In terrible need of advice for destructive behaviour

[GoldenCollie]

Meg is a week away from becoming 1 year old. Overall shes a lovely, sweet natured little girl. She loves her ball and all toys for that matter!

 

A few months ago she began chewing. I put it down to teething and so bougt her endless amounds of teething toys, chew bones, gave her ice cubes etc etc... The list is endless.

Now at first, she was great. Stuck to her own toys whilst chewing etc, and i would praise her for it. But the recent few months, especially the past 2 months in particular, its like a sudden change. She destroys EVERYTHING! I'm not just talking about items lying about the house, i'm talking about every single thing in my home - She ripped all the stuffing out of my bedroom duvet. She tears the carpet up, she chews at the wall, pulling out entire chunks of plaster... Along with this, she will chew shoes, pull books out of the cabnit and shred them to bits, destroyed all beds she has got, shes tore and shred all my pillows on my bed and the sofa... And today, to top it all off, she has tore my lether sofa, and pulled the stuffing out of the corner of it.. I am at my witts end. I don't know what to do anymore. I refuse to believe its an exercise problem as she is out LOTS! I bring her to the park with my other dog at least twice or three times a day. Morning noon and night. She gets at least 1 hour there each time we visit. During this time she gets her ball thrown for her and i also bring her rope ball to play with too. She also plays with countless other dogs and so is very active each time she goes to the park. Not to mention at the weekends, my partner & I like to do a bit of hiking and both dogs come along with us. So her exercise levels are good and i feel i'm giving her as much as i can. Along with this, she has countless toys around the house and other items such as kongs and those 'treat-ball' things. She also does Flyball which she loves.

 

I don't leave her for hours on end either!! I leave her for a maximum of 3 hours in the morning. From 10am until around 12noon, sometimes 1pm at the latest. THATS IT! I don't ever leave them longer. (My other dog is a labrador, 3 years old, has never chewed and always just sleeps when i go out)

 

I just can't understand this desructive behaviour and i really just don't know what to do anymore. The sofa incident today has really got me down a lot. And i'm very upset because i feel like i'm doing all i can for her. Medically she is fine - i have had her all checked out. So i am stuck to as why this is happening, why she's chewing so intensively and being really destructive. Like i say, it's not just little things, its really serious things such as beds, sofas, plaster chunks out of my walls.

 

Please any advice would be truely appreciated. I am willing to do anything in my power to help this situation. This dog means the absolute world to me,... but its becoming so terribly tiring comming home to something else being destroyed or shredded to peices when i have only left the house for a mere 3 hours.

 

I know some people might say seperation anxiety, and that did go through my mind.. But the thing is, she has always been fine in the house up until the past 2 months like i say. She was always a good girl and pritty much just slept with my other dog on the sofa while i was out, or they would both chew their rawhide which i leave for them when i go out. It's really on all sparked off the past 1-2 months and its becoming increasingly worse as time passes.

 

Thanks

[jvw]

CRATE

 

Jennifer

[GoldenCollie]

Yes, i had thought of that. But does a crate really solve the behaviour? I really don't want my Collie to be lumped in a crate for the rest of her life while i leave the house because of this.... I really want to solve the chewing/destructive behaviour other-than dismissing it by plopping her in a crate. Surely there are other ways.

[phej]

Yes, i had thought of that. But does a crate really solve the behaviour? I really don't want my Collie to be lumped in a crate for the rest of her life while i leave the house because of this.... I really want to solve the chewing/destructive behaviour other-than dismissing it by plopping her in a crate. Surely there are other ways.

Well, when you are not at home, you cannot supervise and redirect her behavior... so she is learning that it is ok to chew on your stuff. Crate will help you in that. Also, one of the reasons she may be chewing is because she feels insecure when you leave - if you introduce a crate properly, she will feel MUCH MORE secure in a covered crate than running loose around the house. I sense that you are feeling guilty about the whole crate thing - I used to too, but our dog really uses it as her safe rest spot where she goes and hangs out on her own when she gets tired of us. Finally, if Meg chews like this, I would be really worried that at some point, she will accidentaly chew on an electric cord or eat couch stuffing that will make her really sick - this is why I don't leave my dog out of her crate when I am gone. I am sure there will be time when I will trust her enough and leave her out, but not yet... Good luck, I know this must be really, really frustrating.

