggestions?

DBB

What sort of a mess? Chewed stuff? What sort of chewed stuff? Furniture? Bin contents? Skirting boards? :-o
Sorry, this sounds like the Spanish Inquisition! Just trying to get an idea of what she's doing.
Can I ask too, have you or anyone else ever given out to her for chewing on stuff, especially when you walk into the room to find her chewing?

I am pie

A bored dog will invent their own fun. They will chew stuff if they are left alone too long.

No expert, but she sounds bored and frustrated to me. More exercise and mental stimulation required surely?

cocker5

From my experience a Husky X Golden Retriever needs at least a full hour of exercise a day.

I have an 8 year old spaniel and he gets min an hour every day, so OP you need to up the exercise.


Most dogs shred / chew / rip up stuff due to boredom, I know when my guy was a pup he certainly did this until we learned how to distract him etc.



Also what toys are you leaving for her to pass the time? Please don’t leave pigs ears / raw hides with a dog who is alone, many dogs can choke if the eat then unsupervised etc.


What about a stuffed Kong? A ball that drops treats when it rolls? There are lots of treats / ideas you can do to try and make her day more interesting so less chance of destruction.


BTW if she does start eating furniture etc. use “crib halt” you can get it on line… it saved us when my cocker was going through his destruction stage.


With regard to exercise, huskies are very energetic dogs, does she get much proper exercise, not just walking? You could try and go running with her, get the proper equipment, it would be a great way for both of you to get fit and burn off her excess energy. Or you could cycle her? Again with the right additions… my cocker loved going to a cycle when he was younger!


In this case Exercise really is the key.

Tranceypoo

I'm also trying to work out what OP means by leaving 'a mess', I thought he meant going to the toilet, OP can you clarify?

fatmammycat

A bored dog will totally entertain themselves. 'Most days' is just not enough. My own dog ( 16 months today, yay!) gets at least three walks a day, and one of those- the morning one- is at least an hour and a half. Now I know that's not possible for most people, but with an active dog a good walk in the morning will really help with the destructive behaviour.

strandroad

More exercise is needed, absolutely. She is bored out of her mind and feels physically restrained... both huskies and labs are so energetic. We have a lively fella, he gets a 20min walk in the morning and at least an hour's worth of energetic play/swimming in the afternoon (plus whatever garden time he wants) and still if we don't exhaust him enough he may go after something to chew on occasion.

witnessmenow

So apologies for not getting back to anybody on this, I kind of forgot about it!

Well I sure remembered it when I came in today I must not have closed the door to the hall properly, rather than it being a source of entertainment that she had a run of the house, it was just a case of see how many rooms she could leave some destruction in!

Firstly, when i say mess I just mean being destructive, mostly cardboard and plastic, but a few shoes too. Other than one accident on the second day we moved in she hasnt dont any business in doors (bar a few excitement leaks)

I dont really give out to her (trying not to make a scene). First thing i do is bring her to the toilet. afterwards we go into the house she is ashamed and almost hides. I pick up something she has chewed (she wont look at it) and I tell her she is a bold dog and put her into bed (which is just loose in the kitchen). I tend to not give her any attention while im cooking then or whatever.

I do understand dogs need exercise, I do go running with her when I can (im not sure what the "proper equipment" is though, I just use a vinyl lead. is it the armband things?). I also bring her for walks in the morning but realistically I am not going to be able to tire her out for the day.

Im not even sure does it have too much to do with tiredness. Yesterday myself and my partner were out gardening/mowing the lawn etc pretty much all day. The Dog was running around and playing while we were out there. Must have been 2-3 hours out playing. She was then brought for a walk at about 6:00 (not sure the distance, wast me who brought her). She was wrecked at 7, was fast asleep. We then went for dinner (she woke up as we were getting ready) and she had some destruction done by the time we got back 11:30

I need to leave the house by 8:30 and I probably will not be back til about 6:30. If its going to be any longer than that and she gets dropped to the inlaws(ish) ala the kayaking in the op. I honestly think that she thinks acting up is going to get her to be left in the inlaws, who would be at the house more and as I said have dogs.

Another problem I think is that we used to be able to spend too much time with her! When my partner was not working she would be in the house a decent bit, and if we were going visiting etiher of my or my partner's parents she would be brought with us, going into the shops and she we would be brought with us (once it wasnt too hot).

