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Okay we've tried putting everything up high out of reach but we are human and we have a lot of things on our plate. We get tired, we forget and this rescue dog (no good deed goes unpunished) can get into closets and on top of tables to get at things though she's not very big.
I've had dozens of pairs of socks chewed to trash. We've lost three pair of shoes this week alone. She chews our rugs, everyone's bedding, paper, books, trash when she can get it. She has done at least a thousand dollars worth of damage to the inside of our car. Thank God it's the "dog" car but we can't take her anywhere in anything else. She climbs onto our entry table to get into my purse to drag things out to chew. Any crack in our put it up, lock it up armor and she sees those opportunities to destroy and exploits them.
She's like lightning. A split second of inattention (seriously) and she gets things, hauls them away and destroys them. It takes less than a minute or two at most to turn functional items into trash. Her sharp dog teeth are nothing short of amazing shredding machines. She seems to be at her worst when we are busy cooking dinner or doing something where we can't pay a lot of attention to her.
She's over a year old now. She gets walks, play, good food and attention but it's not enough. We try discipline but it doesn't pierce the void.
We are at wits end. It looks like she'll be spending her life outside of eating, walks and play in a crate to keep our belongings intact. We can't go on like this. I've had challenging dogs before but this dog beats all. It's really hard to like her right now. Help us please if you can.
Sounds like you have a smart, high-energy dog. Would focus on exercising her, jog w/ her or play ball w/ her - for a long time - where she can burn off some of that destructive energy. 'A tired dog is a good dog'. For a nominal fee, maybe even a neighborhood kid would like a jogging partner. There's contraptions for bikes where you can safely attach a leash and take her for a run.
All this depends on her size and health, you dont want to overdo esp. in the beginning and obviously if she's a small dog, you'd have to gear plans around her size but given that she can get things off the entry table, she is probably a medium-large size. If she's crated most of the day, she's likely to act out when she has the opportunity.
In the meantime, close doors and keep her in the same room where you are as she's less likely to do smething she shouldn't if you're close by.
It has to be frustrating and I hope some of this helps
I might try putting her on a leash and keeping her with you at all times. I read somewhere that a leash attached to a belt loop works. Also talk to her..like you would a 4 year old..say her name alot..ask her questions..keep her attention. And use the crate of course. Does she have a backyard that is safe for her...you might also find out you have a digger too. lol I know I laughed but really it's not funny...as I fill yet another hole in my backyard!!!!!
2. Put the dog on a program of daily obedience training and NILIF (nothing in life is free). Nothing in Life is Free Both require the dog to use her mind as well as her body and will help tire the dog. A tired dog is a good dog.
3. This dog obviously needs more exercise than she's now getting. Add a 30 minute power walk to her current routine. A power walk is one where the dog must walk on a loose leash and is not permitted to pull, lag, sniff or potty. The last two are permitted ONLY when you call for a break. Again, this exercises both body and mind. And, again, a tired dog is a good dog.
4. Crate train the dog and use the crate appropriately to keep the dog out of trouble when unsupervised. A year old dog (or slightly older) is a TEENAGER and, like all teens, seems determined to push your buttons. but, YOU are or should be the pack leader (her Alpha in other words). When unsupervised the dog should be confined both for your sanity and, more importantly, for her safety. What if, instead of your shoes, she chews on electrical wires?
TRAINING, NILIF, PROPER CONFINEMENT, EXERCISE, YOU PUTTING YOUR THINGS AWAY.
Last edited by Keeper; 05-30-2011 at 03:39 PM..
Reason: rude comment
All the things Skelaki suggested, plus LOTS of sturdy chew toys - kongs with peanut butter, nylabones, pig ears. Anytime you catch her in the act stop her and give her one of these instead. With persistence she'll hopefully get that those are her things, and she should leave yours alone. Dogs will usually outgrow chewing around age 2 - I know that's a long time when you have a really bad chewer. Good luck!
Also, has she been to obedience classes? It sounds like she would really benefit from learning self control (not a natural dog trait) and finding her "off switch." It could also be that she needs a lot more both physical and mental exercise.
A year-old dog is still a puppy. Depending on her breed and age, I'd say "walks" aren't going to be enough... most dogs' natural gait is not a walk, it's a fast trot. Teach her to run with a bicycle! Use common sense of course, but biking with a dog is a very efficient and satisfying way to wear them out.