[JohnLloydJones]

CRATE

 

That's it in a nutshell. Use the crate as a place where she feels safe and comfortable. When you give her treats, give them in the crate. We struggled hard to get Senneca to even put a paw inside; a legacy of her past, I guess. Longer still before we could close the door. Now she perfectly comfortable and relaxed in her crates. It's her little den and she enjoys it.

[Sue R]

You do have a serious problem and, in spite of whatever has caused the behavior, it has gone on for a while and sounds pretty well established.

 

I have to second what has been said about using a crate. My husband and I were adamantly against "locking our dog up in a little box all day long", etc. I did not get a crate for a great number of dogs that we have had, and had no serious problems, but I also was a stay-at-home Mom and was not gone significantly in those years.

 

When I got Celt, I reluctantly got a crate and did not utilize/train it properly and so rarely used it. But when we adopted Megan, who was fully (and overly - more on that later) crate-trained, I got her a crate and began using both crates to feed the dogs, give them time to rest (when I needed some non-interrupted time to work at home), and to feel at ease when I was gone all day to work.

 

With just Celt and our older dog, we had no issues with loose dogs but, when Megan came along and she and Celt would have a rip-roaring good time playing in my absence (with some minor resulting damage), I began to train and use the crates in earnest.

 

Now we have three Border Collies, all vigorous and active, and I am grateful for their crates. They are safe havens for the dogs when I have to be gone for more than a very short while. They provide safe transport in the car when needed (we also have seatbelts for the dogs when that's a preferable option). They prepare the dogs for any time they might have to spend at the vet's or kenneled (and the vet staff and boarding kennel are very grateful for cooperative, well-adjusted dogs). They have saved carpet and furniture on the rare occasion when I've had a sick dog, or a dog that got ill unexpectedly while I was gone. They've been helpful when I've had to fast a dog for some reason (like upcoming surgery). And they protect my house from exhuberant dog activity and/or accidents when I can't be there to supervise.

 

Properly taught, crates can be comforting, safe, den-like places where a dog may even choose to go on its own. My dogs feed in their crates, get treats there, dry out after a dip in the stock tank or a wash with the hose, spend safe and protected time there when the grandkids (babies, toddlers, and young school-age children) are here and active and noisy, are put in their crates prior to company arriving so we can have a safe and quiet greeting after the excitement dies down, and spend their days there when we are both gone to work.

 

Crating can be overdone - our Megan was crated as a pup to the extent that she chewed all the hair off her tail (she still have some residual behavior issues related to that but it's become insignificant), and lack of exercise left her fat as a sausage and her legs and feet were misshapen and splayed. Fortunately, a good diet and exercise have restored her to reasonable soundness. I have seen dogs that spend a lot of time crates and have developed obsessive behaviors (like spinning), but these have also been dogs that were prone to such problems.

 

A contented dog spends a great deal of the day asleep, and this is generally the case when crated. You can give good treats and chewies in the crate to keep an active dog occupied (as you have tried to do) and avoid a crate pad that will be chewed (my dogs have them as they don't have chewing issues with them).

 

I use slightly over-sized crates (one size bigger than recommended for their sizes) so they have a bit extra space to get comfy and avoid any "accident" spots if one should become ill during the day.

 

I understand your frustration, appreciate your efforts to solve this problem, hope you will reconsider using a crate and training it properly, and wish you the best.

[Journey]

Meg is a week away from becoming 1 year old. Overall shes a lovely, sweet natured little girl. She loves her ball and all toys for that matter!

 

But the recent few months, especially the past 2 months in particular, its like a sudden change. She destroys EVERYTHING!

