# destroying my house



## joe e (Jan 31, 2009)

My 16 month old GSD is driving me crazy! My girlfriend just went back to work after working from home for several months. My dog obviously doesn't like being left alone but people have to work. Any way she chooses to chew on the trim at the bottom of my steps, or on a bed we have in the spare bedroom. I beleive she knows better because she NEVER does that when we are home.

We really don't want to have to crate her all day! Does anybody have any suggestions on how to stop this?, or correct her? Please help!


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

She's just bored and lonely.
Try getting up a bit earlier and giving her a good workout in the morning. Long walk, or a little obedience training, ball throwing, etc.
I can understand you not wanting to crate her for long periods of time. I personally feel most of the dogs I hear about are crated WAY too much.
You could try a mini-run. She would still be confined, but have a larger area. A 48" tall x-pen or small kennel-run can actually be set up in the house.
If you have a house where adding a doggy-door to a safe-small area outdoors that might be an option. (Letting the dog run in a full-yard may not work, as she would be more likely to annoy neighbors and passers-by.)


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## Judykaye (Feb 20, 2007)

My husband doesn't like to use a crate either...even though I would...we have compromised by using ALOT of baby gates...our two girls have alot of run but we gate them out of the rooms that we don't want damaged...ie, the living room, the bedroom and the computer room...they still have the entry way, the dining room, den, kitchen and back room to go in...but we have found that they enjoy laying on the upstairs landing and in the narrow hallway...

I have also used bitter apple to some success and even gotten it for a decent price on ebay...

Our rescue girl still chews when we are at work also...

I have also tried Bach's Rescue Remedy in their drinking water...

GOOD LUCK! Judy


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## DSudd (Sep 22, 2006)

Joe if it was me I would crate her. Their crates are not punishment, it is a safety issue. Today she is chewing on stairs and furniture, how do you know that tomorrow wont be an electrical cord? 

IMO until you can trust your pup 100% to not get into anything she isnt supposed, I would keep her crated, not only for her safety but also for the safety of your house. 

I would never leave her outside of give unlimited access to a doggie door. Can be very unsafe. Way to much stuff for her to get into. Someone could take her, or injure her.


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## dd (Jun 10, 2003)

Do you have a safe room you can put her in where the damage she could do is minimal?


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Crate her. 

Know what my dogs do all day in my house when I'm not home? They curl in a ball on my bed until I get home. So if I thought leaving them out of the crate was for some kind of 'exercise' or 'mental stimulation'..............it is not. 

And I crate my pups for as long as I have to. They 'earn' their way out. When they behave and are reliable, then the crates are packed up. Until then, for their safety (god knows how much 'bad' they can eat and how sick ( and $$$) they can get) AND FOR ME! Cause the difference in my attitude when I arrive home and get to the door when they are crated is that I am 100% happy and delighted to great a happy wonderful puppy safe in her crate. Rather than me arriving home already anxious, ready to get mad when I see what she's done/destroyed/gotten into that I have to deal with......

I CHOOSE to know my dog will be in her crate, happy to see me and me happy to see her. Rather than furious to see her and her never happy to get yelled at......................

I have found that it's not the time in the crate when I'm NOT home that is important to my dogs. It's what we do when I AM home. So I plan runs, hikes, socialization, training.................. making my dogs a part of my life, and ACTIVE part of my life when I am home. So when I'm not, they are content to sleep the day away and wait for me (and the fun) to return!


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: MaggieRoseLeeCrate her.
> 
> Know what my dogs do all day in my house when I'm not home? They curl in a ball on my bed until I get home. So if I thought leaving them out of the crate was for some kind of 'exercise' or 'mental stimulation'..............it is not.
> 
> ...










Set the dog up for success! Crates are a good way to do this if you are having problems with them chewing and getting into things while you are gone.


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## SuzyE (Apr 22, 2005)

you don't want $1400 emergency stomach surgery believe me I have been there. run your dog before you go and crate her-period. hire a dog walker mid day if you have to.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

If you really dislike the idea of crating you could go with an exercise pen. It would give the dog more room but still keep them safe. IT's just an extra large crate.