I feel for you...I have had two dogs like this. A previous shelter Rottweiler; her issue was anxiety and ADHD, truly she was not wired correctly. I came close to giving her up at one point. But she ended up an absolutely wonderful, if somewhat, umm, "special" dog. And my current JRTx, who was naughty and destructive beyond belief for the first two years of her life. She gets extensive training, classes and exercise, which really helps.
More exercise. She's clearly not getting enough.
More structure and training, classes.
Patience!
Okay we've tried putting everything up high out of reach but we are human and we have a lot of things on our plate. We get tired, we forget and this rescue dog (no good deed goes unpunished) can get into closets and on top of tables to get at things though she's not very big.
I've had dozens of pairs of socks chewed to trash. We've lost three pair of shoes this week alone. She chews our rugs, everyone's bedding, paper, books, trash when she can get it. She has done at least a thousand dollars worth of damage to the inside of our car. Thank God it's the "dog" car but we can't take her anywhere in anything else. She climbs onto our entry table to get into my purse to drag things out to chew. Any crack in our put it up, lock it up armor and she sees those opportunities to destroy and exploits them.
She's like lightning. A split second of inattention (seriously) and she gets things, hauls them away and destroys them. It takes less than a minute or two at most to turn functional items into trash. Her sharp dog teeth are nothing short of amazing shredding machines. She seems to be at her worst when we are busy cooking dinner or doing something where we can't pay a lot of attention to her.
She's over a year old now. She gets walks, play, good food and attention but it's not enough. We try discipline but it doesn't pierce the void.
We are at wits end. It looks like she'll be spending her life outside of eating, walks and play in a crate to keep our belongings intact. We can't go on like this. I've had challenging dogs before but this dog beats all. It's really hard to like her right now. Help us please if you can.
Seems like this Pup would make a good story for a Marley amd Me Book.
What a smart Dog.
I know you are in need of help though,thought about a Trainer,they do wonders.
She has a fenced yard and yes she wants to dig and tear through even the raised gardens. My husband throws the frisbee until her tongue hangs out to the ground and she tries to lay down with the frisbee rather than return it. When we can't directly supervise her in the yard, like when we are out there working in the garden, we have her in one of those fold up wire fences with a heavy canvas tarp floor nearby to keep her out of trouble but only after tiring her out first or she tries to dig at the canvas.
Ditto for the twice a day walks. We practically have to carry her home, she's so tuckered out, but this only makes a dent. Just a little rest and she's ready to rumble again. She was supposed to be a companion to our older dog who was lonely for dog companionship and play after her sister died. She was advertised by the rescue organization as mellow and sweet (and she started out that way for about a week until she got her bearings here) and now she terrorizes our poor old dog at times and keeps us far busier controlling her behavior than we had ever imagined that we would need to be.
She has been a big disappointment in many ways. She's affectionate, but like everything else, she way over does it and has torn earrings out of my ears, tears at my hair and scratches or bites at us for attention. I have to shield my face and push her away with the other arm to get into the car. So we have to keep her affection attention to short intervals, on the floor and then put her off when she inevitably gets worked up.
We joke about installing a treadmill and hooking it up to a small generator to get some use out of her. I suspect she could run our house lights, she's so full of the devil. But seriously, she's driving us all crazy and is chewing us out of house and home. I dread the day that furniture legs or baseboard trim begin to look good to her. Thus far the chewing has been confined to softer or smaller items.
I find the car particularly upsetting, with good sized holes chewed in every door panel. Every seat cover has been mauled, seat belt holders are barely functional with broken plastic. This happens in minutes. A quick stop at the home improvement or grocery store results in another damaged item. We try to catch her at it but she is fast and super vigilant so we are never able to catch her in the act of much of anything, only with the aftermath. Not that it matters. When we catch her with our shoes, the scolding doesn't make a dent. She goes right back after them. We will not be able to sell this car. It will have to be scrapped after we are done with it sadly. She's a one dog wrecking crew.
This is not our way with our belongings. I have clothes older than most people on city-data or should I say I used to have clothes older... She's chewed our 25 year old braided leather leashes to smithereens. She chewed through her $45 harness in less than a minute a few months after we bought it. We have lost at least a dozen pairs of shoes, socks, underclothing. She gets into the laundry at every opportunity. We are only buying cheap disposable stuff now. Antique oriental rugs had to be rolled up when she started going after those. Ditto for bedding of any value. All those things are in storage that she can't access. She's been with us for only four months. I can't imagine how we will live if we don't fix this problem in a timely manner.