 

I bring her to the park with my other dog at least twice or three times a day. Morning noon and night. She gets at least 1 hour there each time we visit. During this time she gets her ball thrown for her and i also bring her rope ball to play with too. She also plays with countless other dogs and so is very active each time she goes to the park. Not to mention at the weekends, my partner & I like to do a bit of hiking and both dogs come along with us. So her exercise levels are good and i feel i'm giving her as much as i can. Along with this, she has countless toys around the house and other items such as kongs and those 'treat-ball' things. She also does Flyball which she loves.

 

I just can't understand this desructive behaviour and i really just don't know what to do anymore. The sofa incident today has really got me down a lot. And i'm very upset because i feel like i'm doing all i can for her.

 

Please any advice would be truely appreciated. I am willing to do anything in my power to help this situation. This dog means the absolute world to me,... but its becoming so terribly tiring comming home to something else being destroyed or shredded to peices when i have only left the house for a mere 3 hours.

 

I know some people might say seperation anxiety, and that did go through my mind.. But the thing is, she has always been fine in the house up until the past 2 months like i say.

 

Crate - Crate - Crate

 

Some of what I read sounds to me like she gets too much free impulse/manic exercise too. Balls at the park 3 times a day, Flyball, etc...

 

Do you just go for walks w/o toys? Calm walks or just hanging in the yard w/o throwing the balls? If she's just coming a year I would think this is too much on her - mentally and physically. Does she have an off switch? Or is someone constantly playing with or entertaining her? Does she know how to mentally relax?

 

A crate will make life safe for her and more pleasant for you. It will also help to teach her to settle. Just because she's been fine in the past, with all you do with her she is growing up and she could be bored, and making her own entertainment while you are not available to entertain her. Crating can't be said enough.

 

Karen

[Liz P]

It could be separation anxiety or just that she is a teenager. Crate her with fun things to chew. She is only developing bad habits by being left loose while you are gone. Most BCs will be able to stay loose in the house when they are 2 or 3 years old. It is rarely a lifetime thing.

 

In case it is separation anxiety; don't make a fuss about leaving the house or coming home. I "cured" my BC by ignoring him for about 15 minutes when I came home. He figured out that my coming and going was not a big deal.

[urge to herd]

Crate or an x pen, or a small room where she can be safely confined when you're gone.

 

It still could be separation anxiety, it could also be that something scared her while you were away. Thunder, gunshots, any loud noise from construction nearby, a car wreck in front of your house, any number of things could have set her off.

 

Is she frantic when you get home? If so, I'd be more likely to think about SA. If you can get a camera and videotape her while you're gone, you'll have your answer. A dog with SA is very anxious, and a bored adolescent young bc is looking for something to do.

 

Confining a dog for a few hours a day is really no hardship for them, and later on, after she's fully out of adolesence, you may be able to let her earn back her whole house privileges. Since you're not there when she's being destructo dog, you need to safely confine her.

 

Good luck!

 

Ruth n the BC3

[GoldenCollie]

Thank you for all the replies.

I sense that you are feeling guilty about the whole crate thing - I used to too, but our dog really uses it as her safe rest spot

 

Yes, thats how i was feeling at first. But after all the replies and encouragement, i don't anymore

I feel a lot more positive about the crate now, especially knowing that she won't be in it for long each day, Plus, knowing that i'll actually arrive home with nothing being destroyed!

 

It still could be separation anxiety, it could also be that something scared her while you were away. Thunder, gunshots, any loud noise from construction nearby, a car wreck in front of your house, any number of things could have set her off.

 

I think this could be a big possibility now that your mention it. Not long ago (1-2 months ago) the road outside our house was being re-done. And there was lots of big work-mans vans outside, and a lot of large machines making a hell of a noise! Maybe something happened noise-wise when i was gone in the morning that scared her?

 

Thanks again for the replies. It's definitely helped, and re-assured me! My main concern is for Meg! Furnature can be replaced and new shoes can be bought etc! But i don't want a sick dog or even worse! I want her to be safe and to feel safe aswell. I think like has been described and pointed out, she will feel safe and comfortable in a crate, as long as she is introduced to it properly. I'm now even looking forward to getting this under-way!!