I do have a kong so I'll give that a go in morning. I've put some left over pork in it and filled it with dog food so hopefully it keeps her entertained

EDIT: Actually I have been doing some reading up on separation anxiety and it seems to be a decent fit. Me and my partner are not great for the whole "not making a big deal of coming and going". I will try reduce boredem too, but I might try some of the things to do with separation anxiety too

witnessmenow

So brought her for a walk yesterday morning and afterwards gave her the kong (filled with frozen wet dog food and pork) and I went up stairs to get ready. She kind of whinged a bit when I was upstairs. When I was ready to go I just left without saying anything to her. She went over to the window as I was leaving to look out (car is beside the kitchen window). She had some stuff chewed when I got home. I brought her out the toilet, brought her in and didnt pay any attention to her for about 10 minutes as I cleaned up (was hard when she came over nuzzling into me!) After the 10 minutes she was pretty calm and I started paying her attention as normal. She had eaten the contents of the Kong and chewed up a few of her toys that I left, which did seem to be progress as she didnt seem to be touching them before.

This morning I bought her for a walk and gave her the kong (this time filled with frozen peanut butter), she seemed to love this! I went outside with my bag and moved my car away from the window and she didnt seem to notice at all! Even moved from the middle of the floor into her bed. I went up stairs and I didnt hear a peep from her. Same as yesterday I just left without saying anything to her and she didnt even seem to notice, she was too busy chewing away. So hopefully its the process of me leaving that worries her and not the being alone, as she didnt seem worried at all. Sure we'll find out what impact it had latter I guess.

witnessmenow

She still had some stuff chewed, but Rome wasnt built in a day!

To be honest Im expecting it to be a couple of weeks(+) before she stops, as I need to keep doing the putting on coat routine and leaving for a short times to de-sensitize her

I do miss coming in and giving her all the attention though!

Does anyone have recommendations on peanut butter they use for the Kong? Im using Aldi specially selected at the moment, as its what I have, but it seems like it might be a bit dear to keep using that as you'd probably only get 5-6 kongs out of it (and its not even that big of a kong). Is there any type that would be better than others? (in terms of with nuts, without etc).

Is there anything else you would recommend putting in the Kong just to change it up? She was way more impressed with the kong with peanut butter than wet dog food (wouldn't you be!)

Also she is mowing through toys at the moment, does anyone have recommendations on hardwaring toys? Some of rope toys are unusable the second day! (She goes staright for the knot or the plastic but holding it togther, so you are left with just a rope!)

cocker5

witnessmenow wrote: »

She still had some stuff chewed, but Rome wasnt built in a day!

To be honest Im expecting it to be a couple of weeks(+) before she stops, as I need to keep doing the putting on coat routine and leaving for a short times to de-sensitize her

I do miss coming in and giving her all the attention though!

Does anyone have recommendations on peanut butter they use for the Kong? Im using Aldi specially selected at the moment, as its what I have, but it seems like it might be a bit dear to keep using that as you'd probably only get 5-6 kongs out of it (and its not even that big of a kong). Is there any type that would be better than others? (in terms of with nuts, without etc).

Is there anything else you would recommend putting in the Kong just to change it up? She was way more impressed with the kong with peanut butter than wet dog food (wouldn't you be!)

Also she is mowing through toys at the moment, does anyone have recommendations on hardwaring toys? Some of rope toys are unusable the second day! (She goes staright for the knot or the plastic but holding it togther, so you are left with just a rope!)

What are you feeding her? Personally I would steer away from wet dog food totally and feed her good quality dry nuts. Wet food is usually poor quality and leads to hypernees in many dogs.

with regard to her kong here are some ideas:

1. a tin of sardines mushed up with her nuts - frozen.... this should go down a treat
2. Low fat spreadable cheese , mixed in with her nuts.
3. Pate smeared arpund the inside

Is she just chewing her own toys? or other stuff... personally I would removed anything she can chew or rip up.... ie dont leave clothes on the radatior in the room where she is staying: its too much temptation for a one year only pup. Dont leave anything where she can reach it, if you remove the temptation then she will forget the fun she has from it.

Is she chewing furniture? try Crib Halt, this will stop her completely.

Try www.zooplus.ie for some dogs toys, they are far better quality and less likely to be destroyed etc...

here are some ideas:
www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/intelligence_games/146815

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/kongs/kong/154558

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/ropes_funstuff/rings/129779

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/balls_dog_toys/snack_balls/217160

Best of luck

witnessmenow

cocker5 wrote: »

What are you feeding her? Personally I would steer away from wet dog food totally and feed her good quality dry nuts. Wet food is usually poor quality and leads to hypernees in many dogs.

with regard to her kong here are some ideas:

1. a tin of sardines mushed up with her nuts - frozen.... this should go down a treat
2. Low fat spreadable cheese , mixed in with her nuts.
3. Pate smeared arpund the inside

Is she just chewing her own toys? or other stuff... personally I would removed anything she can chew or rip up.... ie dont leave clothes on the radatior in the room where she is staying: its too much temptation for a one year only pup. Dont leave anything where she can reach it, if you remove the temptation then she will forget the fun she has from it.

