Puppy problems -the dog type ;)
 

My Missus lives with her 6 Month old Puppy. Usually a very good dog when my lass is at work but over the past few days, Marli has taken to destroying things. She attacks the newspaper (what pup doesn't) but has recently taken to turning her pee pad into confetti and tonight she has shredded some lino flooring into a number of pieces.
A mate at work has suggested that at around 6 months, puppys are teething and really start chewing things. The annoying thing is that she has plenty of toys and stuff to chew, but she decides that the house is better to eat.
I was wondering myself if the destroying of things could be down to boredom while she's on her own. How do you keep a dog amused when they're on their own? Radio?
Sorry for the long post.
Any one with experience of bringing up a young dog would be much appreciated :thumb:

the puppy spray that stops them from chewing things i found quite good when my lab decided to chew the kitchen cupboards it was out of boredom too that she did it :)

im no expert but i'd say at 6 months the dog has its adult teeth.the problem is most likely as you've said"the dog is fed up on its own"but some dogs suffer from anxiety when they are with out their owner and chew for this reason.i don't know how well this dog is treated but if its one that's treated like a baby "goes to bed with the owner etc"its most likely anxiety.i have been lucky that way with dogs but i do know that they seem a lot happier if you take them for a good run before they are left for a time on their own plus they have got to have their own sleeping space.i.e. a kennel or even one of those large cage things.the dog has got to know its place in the household. most if not all problems stem from being spoilt to much.

good long run before being left - it'll then sleep. If its been left longer than that works for.....its been left a long time!

Get it a kong and fill with peanut butter, and bits of meat, freeze it and give it to the dog when being left on it's own. This will keep it entertained and stop it from chewing the furniture!! ;)

You could try DAP plug ins (calming dog hormone) and/or crating.

With correct, positive reinforcement dogs will love using a crate, it will feel secure and it cannot run rampant around the house.

It does sound like separation anxiety/boredom to me - we had a pup with the same and even the Kong trick did not work. He would simply put it down and lie there howling until we came back.

Rannoch :)

Puppies usually get their adult teeth through at around 4 or 5 months, depending on breed i spose. This could be the reason though, but i think boredom is the most likely reason.
When i've had puppies in the past, they have always behaved a bit destructive and chewed furniture etc until they were around a year old. After a few dogs it just becomes acceptable behaviour and half expected of them.

Six months ago, my parents bought two puppies, a week apart in age. They play with each other all of the time and always keep each other company. Amazingly, they haven't chewed a thing. Not even expensive stuff! they just chew each other and their toys.
Another thing that has helped is that from the start, they have had their own cages that they sleep in. Not massive ones, probably 4' by 3', just big enough for them to lie down in. As they have always slept in the cages, they don't see them as a prison, and actually get in there themselves when tired. When my parents go out, the dogs get shut in their cages and have nothing to destroy! They also refrain from crapping in them, you wouldn't want to 5hit in your own bed would you?!
If you keep your dog in a cage though you must never shut them in there as punishment. If you did this, they'll end up hating it and will never get in it without a fuss.

Good advice i feel. The dog does sleep in her bedroom as the rest of the house is freezing at night, however i think most mornings when my lass awakes, the pup has moved from her basket onto the bed :rolleyes:
I think a modification to her central heating is required so the do can sleep in the hall.
Haven't heard of the Kong thing before - shall look into it :thumb:
Thanks.
Keep the experiences coming :)

Given where the dog sleeps it is definately separation anxiety/dominance that is the issue. Basically when the dog is left alone it kind of thinks how dare you leave me, I will show you.

If there is a dominance dimension you will need to do a number of things such as get the dog to sleep in it's own bed. There are not many places in this country that are too cold inside a house for a dog. My next door neighbours latest hunting dog has been outside since he was ten weeks old and that was over the winter.

You will also need to demonstrate control by not feeding it tidbits, only ever giving it it's food after you have eaten yours, regular grooming and positive use of a crate/cage.