Appreciate all your help! xx

[INU]

I have a yellow lab and a BC but it was the other way around for me. Cooper (lab) used to be very distructive in the house. My husband used to be against crating and since the lab was his (BC is mine), he was never crated. I crated my BC from the start and she never established the chewing behavior. Before she was 1 year old, I was able to trust her free in the house. My lab has so much energy, his normal exercise was not enough. Under one condition, I told my husband that I'd get him into Search and Rescue. The condition was that my husband would agree to crate training. I don't know which helped - crating or getting him into Search and Rescue but we were able to trust him free in the house about 6 months later. I also did a lot of 'discrimination' exercise where I teach him to discriminate toys and non-toy objects. 3 years ago, I didn't think I could break this behavior because it had become such a strong habit. Some told me that I'd have to crate him the rest of his life. Now I just leave his crate open all day, he'd go in there and sleep there while we are out.

[Sue R]

My main concern is for Meg! Furnature can be replaced and new shoes can be bought etc! But i don't want a sick dog or even worse! I want her to be safe and to feel safe aswell. I think like has been described and pointed out, she will feel safe and comfortable in a crate, as long as she is introduced to it properly. I'm now even looking forward to getting this under-way!!

 

That's the attitude I was hoping to hear! Very best wishes, keep us posted, and ask all the questions you need help with!

 

One other comment I have is that you provide a tremendous amount of physical exercise, walking, ball fetching, dog park, etc. Do you challenge her mind, as well? For many dogs, mental challenges and stimulation are more tiring and engaging than just physical activity.

 

You might try a search here for other topics concerning "mental stimulation" or other similar topics. Hide-and-seek games can be fun, along with the old "shell game" (hide a treat under a non-breakable cup, mix it up with two other cups, and let her figure out which one has the treat, she nudges the cup over, and wins the prize), obedience (heeling, sits, stays, downs, stands, etc.), and "parlor tricks" (like crawling, spinning, shaking hands, etc.). All these can be fun, sometimes useful, and entertaining while they are working her mind and giving her things to do.

[Liz P]

My first Border Collie, who suffered from separation anxiety, did thousands of dollars worth of damage before I figured everything out. He even ate a hole through the wall from the kitchen into the family room when I locked him in there one day. I guess he wanted a doggy door

 

One other thing I did for my dog was to make "fun packs" for him. I bought those paper lunch bags and put his breakfast, a piece of rawhide, a dog toy and sometimes other goodies inside and rolled it tightly shut. He loved to destroy stuff, so he had a blast shredding the bag into tiny pieces and getting the stuff inside. Of course, this was in the days before Kongs and Buster Cubes and it did create a mess.

[phej]

Of course, this was in the days before Kongs and Buster Cubes and it did create a mess.

 

I often wonder how we and our first family briard survived without kongs, nylabone, crates, gore-tex and "chuck-it"!

[silhouettestable]

I've had a couple of dogs that seemed to go through a second chewing phase, usually around the age you describe. I always crate train when they're pups, but once housebroken I let them stay out of the crates at night time and just crate them if I'm away. As they get older and seem to be done with teething and inappropriate chewing I'll start giving them short tests out of the crate while I'm out of the house and if all goes well I'll increase the length of time that I leave them unattended in the house until eventually I'm sure that they're okay with it and then they have free run of the house. The ones that began a second phase of chewing after several months of being seemingly trustworthy, I just began the whole thing all over again. They'd have to stay crated if I was out of the house and gradually earned the right to be uncrated.

 

 

ETA: my dogs LOVE to rip up cardboard. I give them boxes and paper towel rolls. They shred them in seconds. Makes a mess but they enjoy it so much and it's an outlet for that need to rip things.

