Destruction when we leave

[ShalynaWinsborrow]

Hi, 

We have two dogs; one we got at 6 weeks and one we got as a rescue when she was 4 months. The biggest problem we seem to have is that the rescue always finds something to destroy in the apartment no matter what we do. We got a camera to see exactly when it starts and it's at the 3-4 hour mark (when her puzzle treat ball is empty) 

We've tried everything we can think of: crate training (she howls after the first 30 minutes without stopping), leaving puzzles and other interactive toys, walks in the morning. We ended up resorting to putting a piece of cardboard out so she goes after that instead of the furniture or any of our valuables (it's encouraging the bad behaviour I know!) 

Is there any advice?

 

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Nice doggies, thanks for sharing their picture, they look like great buddies!

I have a few questions to gain a better insight.

How long have you had this rescue?

How old is your rescue now?

What breed or mix if known?

How many hours is she alone?

What does she destroy when left alone? I am specifically looking for certain patterns. For instance, does she aim for doors, windows? Shoes? Pillows? Remote controller?

Have you tried using baby gates or exercise pens to close off a dog-proofed section of the home?

Do your recordings of her when left alone show any signs of anxiety such as pacing, whining, drooling, restlessness and anxiety?

Is your other dog behaving well when alone? Is he/she with her when they are alone or are they separated?

Thanks!

 

 

 

[ShalynaWinsborrow]

Hi Adrianne thank you for the reply! 

The dog that likes to destroy (her name is Nova) she just turned 2 years old about a week ago and we've had her since June of 2019. 

She is a mix breed of mostly Husky but there's also Beagle, Belgian Tervuren and poodle. (We became more aware of what Husky mix's do when we found out her exact breed after a DNA test) 

Typically she's alone at the most 7.5 hours a day for one to three days a week.

So typically she goes after things she can physically tear apart like carpet, cardboard, the back of the couch if she can access it and on rare cases, her dog bed if she notices fluff poking out. 

We used to set up a doggy pen for her but she either found a way to escape or howl when she couldn't escape. 

I haven't noticed any signs of separation anxiety other than the occasional pacing but she goes to sleep after she paces (the destruction happens much later out of the blue) 

My other dog is 3, his name is Loki and he's a lab, German shorthair pointer, boxer mix. He behaves fine when he's alone, mostly sleeps. They are together now, whenever they were separated (crate or play pen), that's when she started howling and trying to get to him. 

When we're home, however they act the opposite than when we're gone. Nova sleeps, and Loki wants to play and whines for our attention all day. We're trying your course on both of them and we've already seen a difference with Loki so thank you for that! 

I apologize for the very long reply as well lol. 

Thank you again for your help! 

[Adrienne]

Thank you for the extra details, they are very helpful-the more the better!

So Nova, who is now the age of two, is likely still in the doggy adolescent stage. This stage's timeframes vary based on dog breed/size, so with mixes we can only guess, but in general, we expect dogs to enter the adolescent stage at around 6 months of age and to be in it until they are 2 to 3 years of age. Smaller dogs enter this stage earlier and end it sooner, while larger dogs enter it later and end it later.

The adolescent stage, just like the human teenager stage, is characterized by many behavior changes. Namely, you may be likely to see a desire for more independence, increased energy levels and a strong desire to chew on stuff. Destructive behaviors are not unusual at all at this time. You can read more about this stage here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

You certainly have an interesting mix there. Huskies are known for being very active and escaping any type of confinement, beagles are noses on four legs (sniffing is their way or life!), poodles are very smart and thrive on advanced training and Tervs are highly active and can be destructive when bored. However, there is debate over how accurate these DNA tests are. 

So it looks like overall she's after things to shred. The fluff poking out from a bed, is almost irresistible to many dogs considering the fact that it brings back ancient instincts. In other words, from the dog's perspective the pillow or bed is like a large predator and chewing on it and removing the stuffing mimics what a dog's ancestors used to do when dissecting and "de-gutting" hunted animals, removing the entrails.

As gross as this sounds, this happens more on a playful side, sort of like a child playing and pretending to go grocery shopping (including buying meat which comes from animals too!) and cooking a meal, although there are strong instincts at play. Even dogs who shake toys are mimicking ancient behaviors, as the toy comes to resemble small prey and the side-to-side shaking mimics what their ancestors did with small prey animals, with the purpose this movement being to kill the small animal by breaking its neck.

So this sounds more like Nova is looking more for outlets for her instinctive behaviors and the fact she sleeps when you come home most likely suggests that she has been restless and likely looking for something to do. This can be due to excess energy, frustration/boredom and sometimes anxiety.  So here are some things that come to mind:

-On top of walks, consider training and mental stimulation (brain games!). Make sure that, before leaving your dog alone in the morning, that she has been walked, played with, trained (clicker training can be tiring) and provided with some fun brain games so that she's not left with too much energy to drain. Many experts believe that mental stimulation can be almost equally tiring (if not more) than exercise.