All of these things will calm a dog down and reduce dominance/boredom.

Rannoch

Kongs are GREAT! Got the big black King Kong for my Lab....
Stupid b@stard lost it in the back garden!! :D

The destruction, as stated in posts above, is down to boredom. The Kong is a good way around it, in fact there are many websites (NERDY, I know!) on various methods of packing the Kong out, depending on how quickly the dog learns what to do. Alot of information from Police/Army trainers on there too :)

Do a google for Kong and the associated message boards :)

Dan

The little chap needs something to keep him amused/occupied...

a radio is a good idea - makes the dog feel he is not alone..

Squeaky toys etc to keep him amused - and a Kong is a fab idea... found this website which also does snacks which are made to fit them perfectly - I've never seen this before and might have to get some for our dog!
online pet store pet supplies at pet supermarket

Squeaky toys scare the sh1t out of the pup :D
Looks like the Radio is a good plan.
We do have a large cage, but i don't want to get her used to that as the pup spends a fair amount of time up in Harrogate (Missus lives in Newark) and moving the cage around is a PITA :)
The Pup does have it's own little area at the top of the landing with a baby gate, so i think from now on she will be sleeping there :)
BTW, when my lass got home tonight, the mat inside the front door had bitten the dust.
On another subject - she's going to get spade in a couple of weeks, does this affect the dogs character in any way? I understand that when male dogs get their bits cut, they tend to calm down????
Thanks :thumb:

In my experience it doesnt make any difference. You need to teach the dog who is in charge. Dont feed titbit(unless she works for it), getting on the furniture is a no no etc etc. If she does not respond to no, then a small water bottle with gravel in works wonders. When she does the undesired behaviour, shake the bottle once, and shout no. she will soon learn that no means no. dogs are like kids, give them an inch and they will take a mile. A week of reinforcement training will save you a headache in the long run. Just remember....IT IS A DOG. You have many happy years if you start off right. HTH

How long is it being left for? Sounds like it's bored ****less to me.

I am also a fan of the cage. Ours loves hers. In fact since my little boy was toddling she sees it as her sanctuary. lol. You can get some that fold flat if that would help with transporting the cage itself.

We trained our puppy not to chew furniture with a fine water spray - he quickly learned to associate chewing furniture with getting wet and stopped. You just have to be careful he doesn't realise it is you spraying him.

The cage we have is a fold flat one but even so, it's heavey and large.
The Pup, in general, is very well behaved. She sit's when told to do so. Whenever she's told to drop, or leave something - she does and she always knows to sit before she's given anything. As for titbits, she does not get anything from us when we are eating so she knows begging is a waste of time. She is allowed on the sofa, but knows it is a no go area when we're eating.
Generally speaking, the Pup can be left for upto 8 hours while my lass is at work, but on most days, she goes home for lunch to give the Pup a walk and have a play.
I have been down this weekend and have actioned some of the advice given in this thread. The Pup now sleeps in her bed on the landing. She was a bit of a pain on Thurs night, but has since been fine. We have bought a Kong so i will be looking around the Web for some suitable packing out munching material :D I've also bought a radio so hopefully that might provide some stimulation :)
If only i could train the pup to do DIY - i could keep her amused for weeks :)
Thanks for the input - i'll let you know how things go :thumb:

Is she in Harrogate??

If so I know of a couple of dog walkers that can come in and take the dog out to break up the day, its not too expensive too betwen £6.50 and £11 depending on what you want.

We are just starting to use a sitting service whihc is £11 a day. Basically the dog is picked up around 7am and taken for a walk and then goe back to the walkers home for the day and gets a second walk, before being dropped home between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. We were using a walker to come in at around 11am, but with us coming home between 6 and 7 its just too long for her to be left on her own.... she's a 14 month old boxer.

