Bored Behavior?

[Nicole]

I have had dogs all my life and I have never encountered a situation like this before. I know the common sense thing would be to put Barney (6 months and 65 lbs) in a crate when we're gone...but when I have tried that he has cried and made himself sick (threw up every time).

Barney is very observant. He noticed a black button refrigerator magnet, investigated, and proceeded to pull it off the fridge using his front teeth. He got in a coal bucket on the hearth and got some papers I had stored in the bottom of it. He saw the shelf on the wall above the couch (approximately 6' off the floor) and jumped up on the couch, stood up, and pulled off the decorations and chewed them up. In the entryway I have (correction...had) a decorative table with an open bible on it...yep...he got the bible off of it and chewed it up one afternoon. He pulled photos/frames and books off of a set of bookcases and chewed them up....

He has LOTS of toys (kong, hard bones, stuffed animals, tire toy, frisbee, etc.) + another dood for company. Coco is much smaller and can't reach the things, so I know it's him. (Plus when we just had one dood she didn't bother anything!!!!).

 

His latest endeavors include counter surfing. This weekend while we were at church he got pupperonies, milk bones, and a loaf of bread...in an hour and 15 minutes.

Obviously for the food we just can't leave anything within his reach...lesson learned.  But for the other things (shelf 6' high on wall, etc.)....what would possess him to bother these things? It has never happened before. Most dogs don't even know there's a shelf ON the wall let alone pull things down off it! And what dog notices a 1" diameter round black magnet on a silver fridge and pulls it off!!!!!

I have moved all of the important family photos and mementos off for now, but it's driving me cRaZy....we now have family bets on what he will have gotten as we drive home from somewhere.

Anyone else have similar experiences and if so, how did you handle them?

[Becka]

What exactly have you done in terms of crate training? Did you introduce him to the crate gradually, with treats? His destructive tendencies sounds more like anxiety than boredom to me--especially if he's only doing this when home alone--and I think that if you can't figure out a way to crate train him, you at least need to put him in an area you can block off with baby gates or by shutting a door.

Also--6 months and 65 pounds? Wow!!! That's a big doodle!

 

[Carol Brand]

The dog needs to be crated.  Have you ever seen the video Crate Games?  I think you should order it.

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

Welcome to puppy adolescence! This happened with Barley, though he wasn't as ingenius as your dog. It was a very destructive, though short phase with Barley. I went back to spending a lot of time training him one-on-one and mentally exhausting him. I gave him more exercise outside. I also watched him like a hawk again, tethering him to me in the house when necessary. I'm sorry your pup gets sick in his crate. Can you shut him up in a small room or will he be destructive? I'd recommend crating him. Barley had a crate until he was about a year and a half; he'll be two next month. To relieve his crate anxiety, you could try playing a CD of harp music while he is his crate. Harp music relaxes dogs, strange but true. Also, you could try a homeopathic remedy to relieve his anxiety before you put him in the crate.

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

I forgot to say "Please don't despair!" It will probably be temporary. Barley was perfect up until 6 months and then became pretty obnoxious from ages 6 to 9 months. He is almost two and is extremely trustworthy now. But I do encourage you to crate your pup. You'd hate for him to get into something or do something that could hurt him.

[Anne G.]

He's such a big boy and I think he needs to be exercised HARD. The xpen is also a great idea. We had Murphy's crate inside the xpen which was about 4X6. Then we let her out when we could watch her, mostly in the evening. She was allowed one room at a time. I had read that letting your puppy have access to the whole house at once causes too much stimulation. Good luck and hopefully he will grow out of it soon!

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy chewed up my kitchen cabinets before I got some great advice on here that he needs to be in a pen when we are not home and he is not ready to be alone in the kitchen. We are much happier now and don't have to worry about him getting hurt or destroying anything. He's definitely not ready to be alone in the house. Teddy is just now, at 10 months, starting to be more independent in the house, walking around in the living room and dining room while we are hanging out in the living room (before he was tethered where we could see him). I still call him to me if he's out of my sight for more than a minute though.

 

[shelly]

Oh boy, So sorry!  Tori was BAD, but Barney takes the cake.  I feel for you.  Is he afraid of noises?  Can you use cookie sheets on the counter and 'tempt' him with something (edible for dogs) and set them up to fall and crash when he jumps up to get them?  Maybe try hiding around a corner or behind a wall and try throwing a can of coins on the floor when you see him reaching for something.  I would definitely confine him when you are out... it could become very dangerous if he is so apt to get into things he shouldn't.  Instead of a crate, have you tried an ex-pen?  It's not so confining.  Burt he's a big boy - don't know how that will work out.. maybe the barking until vomiting is really his nervousness??? Tori does that in the car whenever we go to the groomer - vet - etc.  But NOW she has switched 'ends' and has diarrhea when she gets nervous.  Good luck.  I am sure others will be giving much better advice.  Hope you can find something that works!

[Nicole]

As far as crate training, we read up when he was younger and did everything it said...treats inside with door open, etc. We got him to where he would sleep in it at night for short stints (an hour or two) but after weeks of no longer than 2 hours at a time I gave up and let him sleep with our other dog (doodle) Coco confined to one room. He slept all night and was great. This behavior has just started in the last couple of weeks.

I might look into the pen...thanks for that info! I've never heard of those before. I also tried confining him to a small bathroom with a gate up but when I got home he had been sick twice. I think he doesn't like being seperated from Coco and he is SO BIG that there isn't room for them both in the tiny bathroom. We have a nice setup in the kitchen with a doggy door so that they can come and go as they please (although he is scared to death of it and won't attempt to go through it) and it has worked out so well with our last 3 dogs. They went in and out of the doggy door into our fenced in yard as they needed, had the run of the same two rooms, etc.

We spend a good hour and a half playing at the dog park and walking each night...he loves to play ball and run with the other dogs. He is worn out when we get home...It's just during the day when we're at work (or church) that he gets into mischief. When we're home he really doesn't bother anyhting! Tonight after playing at the park he was in his bed chewing on a kong like an angel haha!

 

Thanks for the tips...I may try the traps suggested too as he is a fraidy cat...that might work for a bit...let's hope this is a short-lived phase :D

[shelly]

I think it really is a phase.. "My Angel's" horns are slowly deteriorating!  LOL  but it took till now... she's 3 1/2 and once in a while she still......lol