-I would suggest rotating her toys. In other words, on those days when you must go out, you can provide toys she doesn't see often when in the home. This creates a sense of novelty and creates renewed interest. Of course, make sure the toys are safe to leave out if she is a powerful chewer. If she's the type that breaks toys apart, there are stronger toys out there such as Kong Xtreme and Goughnuts. West Paw makes a line of tough toys that I think may come with a warranty. It may help to provide these toys when you're home initially so that you can supervise and ensure she interacts with them in a safe manner.

- Remove temptations as much as possible. If possible remove access to pillows to un-stuff, curtains to tug on and beds to chew. To help your dog succeed in making good choices, remove as much tempting items as possible keeping them off the floor and out of the dog's reach. Dog-proofing the room so that there's little to destroy, while leaving around several legit and safe items your dog can play with and chew will ensure she can only make good choices. Here are some alternate options for dogs who chew their beds:

 

-When you are home, work on training a good leave it cue. Make sure to also practice when you leave a room and hide out of sight (while watching from an outdoor window, mirror or remote monitoring) so that your dog doesn't associate leaving stuff with your physical presence. In other words, teach your dog that even when you are away she must "leave it'. Here's how to train this:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

-Try a remote feeder. As the name implies, a remote feeder is a gadget that allows you to feed your dog at intervals throughout the day. This can keep dogs busy when left alone so they have less chance of acting destructive. An example of a remote feeder is the Pet Tutor which can be timed to release kibble a a certain time. Of course, exclude this option or any other options involving toys/food if your dogs are kept together and are prone to resource guarding.  If that would be the case, you would have to keep them separated.

The Furbo Camera, in particular, is a remote camera which offers the advantage of, on top of allowing you to monitor your dog when alone, feeding him treats/ kibble as often as desired. You can also talk to your dog and even practice "leave its" initially when you are nearby the home and then when away, when you notice she tries to chew on something she shouldn't and you can then reward for 'leaving it" with a kibble/treat. 

-I would evaluate whether there may be something triggering anxiety after the 3-4 hour mark, just for sake of exclusion. I know the destructive behavior seems to coincide with the treat ball emptying, but one of my colleagues once had a case of a dog chewing from anxiety like crazy always after a set time only to find out that at that time kids coming home from school would play ball against the wall of the room the dog was kept in. This made the dog highly anxious and he would chew to cope with his anxiety.

-Sometimes, dogs may start chewing also from frustration. Perhaps she is frustrated that her treat ball has emptied and boredom is setting in. It doesn't hurt to increase at this age exercises for better impulse control and frustration tolerance. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

-I don't see providing cardboard to rip off as necessarily encouraging the bad behavior, but more as providing her a legitimate outlet. If she aims to destroy that and that prevents her from destroying other items (even better if items we don't want her to destroy are stored away), I see it as her making a good choice, just as with providing other legitimate things to chew on such as toys. She may though come to want to destroy cardboard boxes you haven't provided her to specifically or anything that looks similar to cardboard --so you'll need to watch for that. 

-Consider a multi-faceted approach. Often, tackling destructive behaviors, such as dogs ripping up stuff, requires a multi-faceted approach using the combination of several solutions. So with increased mental stimulation, play and training, removal of things she shouldn't chew on, and access to legitimate things to chew on when left alone, the destructive behavior directed at certain things should gradually reduce overtime. 

-For worst cases, after all has been tried, it may help to take your dog to doggie daycare (much better than the dog park if you find one that carefully screens dogs for health and aggression) or you can hire a dog walker to stop by mid-day (maybe after those initial 3-4 hours) to keep your dog occupied. Or maybe having a friendly trusted neighbor or relative who loves dogs who is willing to swing by. 

-And of course, if this destructive behavior turns out being anxiety-based (like in the case of separation anxiety or generalized anxiety disorder), the underlying anxiety will need to be tackled through behavior modification and possibly medications.

I hope this helps,

Let me know if you have any other questions/concerns.

 

 

[ShalynaWinsborrow]

Thank you so much for all of the information, it was very helpful! 

The removal of objects we have already been doing but the couch unfortunately we cannot remove. We will try the brain training more in the morning instead of the evening to try and tire her out. We have been reading your course on the "leave it" and have been doing that with her all weekend. 

How do you use the cardboard as an outlet without having her correlate that with other things that can be similar to the cardboard? 

She was alone the other day for a full day and I think it was progress. The only thing she did was make a hole in her blanket that it on her bed and took off the blanket that's on the couch. Do you think providing her with a blanket on her bed that's okay for her to chew is a positive outlet or teaching her that all blankets are okay? 

We will serve trying everything you suggested, especially telling her to leave it and walk out the door for a few minutes. 

Thank you so much again for all of the advice we will try it and hopefully it helps! 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome!