Richard

No unfortunately not :(
She lives in Newark - but it is food for thought. We are hopefully gonna move in together at some point this year, so the Pup will spend much less time on her own hopefully :)

Kongs are great

Why not crate train the pup and then get rid of the pads

We live on the sixth floor in our flats and if we can puppy train, then anyone can

A toilet schedule is a must too

Pete

The pads are only there as a precaution when my lass is at work and usually they are unused when she gets home. 8 times out of 10, she does her business outside and is getting better. We take her out every 2 hours without fail, but most of the time she comes and asks to go out :thumb:

you could get a bell on the door, when our dog needs to 'eliminate' he rings the bell and we go out

We also have a ball which you can record your voice into, and when pup bumps the ball, the sound plays and they get all excited

Pete

Bell on the door - quality :D Did that take much training? What is the dog like when he is at someone else's house minus the bell?
Where did you get the voice ball from that sounds like fun to me - obscene messages to the missus and all that :D

The bell on the door, every time we went out, we said 'ring your bell' and got pup to touch the bell, then praised like mad

The sound ball was from pets at home

Pete

I live in newark as well mate and have got a 5 month old boxer dog luckily not having any problems with chewing at the min he's to busy annoying my other 11 year old boxer

**Update**

Marli has been much better since she was left to sleep on her own. The Kong has been working well but today she has a chewing sesh (to say the least) while my lass was at work.
As we both had a long weekend (fri, sat, sun and mon off) the pup had plenty of company. Leigh did 8 hours yesterday and pup was fine but today was a 12 hour shift plus travelling time of 1 hour. Leigh did go home for 40 mins at 1pm and returned at 8.45 to find this....

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.br...l1/Trahed1.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.br...l1/Trahed2.jpg

The first pic is the remains of a futon which the pup's bed was sat on and the second is the remains of the carpet at the top of the stairs :D Not to worry i suppose - it is a long time to be on your own. Hopefully, we will be moving in together in the next few months, so the pup will have much more regular company. In the mean time, any more bright ideas to keep her amused? :thumb:

When I got my two pups, in my house I lost a full 3 piece suite, conservatory furniture, ALL of my plants (lots of them) all my grass in the garden, a fence panel, the conservatory doors to inside the house, the rubber seals around the outer conservatory doors, the garden furniture, dining table legs, dog blankets, dog basket, all the plants in the garden, the grid covers, conservatory door glass smashed, and plaster off the walls

In Donnas old house, a full lino floor twice, part of the stairs, the carpet, the border wallpaper, the plaster on the walls, the shed/kennel door, the perspex windows in the shed

Most of this was done in the evening whilst we were asleep, plenty of chews / bones etc but nearly always virtually untouched

Now we only have one Dog, and he howls around 7am, howls whenever he hears sirens, hardly chews anything now, very very rarely goes on the couch, unless it is a sneaky no one looking attempt

I did try a radio, but he started howling at it (guess he didn't like some of the music LOL)

Now he sleeps in the conservatory on my old dining room table with a blanket on it (he hates both his dog baskets) and likes to sleep on the garden furniture if its nice outside, he has a kennel outside but he has never been in it, even when I have put his food or treats in, he wont go and get them out

:eek2:
I believe we have got off rather lightly in that case :D

dogs/puppys actually show their affection by ripping things up believe it or not!

my pooch has her own system for when no-ones home along with a bone and a teddy (woman! :Whatever_)


seems to do the trick though :thumb:

Jeesus :eek:

Its boredom. No question.

Ideally she should be left for no more than 4 hours at a time.

Get her a crate and some serious rubber chews. Leave the radio on.

Or build a secure kennel outside with decent shelter.

In the meantime, you need to tire her brain out when you are with her. Take her to training classes, teach her tricks, get her mind working when you are with her.

Does she get a decent walk (old enough now) before your girlfriend goes out in the mornings?

PS - from your original post, at six months she should have been fully house trained, so why the pee pads? Or was that simply because she couldn't hold on for the day? (not surprising!)