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Destructo-dog


kim21
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Hi All,

I have a (basically) 2 year old boxer, female, whom I got from the breeder at 12months. She lives with my 6 year old male boxer in a backyard full of toys, balls etc. They get walked as well as played with and the ball thrown for them throughout the day. I take her to obedience training which she loves and since we passed her basic levels have recently started agility training.

My problem is she is destructo-dog and just destroys beds, bedding, soft toys, digs holes, chews the older dog's collar off and in winter chews his rug. We no longer have the option of having them inside at night over winter and although they have a run with shelter and a kennel I just dont know what to do. She has done this since we first got her and I thought she would grow out of it.

I am at my wits end with this behaviour because I am worried about them being cold more than anything! Has anyone else experienced this? Or have any suggestions on how to either keep them warm without having shredded stuffing all over the backyard or how to stop her doing it?

Any advice is very appreciated,

Kim

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Yoiks!

What I would do : (which is only my personal choice)

NO stuffed anything- toys or beds. if they sleep outdoors- shredded paper , or opshop blankets .

NO collar left on

A couple of clam shells - one with water, and one with sand ... to dig/play in.

Rotate toys - just leave a few out each couple of days ....

Bring her - or both indoors under strict supervision - and start CRATE TRAINING :) or have her on a leash (chain , so it cannot be chewed) This will help teach her to be calm and enjoy your company .

:)

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Yoiks!

What I would do : (which is only my personal choice)

NO stuffed anything- toys or beds. if they sleep outdoors- shredded paper , or opshop blankets .

NO collar left on

A couple of clam shells - one with water, and one with sand ... to dig/play in.

Rotate toys - just leave a few out each couple of days ....

Bring her - or both indoors under strict supervision - and start CRATE TRAINING :) or have her on a leash (chain , so it cannot be chewed) This will help teach her to be calm and enjoy your company .

:)

Thanks for the advise; most of it we already do! No collars can be left on, soft toys are for supervision only :p and we have clamshells. They are crate trained as in I use them at dog obedience for the hour whilst I take the other in in class and they are fine in that. She is also fine indoors when we are there and outside when we are there but obviously we cant be there all the time.

The op-shop blankets sound like an excellent plan! Thanks :)

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Regarding the bedding, build her a large wooden box for outside, which is what I did for my two dogs (not because they destroy beds though) and just use op shop blankets in it as Pers suggested. My two also love gutting soft toys so I give them a few toys to destroy, which stay permanently in the yard, and they also have a toy box of supervision only toys. It helps teach the dogs about mine vs theirs -- the toy box toys are mine, the yard scraps are theirs.

The other thing in your daily regime I notice is missing (or you forgot to add it in!) is daily training. You've mentioned lots of exercise but nothing about mental stimulation. Try 2 x 10 minute training sessions every day and see if this helps reduce some of the hole digging and destructive behaviours.

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My destructo is crated inside overnight with no issues. Is that an option?

Anything outside is fair game at my place, they don't get soft bedding but have kennels with carpet nailed in (which they chew but it doesn't really matter). They also have a hessian trampoline bed as the mat is only $6 to replace. Mine also don't wear collars unsupervised.

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try a product like this. Maybe not on your other dogs collar (or on other items which come into direct contact with their skin) but certainly on the other items?

http://www.animalhealthstore.com.au/crib-stop-spray-500ml.html

Also the shelter I got Scottie from had these heavy duty pet trampoline beds which looked like they were made from canvas (easy to clean and looked hard to chew. Cant help with a link there.

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I can walk/run my almost 3 year old staffy cross for hours and he will run/walk until I stop..

However, one hour at obedience training on a Sunday and he sleeps for hours.

The behaviourist I saw for Zig when he was over the top told me 'running and walking him to wear him out is pointless, all you are doing is creating a very fit dog, that will eventually wear you out'.. He needs brain training.. Put his food in a ball that he has to toss around to get the food out (kibble). Obedience training has helped us heaps.

Don't get me wrong, they all need a good walk at least once a day but since I dropped this down to half an hour a day and a few 5 minute obedience sessions - he is a lot happier (and so am I)..

I agree with giving the dog stuff that they can destroy, like the cardboard box but take away all toys and just give them a few back (rotating them daily, so they have different ones)..

Have you tried using kongs stuffed with food? You can also stuff these toys with bits of material for dogs that like to destuff stuff :)

In summer I freeze home made chicken stock (sometimes with chicken wings or turkey necks in there) for him to keep him busy (a small ice cream container with 2 litres of watered down stock is a real treat)..

The sand pit, give them somewhere they can dig - encourage it by burying treats for them to smell and find.

Good luck - they sure do test us sometimes

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The behaviourist I saw for Zig when he was over the top told me 'running and walking him to wear him out is pointless, all you are doing is creating a very fit dog, that will eventually wear you out'.. He needs brain training.. Put his food in a ball that he has to toss around to get the food out (kibble). Obedience training has helped us heaps.

Don't get me wrong, they all need a good walk at least once a day but since I dropped this down to half an hour a day and a few 5 minute obedience sessions - he is a lot happier (and so am I)..

Fantastic advice SL! :thumbsup: I had to work this out for myself with Zeus. When he was a young pup he was sooooooo full of energy that nothing I did tired him out -- I'd have him free running at the off leash park for 2 to 3 hours at a time and we'd get home and he'd still be raring to go. :eek: It wasn't until he was probably around 14 months when I enrolled him in obedience classes and first noticed the difference.

By having him run himself ragged as a pup, all I was doing was increasing his stamina, which means he can go for that little bit longer next time. I don't mind having this super fit, speedy dog because I've learnt how to work with him now, but in the beginning it was a struggle. There is nothing better than mental stimulation for dogs -- making them think things through really wears them out!!

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I couldn't agree more. I love that owners give their dogs plenty of physical exercise but this must be balanced with mental exercise. I also acknowledge that most of us are time poor so I suggest that owners train in the TV ad breaks and take 10 min at the start and end of the usual walk/run to do some training. You can also throw in some training on the walk itself. We don't have TV reception so, apart from all the agility/retrieving/obedience training I do most days I like to sit on the lounge with a clicker and some treats in one hand and a glass of wine in the other!

Edited by The Spotted Devil
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Exactly, it doesn't all have to be outside or down at the park..

We do loads of stuff in ad breaks - short heel patterns, static work, stays (our biggest issue at the moment) from the kitchen to the lounge room all the time.. These are in addition to a the small sessions during the day but I have an advantage, in that my office is located at home.

We play catch and fetch while sitting on the lounge - he loves to catch stuff.. It isn't all about formal sit, stay, drop, come - it can be fun..

Also the more fun you have with it, the happier they see you and the more they want to work for you - win, win!!

For example, my marker word (when he gets it right) is 'yes'.. The response in Zig when he gets a 'yes' is amazing - he wants to do it again, to get another yes and a tug game or a ball to catch (yep, they are his rewards, a 20 second game of tug or to catch a tennis ball)..

Edited by Staffyluv
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I couldn't agree more. I love that owners give their dogs plenty of physical exercise but this must be balanced with mental exercise. I also acknowledge that most of us are time poor so I suggest that owners train in the TV ad breaks and take 10 min at the start and end of the usual walk/run to do some training. You can also throw in some training on the walk itself. We don't have TV reception so, apart from all the agility/retrieving/obedience training I do most days I like to sit on the lounge with a clicker and some treats in one hand and a glass of wine in the other!

Nice suggestion!

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