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## adas (Nov 22, 2008)

Aloha, whenever I have to leave and not take Rasa, I leaver her in the bathroom (a big 10x10 airy bathroom outside my regular house/office) and although Rasa does not have chewing issues, she is fine for a few hours in the room. I promise a treat when she goes willingly in and she reminds me about the treat when I go let her out. Can you designate a special non-destructive room for her? 
Frank


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## joe e (Jan 31, 2009)

Thank you everyone for all the great advice. We really appreciate it! I was hoping for a miracle answer on how to train her not to chew on her own. She's a sweet dog, although she can be a little bull headed some times. 

We bought her lots of new toys, and she has been getting better. 

Does anybody know when she may grow out of this phase?


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

It is not a "phase" - it is becoming a pattern of behavior and you allow her to suceed - the x-pen, indoor kennel or crate will help her suceed at NOT chewing. She needs to be conditioned to not chew by her access being changed. Chewing toys can cause their own problems if they eat the whole toy, and rawhides are not good for them.

I was home last Thursday and Friday after a fall on the ice - my dogs who are normally crated were loose. My male CHOOSE to sleep in his crate most of the day, and Basha (who is normally crated downstairs just slept on her dog bed. 

Lee


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## bmass01 (Apr 7, 2005)

Please keep in mind the destuction and problems leaving her out can cause, you may think it is cruel, it is not. Her life may depend on it (and your pocketbook). there are many examples we can give you, here is one:

Dallas got a toy stuck under the couch....3 people were home and sleeping at the time.


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## windwalker718 (Oct 9, 2008)

Duke came to us as a rescue, and has EXTREME seperation anxiety... as in if left home he ate right thru an interior door, riped apart the molding on the side of the door... etc. Most of the time we give in and he goes with us in the car, as he's secure there even if left for a long period of time. If we can't take him he HAS to be crated ... as other have said for his own safety. We are going to put a 8' X 4' covered kennel run in the basement to provide him more space, and will probably kennel our other shepherd rescue with him for company as my housemate is very anti crate for long term usage... fine for housetraining babies, but not for adults in her opinion... better the kennel than the conflict... LOL


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## joe e (Jan 31, 2009)

I am pleased to report that she has not chewed on my trim since my girlfriends 1st day back to work. She has however chewed on the bed in the spare room a little. 

We have 2 cats, and she is obsessed with them. They are not afarid of her, and she does not try to hurt them but she is ALWAYS bothering them. They go under the bed to get away from her, and I beleive that is why she chews the bed. 

Since she wants them to play, and they don't want anything to do with her then my question is... 

If I get her a friend, Will I most likely have DOUBLE TROUBLE?, Or will she enjoy the company of another dog?


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

DOUBLE TROUBLE!!!!


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## LedZep (May 4, 2008)

CRATE your dog!!!!!! 

Our GSD is about 15 months old, and I honestly cannot foresee when he will be allowed alone in the house uncrated. It could be years... if ever. 

If possible, one of you should come home at lunch to give the dog a bio break and a few minutes of exercise. If you can't maybe a trusted neighbor can. 

Crates are not punishment (unless we turn it into that). Dogs like the safety and comfort, and you'll appreciate knowing that when you get home, the fire department probably won't be there. 

Here's a tip - get a water bottle that you can mount on the crate. Being able to get little sips of water is important. Leave a safe toy or two (Kong rubber products are very good) to give the pup something to chew on and occupy its mind.

Leaving the dog loose in the house alone removes all rights to complain about what happens. This is like leaving a teenager alone for the weekend with an unlocked full liquor cabinet, your car keys, and your credit card.


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## RubyTuesday (Jan 20, 2008)

IMO, a companion for her is not a bad idea <u>after</u> you've gotten the training/behavior issues resolved. I'd advise that you look at a rescue at least 3yrs old, which will be young enough to sactively play, but (hopefully) more settled & mature.


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## joe e (Jan 31, 2009)

There are only 2 places she ever chews. I leave for work before my girlfriend, and we were constantly fighting about crating her. She would always give me the excuse "I couldn't catch her", because my dog senses when we will be leaving, and hides behind the couch. If we do get her out of her hiding spot, then half the time she lays on the floor holding all of her weight down so its difficult to get her upstairs to the crate. My gf gets mad at me because I will drag the dog up the steps by the collar until she chooses to walk on the own (which is usually about half way up). She claims I am going to hurt the dog, but I say its not me that will hurt her, she would only hurt herself by not obeying. Anyway, with me leaving for work a couple hours earlier than my gf, the dog usually doesn't make it to her crate.