For the cardboard, as mentioned, the potential side effect is that she may want to destroy cardboard boxes you haven't provided her to specifically or anything that looks similar to cardboard --so you'll need to watch for that. So in other words, when you're out (or unable to supervise) you'll need to keep out only cardboard (and any other legitimate things for her to chew like her toys/food puzzles). When you are around and able to supervise instead you can enforce your "leave it" and potential "drop it" if you notice her intent to steal cardboard or you catch her already carrying a piece of cardboard in her mouth. 

With time, she may possibly come to learn that cardboard that is left on the floor is for her to destroy while other types of cardboard that are left on shelves or tables aren't destined for her use.-but when left alone, there are chances that her feelings of boredom/stress/anxiety may override any restrain she may have when in your presence.

Our Einstein learned to destroy boxes on cue since a pup. We would give him a box and tell him to "go!" and he would break it up in pieces until small enough to fit in our trash can. He knew when we gave him something that he was allowed to play with versus other things. As he got older around the age of 9, if we weren't around he would sometimes pick up a box on his own and shred it without permission (we chalked it up to decreased inhibitions which can be typical as dogs age), but it wasn't a problem because we really never valued our cardboard boxes anyway and we knew he never ingested parts of it. 

So yes, as warned, there are good chances that if your dog starts destroying boxes the behavior will become self-reinforcing and she may come to perceive cardboard as a fun "toy." Dogs aren't good at discriminating similar looking things, so just as we shouldn't allow puppies to chew on an old pair of shoes we were planning to toss away and then expect them to not want to chew our new pair of expensive stillettos, we can't expect a dog to chew on cardboard and not chew other things that are made of or resemble carboard when left unsupervised. 

Of course, a word of caution is always needed. Cardboard boxes may have staples or toxic glues, so caution is needed. Providing cardboard may be only possible to do with dogs who shred and won't ingest any pieces of cardboard so it's important to evaluate risks as with many things, as nothing on earth is really risk-free when it comes to dogs. 

With blankets, we are getting closer to things that we may not want dogs to chew on unless we are willing to keep buying blankets and risking the dog chewing through fabrics we value such as couch covers, curtains etc. What we're looking for is providing legitimate things to chew on and making them easy to access so to make other things we may value less tempting. However, we may also want to evaluate why she is chewing in the first place, if it's just boredom-based or more of a stress-reaction/displacement activity which requires a different plan other than more enrichment/outlets for natural behaviors. 

Any chances a locking gate such as those tall 41"made by Carlton or Regalo can be used to separate the couch from where she spends the most time when home alone?

 

[ShalynaWinsborrow]

Okay good to know! 

No, she doesn't ingest any cardboard that we've seen she just loves to rip it up. It started when she was able to get loose paper or documents at her level so we tried to redirect her attention which seems to help but as you stated before, she now correlates that cardboard with tape she sees on the ground or the back of the couch because it can be ripped up. 

We have a gate that keeps her from getting the carpet but unfortunately the room she spends her time in the most is the living room where the couch is. We have to close the doors to the bedrooms so she doesn't get into things she's not supposed to. 

Do you think it's a good idea to keep her blanket away from the main room when we're gone then so she doesn't rip up the blankets that are covering the couch? 

[Adrienne]

Do you think it's a good idea to keep her blanket away from the main room when we're gone then so she doesn't rip up the blankets that are covering the couch? 

Since she has chewed up a hole in her blanket already last time, there are chances that she may move on next to the blankets covering the couch. Indeed, it sounds like after she chewed the hole in the blanket she took the blanket off the couch- so likely that was intent. 

It can get tricky here. Like if you provide her a blanket that you do not care for her to chew, she'll likely chew it. Chewing on it may buy you some time and keep her occupied until you come back home-but it's likely just a matter of time that she may get tired of chewing her blanket and may look for something else and those blankets on the bed may lure her like a magnet. So I would suggest removing any things you do not want her to chew. 

However,  if you can't crate her (we have a guide here on gradually conditioning dogs to like the crate), have a walker/neighbor swing by or prevent access to the couch (which would be the ideal approach, out of sight- out of mind- at least until we can work more on identifying the source of problem-stress? boredom? pent-up energy? need for more enrichment? medical issues? self-soothing behavior?), the goal would be to tire her out physically and mentally before leaving (walk, kibble treasure hunt in the yard, then brain games, nosework, clicker training) provide things that will attract her far more than the couch (like a Kong frozen with peanut butter, hidden treats, Kong Wobbler, slow bowls, Pet Tutor set to release kibble at routine times,).

Things get risky here though as your dog may still chew things up and may ingest parts of blankets, pillows or toys that may lead to a blockage. So a disclaimer is needed. Also, careful with leaving many tempting stuff around if your other dog is around too, if your dogs are prone to or potentially prone to resource guarding. Separating them just for safety may be a good option.