Is she chewing furniture? try Crib Halt, this will stop her completely.

Try www.zooplus.ie for some dogs toys, they are far better quality and less likely to be destroyed etc...

here are some ideas:
www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/intelligence_games/146815

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/kongs/kong/154558

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/ropes_funstuff/rings/129779

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/balls_dog_toys/snack_balls/217160

Best of luck

She is chewing both!

My fear about removing the cardboard and paper that is beside the fire is that she will progress to something more valuable! She has never gone for furniture (yet I suppose!)

She would never go for the cardboard or paper when with someone there, but she does love to chew her own stuff. Her tactic when chewing is to destroy what shes chewing.

She is on wet food up to last week (2 cans per day, Brandy, "Loaf" type), I have been trying to move her onto nuts, so I am now giving her 1 can a day. I'm not sure what brand of nuts they are as we got off my partners dad and its in a tub. We have let her not be very fond of nuts She definitely prefers wet food. She does eat the nuts as a last resort, but she is eating less than the wet food for sure

What brand do you recommend? I see Skinners from Amazon mentioned a bit here, their duck and rice sounds like something I'd even try

Thanks for the toy recommendations, I will pick up some of them and see how she gets on.

I will also give your Kong recipies a go. Thanks.

kylith

Just on showing her the stuff she's chewed, telling her off, and sending her to bed: she has no idea why you're telling her off and sending her to bed. She does not have the mental capacity to link her chewing things in the past to you scolding her in the present. The reason she looks guilty is because she knows a scolding is coming and she'll be sent to bed, but she has no idea why - she only knows that you're cross with her.

You can get pretty good rugged Nylabone chews which are flavoured, so you could try those and see if they'll appeal to her.

Both huskys and retrievers are bred to work all day. I don't know how long your walks are in the mornings, but a dog like that will need lots to tire them out.

kylith

witnessmenow wrote: »

She is on wet food up to last week (2 cans per day, Brandy, "Loaf" type), I have been trying to move her onto nuts, so I am now giving her 1 can a day. I'm not sure what brand of nuts they are as we got off my partners dad and its in a tub. We have let her not be very fond of nuts She definitely prefers wet food. She does eat the nuts as a last resort, but she is eating less than the wet food for sure

What brand do you recommend? I see Skinners from Amazon mentioned a bit here, their duck and rice sounds like something I'd even try

Definitely get her off the Brandy, it's fair muck and will not be helping any hyperactivity.

For the kibble the most important thing is that the first ingredient is a named meat, not derivatives. Definitely go for one with no allergens like wheat. I feed JWB, either fish and rice or lamb and rice and I find it, especially the fish one, excellent. I can't advise on Skinners. The most important things will be ~21% protein and named meat as the first ingredient.

cocker5

OP,

def take her off brandy, its really poor quality, this itself can lead to all sorts of behavioural issue in dogs.... I use Burns I get it from the webiste i showed you above. i get the 15KG bag lasts my cocker about 4 months or so. Once a week i mix a raw egg in it... and another day a tin of sardines in oil, he adores it and it good for his coat / joints etc. so firstly i would look at changing her food. The first few days she may refuse to eat as all dogs prefer wet food.... but its really bad for them, so persist and after a few days she wil be eating the nuts no problem, this may help relax her a bit overa few weeks. you would be amazed the difference with good quality dog food.

Secondly by you leaving the card board with her you are in a sense encouraging her to chew it... as shes done it before and its still left with her she feels its fine to chew. also there is no point in bringing her over and giving out to her after the fact, she has no idea why your uspet, unless you catch her physically chewing then she has no clue as to whats shes done wrong. Personally i would remove all things she likes to chew (that dont belong to her ie not her toys etc) - get the crib halt i suggested for your skirting boards etc, this will def stip her chewing your home and its safe..

get some strong toys like the previous poster and i suggested above so she can chew on those etc.

Exercise really is the key for all dogs really... I know you mentioned you walk her .. for how long? she neds lots of exercise to keep her tired out and mentally stimualted... if you can get this right she will stop chewing everything i promise you. she needs more time running to get rid of her energy... just walking probably isnt enough really....

If your time is limited have you thought about bring her for a cycle??? 20 mins is an excellent way to release her pent up energy and also to tire her out... i cycled my cocker when he was ypunger (he was mental and chewed EVERYTHING) and its honestly helped massively!!

heres what you need if so

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B003OYIAW4/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1/179-1017110-9422004?ie=UTF8&index=1

Exercise honestly is the key... plus a better diet and she will be more relaxed and better behaved in no time!!

A well exercised dog = happy dog = happy owner