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

Part of the crate training is them going into the crate. My dogs respond to one word "In". They know what it means. If they don;t want to go in, I maight have to say it twice, but never have to say it more than that. Our first GSD would go into the crate on her own as soon as she saw us making moves that indicated we were going to bed, or if I said, we gotta go, in the crate she would trot. When they know it's expected, they'll go. The sometimes in, sometimes not means they need to test you to see if you mean it.


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## HalotheGSD (Feb 3, 2009)

From one Joe to another Joe

I have crated both my dogs. My oldest does not get crated any more because she has growen out of her "naughty" years. But my 1 year old is crated. It is best to start them out on the first day at home. They will whine and cry and carry on for sometimes hours at first. But you NEVER give in our let them out untill they are calm. After only a day or so they get use to it and it becomes there safe place, or there "den"

As dogs our by nature den creatures, it is only natural for them to have a safe place to go to. This works well for us becuase we have kids, so He likes to use it to get away once and awhile. All i do now to get him to go in is stand next to the crate and he will go in and lay down.

Seeing as your dog is use to having the roam of the house, it will probably take some work as you have said already. Try moving the crate to a spot in the house you spend a lot of time in. Like the living room, some place calm. You can try putting her food in the crate. by all means do NOT force her in it as she will think it is a bad thing to be in there. Throw her toys in there when you are playing. I remember with my first dog Halo, i even crawled in the crate with her and played with her. She was a pup so i could get away with it, now i wouldnt fit.  Just spend some time with her and get her to go in on her own. When you lock her in for the first few times and she "objects" DO NOT give in and let her out. Let her fuss and when she stops and clams down and lays down, let her out and praise her big time. Dont leave her in there for long periods of time the first few times. Like i said, put the crate in the livingroom and work with her for a couple days. After a week or maybe 3, she will come around and realize thats HER den. 

Hope this helps Joe


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## dozeymare (Jan 24, 2015)

*Stopped my GSD destroying my house*

Hi
I found out that my GSD did all of the damage in the first minutes that I had left the house, I had forgot something one day and had to return to find out that she had eaten the ps3 controller in 10 mins. Really stressed out about the damage she was doing and costing I realised that it must be like a stress thing when she saw me go out, so decided to give her something else to focus on. We have 2 cats and I was always telling her off for nicking the cat food so now I put some cat food in the cat dish put it on the landing on the stairs and before I go out of the door I say in a stern voice " Don't eat that food its the cats " and she sits there and looks at me, as soon as I close the door I can hear her racing upstairs to eat the cat food! We have had no damage since. Might be worth a try.


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## BARBIElovesSAILOR (Aug 11, 2014)

*Advice*

I won't speak to the crating as the people on here have given some solid advice already. However, as far as the chewing and the boredom, DO consider more exercise, switching up your morning routine so she is not like (oh god they are going to leave oh no...) and starts the separation anxiety. Also consider getting a stuffed kong that can keep her busy and focused. Also try the treat dispensing balls. You put little treats In, and the dog has to keep rolling it around to make a treat come out. It could keep her busy and less likely to find other destructive things to do. Also, make sure you close doors to rooms you don't want her in, and basically picking up anything she will get into and put it away. In my house, dogs seem to love my trash cans, therefore before I leave I put the trash cans away in a room. Just little things like that could possible help your situation. Crating is always okay too


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

Crating might be the best thing for the time being. My Newlie went through a period where he would get upset when I left for work. For some reason, he would always go after a small footstool and destroy it, we ended up having to buy three or four. He also took a bite out of my couch. I was on the verge of getting him a crate when I discovered that it helped to give him something else to think about when I was leaving. Now, I put some little treats in his Kong or scatter some little treats across the floor and I go out the door as he's finding and eating them. He obviously still knows I am leaving but it seems to distract him so that he doesn't get upset. I also have taken to blocking him off in the kitchen and dining room area rather then allowing him access to the whole house as before. His toys and water bowl are in the kitchen but I believe he spends most of the time snoozing. Anyway, there have been no more problems for a while now. Of course, he is older now, too.


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## misfits (Jan 13, 2011)

This thread is 6 yrs old


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