Unfortunately our house is an open plan home so except bedrooms and baths, there are no doors to close. And being human with a lot on our minds and agenda, the few doors that we have occasionally get left open.
She's not neglected, far from it, but we don't have every waking moment 24/7 to devote solely to her so we are at a loss. We are digging out her airline crate to help us deal, but we are hoping to not have that crate be her life when we aren't directly interacting with her and then there's the barking, scratching and whining that results from her confinement. The big issue is her lack of respect for us, for our other dog and our belongings.
We could use any help. I'd like some semblance of my life back. The rescue organization asked in their questionnaire what circumstances would cause us to return a rescued dog and I honestly couldn't think of anything having worked with several touchy dogs and having done breed rescue for a number of years but this one is trying my resolve that there are no bad dogs...
She has a fenced yard and yes she wants to dig and tear through even the raised gardens. My husband throws the frisbee until her tongue hangs out to the ground and she tries to lay down with the frisbee rather than return it. When we can't directly supervise her in the yard, like when we are out there working in the garden, we have her in one of those fold up wire fences with a heavy canvas tarp floor nearby to keep her out of trouble but only after tiring her out first or she tries to dig at the canvas.
Ditto for the twice a day walks. We practically have to carry her home, she's so tuckered out, but this only makes a dent. Just a little rest and she's ready to rumble again. She was supposed to be a companion to our older dog who was lonely for dog companionship and play after her sister died. She was advertised by the rescue organization as mellow and sweet (and she started out that way for about a week until she got her bearings here) and now she terrorizes our poor old dog at times and keeps us far busier controlling her behavior than we had ever imagined that we would need to be.
She has been a big disappointment in many ways. She's affectionate, but like everything else, she way over does it and has torn earrings out of my ears, tears at my hair and scratches or bites at us for attention. I have to shield my face and push her away with the other arm to get into the car. So we have to keep her affection attention to short intervals, on the floor and then put her off when she inevitably gets worked up.
We joke about installing a treadmill and hooking it up to a small generator to get some use out of her. I suspect she could run our house lights, she's so full of the devil. But seriously, she's driving us all crazy and is chewing us out of house and home. I dread the day that furniture legs or baseboard trim begin to look good to her. Thus far the chewing has been confined to softer or smaller items.
I find the car particularly upsetting, with good sized holes chewed in every door panel. Every seat cover has been mauled, seat belt holders are barely functional with broken plastic. This happens in minutes. A quick stop at the home improvement or grocery store results in another damaged item. We try to catch her at it but she is fast and super vigilant so we are never able to catch her in the act of much of anything, only with the aftermath. Not that it matters. When we catch her with our shoes, the scolding doesn't make a dent. She goes right back after them. We will not be able to sell this car. It will have to be scrapped after we are done with it sadly. She's a one dog wrecking crew.
This is not our way with our belongings. I have clothes older than most people on city-data or should I say I used to have clothes older... She's chewed our 25 year old braided leather leashes to smithereens. She chewed through her $45 harness in less than a minute a few months after we bought it. We have lost at least a dozen pairs of shoes, socks, underclothing. She gets into the laundry at every opportunity. We are only buying cheap disposable stuff now. Antique oriental rugs had to be rolled up when she started going after those. Ditto for bedding of any value. All those things are in storage that she can't access. She's been with us for only four months. I can't imagine how we will live if we don't fix this problem in a timely manner.
Unfortunately our house is an open plan home so except bedrooms and baths, there are no doors to close. And being human with a lot on our minds and agenda, the few doors that we have occasionally get left open.
She's not neglected, far from it, but we don't have every waking moment 24/7 to devote solely to her so we are at a loss. We are digging out her airline crate to help us deal, but we are hoping to not have that crate be her life when we aren't directly interacting with her and then there's the barking, scratching and whining that results from her confinement. The big issue is her lack of respect for us, for our other dog and our belongings.
We could use any help. I'd like some semblance of my life back. The rescue organization asked in their questionnaire what circumstances would cause us to return a rescued dog and I honestly couldn't think of anything having worked with several touchy dogs and having done breed rescue for a number of years but this one is trying my resolve that there are no bad dogs...
Thanks in advance.
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