Please tell me it will pass...

[ej]

We started letting Koda has free roam of the house while we are out about a month ago. First day of his freedom, he ate a huge chunk of my sofa, leather, sponge and foam.

Today, we left them home for about a couple of hours, came home to a bigger hole in the sofa. We had coverd it (2 covers) since the last incident. Granted the covers were not tight and snug, somehow he found his way under the covers and ate more of the sofa, a LOT MORE!

DH is panic stricken, worried and mad!

Please tell me it will all pass through and out -- leather, sponge, foam and all. So worried now... SIGHS!

[Kathie and the gang]

Winston is 19 months and there is no way he will get free access to the house when I'm not home. He loves to eat things so until that stops, no free access. Maybe that will never really stop. It is random eating so you just never know. So far chairs and other large objects are not part of the eating process. I'm hopeful that by the time he is 2 there might be some improvement and he can be trusted in the house when I'm not there. If not he will be in the kitchen and family room for a long time. The bad part is that Freya has to be there too and she would be fine having full access.
Years ago (15) I had a Springer that eat the sides of two sofas, that is when I discovered crates. So good luck, and I understand the frustration.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Our girls are 2 and they still do not have free roam when we are gone for any length of time. If I'm just running to the store or mowing the lawn I will leave them out but never for more than 1-2 hours. They have not chewed up anything since they were probably 6 months old, but I worry about them getting to running or playing to rough and getting hurt while I'm out. They can get a little crazy sometimes. We turned one of our bedrooms into a room for them so it is pretty much puppy proofed and there really isn't anything they can get into that would hurt them and they don't for some reason play rough when they are in their room. I think they also feel more secure in there if we are going to be gone for awhile. They have no problem when I tell them go to your room. It has their food and water, beds and lots of their toys and they always get a special treat when they go to their room as well. It doesn't sound like Koda is ready for unsupervised roaming just yet! I'm not sure what I would do if they chewed up the sofa!

[Frannie & Callie]

I agree with Allyson - limit the freedom until Koda regains trust. Callie has free reign of the downstairs, but every now and then just loses her head and destroys something (blinds, remotes, edge of coffee table, books, etc). After that, I confine her to the kitchen for a week or so when I am gone. In that time she generally re-learns her manners. It's not a punishment, just a reminder!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I think it will pass; however, I would crate Koda until he is more reliable!! Peri is over a year and we are just working up to 2 hours alone with free foam. She likes to chew on my antique furniture - URGGGGG