 

One of my dogs, Thunder, had a secondary chewing phase. He started chewing up boots and shoes that were on the boot tray by our front door. One day I really kicked my butt because I knew he'd chewed a few things but I left my cross-country ski boots on the tray and went outside. I can't remember why I left him loose in the house, maybe I was just outside talking to a neighbour. Thing was, I had left the boots there a day or two earlier to drip off and knew I had to put them away or they'd be chewed. I forgot and was so mad at myself.

[Lunar]

Oh my does that ever sound like Zeeke, our shepherd. We adopted him at 1 year old and we went about a month or two without a crate (due to DH's insistence). Combine major separation anxiety, rebellious teenager, and an inability to "shut off" and you get a totally destroyed home. Been there done that. It was a disaster. We too lost a couch, he ripped it right down to the bare wood. That was about the time that hubby started thinking that maybe a crate wasn't such a bad idea.

 

3 years later, we have lost very little of the rest of our belongings to him. No more separation anxiety. He TRIES to eat random things around the house, but we are always here to redirect/stop him, if he is loose. And MOST OF ALL he has learned when to cool it. I can't stress that part enough. The dog came without an off switch, and it sounds like your little dear doesn't have one at the moment either.... it's always gogogo and when you aren't participating, then they will find something ELSE to do. (Usually that is Very Bad.)

 

It did NOT happen overnight, let me tell you. He loved his crate from day 1 - but he hated being LEFT in it. He would bark for hours. Presumably his destructive behavior was allowed before we got him, and we had inadvertently allowed it to continue after we got him. He had us trained really well. But I was at my wit's end, and it did take several weeks of allowing him to bark incessantly in his crate for hours on end. (It SUCKED, but we couldn't very well let him out when he was acting like that.) And slowly, over time, he realized that being pushy and loud and destructive wasn't going to work so he might as well take a nap in there.

 

He still loves his crate. If he has access to the bedroom, he's frequently to be found sleeping in his crate with the door open. But now we have a way to tell him to take a breather. If he's harassing the cat, barking out the window, or being pushy-demanding wanting to play after a play session, he goes in his crate and he immediately settles.

 

My husband just cannot say enough good things about the crate, and he was one of THE most vocal anti-crate people I'd ever met... it was jail, it was cruel, etc etc. Now he tells all his dog-owner friends how great it is and how everyone should have one.

 

We did have hopes that he'd be able to one day "grow up" and not need to be crated while we're out. He's 4 and we're still waiting. It hasn't happened yet. When left unattended he still goes looking for something to get into to amuse himself, and it usually doesn't involve happily chewing on a kong.

 

I really think you'll find the crate beneficial in so many ways. I wish you luck!

[GoldenCollie]

I can't believe i only asked for advice yesterday and already the amount of help and responses i have had - This is such a supportive forum and i am soo glad i came here for advice! A crate is already set up and in place for Meg! Shes had nice treats in there, and this morning i have placed her breakfast in the crate, all the time the door staying wide open for now. Shes been wandering in and out of it and last night she even went in there of her own accord and slept in it !!! She looked so cosey and i'm sure she felt really snug and warm inside it, just like her own little den! I actually think my labrador is getting jealous! - I'm pritty sure he wants a crate aswell now lol

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

A lot of us have been here! Me, not with the Border Collies, believe it or not, but that's because a not-so-much-collie trained me first! Maggie, my first dog ever (and so I was completely unprepared for the utter destructive powers of a bored dog), could dissasemble the corner of a couch in the time it took me to go to the fridge in the very next room, and pour myself a drink. She was doing stuff like that about the age of your Meg. She was so awful I'd cry buckets, thinking I was a total failure as a dog mom. I pictured a lifetime of eaten couches, carpets, walls, not to mention the eaten floor incident (we lived in what you'd call a caravan and she ate through the underlayment and got out one day).

 

What saved my sanity was dog sports. I don't know if there's anything near you but doing some formal training - obedience, agility, disc dog (frisbee), flyball, maybe even find someone who offers weekend training on sheep. Focus your training on helping her learn to control her impulses instead of go-go-go wildly. Scotland's a diverse place but I'm pretty sure most of the populated areas have dog training centers. And the herding trainers would advertise in the agricultural publications.

 

Between the crates and training you will easily survive her adolescence and early adulthood. And as I told a friend a couple of years ago, it's the craziest dogs that turn into the most amazing dogs when they are mature if you stick with it! Maggie did absolutely everything in her prime, though I was never able to compete with her (I didn't have the training skill to motivate a northern breed mix). And now she's the most perfect farm dog companion you can imagine for my kids - who needs Lassie? I've got Maggie!

 

I hope you have as good fortune with your Meg!

[bcnewe2]

just a little to add:

I work from home and am sitting at the kitchen table for hours on end. Needless to say I don't need crates because I'm home all the time. I do crate train all of my dogs from the first day I get them. You never know when you might need one.

What I wanted to add was that while I sit at the table the dogs lay around and sleep. If I'm working for 4 hours at a time that's how long they sleep. If it's longer then might get up and find a different place to lay but they go right back to sleep.

So if you wonder what your crated dog might be doing while you're are away. Sleeping! Most of my dogs find places in the house that are den like to sleep during thier down time. I'm sure if I left a crate out that's where I'd find them.

You could also leave a radio or the tv on if you think there is going to be loud noises while you're away. It helps to blend the sounds and not be so startling.

 

Good luck and don't feel bad. think how happy you all will be when things aren't being chewed all the time!

 

Kristen

[silhouettestable]

But does a crate really solve the behaviour?

 

I forgot to add last night, that yes, it can solve the behaviour in a lot of cases. I suppose it could partly depend on individual dogs and how long the behaviour has continued, but it has always worked for me. The dog I mentioned before, Thunder, is now 100% safe to leave in the house, just a year later. At one time we had 2 great dane puppies and when they were only 6 months old we got an 8 week old collie pup. The danes outgrew their borrowed crates so we tried shutting them into our hallway with all the bedroom and bathroom doors shut. They proceeded to crush the plastic doorknobs and tear off the trim around the door frames. We were highly suspicious that one of the danes was the one instigating all the trouble and that the others were just joining in, so we took down our spare bed for space and my husband made a huge crate (5'l x 3'w x about 42"h) End of the problem. The other 2 dogs were fine left loose and he was crated until he fully passed out of adolescence (and then he was fine and could be left loose in the house). He did still like to steal and mangle the barbecue knobs in the backyard though, and once he actually ate the starter button.

[AK dog doc]

Some BCs are pretty noise-sensitive. It could well be that the road construction triggered this - but good for you for A) not taking it out on the dog, and B ) having such an open, can-do attitude on the crate thing. Crates are a great idea. Properly used, they can save a dog's life - either by preventing some kind of fatal ingestion by the dog, or by preventing a fatal reaction in the owner when they come home and find that their BC has dismantled the refrigerator and is using it to build a Cessna on their living room floor. And oh, by the way, that $300 pair of leather boots? Delicious. Just right for the 10:15 snack break.

 

What part of Scotland, out of curiosity?

[GoldenCollie]

What part of Scotland, out of curiosity?

 

North East - Just past dundee (Rural)

[Guest SweetJordan]

I agree w/ everyone who said to use a crate.

[GoldenCollie]

Just a quick update on meg - She LOVES her crate !! She goes in and out of there constantly! She even brings her treats in there - Like if i'm in the kitchen and give them a dog treat from the cupboard, she will take the treat away into her crate to eat it in there or hide it under her bed in her crate! I cannot believe how much she is enjoying having her own little 'den' ! My labrador even goes in there with her to curl up next to each other! It's the sweetest thing iv ever seen! I Can't stress enough how greatful i am for all the advice here!

[Barb Scott]

We have the metal crates with the spring locks on the doors. This week, Bryte has figured out how to unlock them from the outside (we keep them locked so our 5 BCs don't crash into the open doors) and let herself in!!! I think she's pretty fond of her crate, also!

Barb S