Need advice to help with a very destructive dog...

kathywoo10

This has nothing to do with MFP but my Golden Retriever, JoJo, is almost going to be a year old. We we are at home she is the sweetest dog. She doesn't bite, listens, is friendly with everyone and doesn't chew on or mess with things she is not supposed to. However, when we leave she destroys everything. She tears up paper, toilet paper, paper towels. We tried cleaning and leaving her in the bedroom but she tore up the carpet. Now we leave her in the kitchen and she tore off the door of one of the cabinets and scratches the walls and chews on anything plastic she finds. No amount of punishment or excercise has worked and we even got her a little sister in hope that she would be less lonely. She is usually left at home with us for about 6 hours a day.

Anyone gone through this with a golden or other dog and have any advice? Anyone know how much longer will she be like this or what can we do to fix it?

SarahWrittenThin

Its a classic case of seperation anxiety. Can you keep her in a crate while you go out for short periods, maybe outside under a shady tree with water for longer times? I know some vets are willing to give medication for this, I had a friend who had the same problem with her dog...oddly enough her name was JoJo too, not a golden though.

Atlantique

This has nothing to do with MFP but my Golden Retriever, JoJo, is almost going to be a year old. We we are at home she is the sweetest dog. She doesn't bite, listens, is friendly with everyone and doesn't chew on or mess with things she is not supposed to. However, when we leave she destroys everything. She tears up paper, toilet paper, paper towels. We tried cleaning and leaving her in the bedroom but she tore up the carpet. Now we leave her in the kitchen and she tore off the door of one of the cabinets and scratches the walls and chews on anything plastic she finds. No amount of punishment or excercise has worked and we even got her a little sister in hope that she would be less lonely. She is usually left at home with us for about 6 hours a day.

Anyone gone through this with a golden or other dog and have any advice? Anyone know how much longer will she be like this or what can we do to fix it?

It certainly could be separation anxiety, in which case she might be better off rehomed with someone who is home most of the day.

Can you set up a video camera to observe if and how long she is distressed when you are not home? You may find that she is only wound up for the first 15 minutes. You may find that she isn't distressed at all but rather bored and energetic and takes liberties when unsupervised.

Other things to try/think about:

How much exercise does this dog get a day? She's bred to withstand a great deal of exercise. At that age, I'd be trying to get in an hour of walking a day and a half hour of unleashed play time per day. If you have somewhere to let her swim, even better. If the problem is one of boredom and pent-up energy, this should help considerably. Additional training will also help to wear her out. It sounds as though she's got the basics down, but this dog may need to be taught some tricks or a canine sport to constructively deal with her energy and curiosity. Tired dogs are good dogs!

Retrievers, Spaniels and Setters are NOTORIOUS for loving to carry things around and chew on them. This is part of their breed job. If you live with a young dog who's bred to retrieve, you have to be really vigilant about not leaving things she ought not have within reach (which includes on tables and counters) when you aren't there until she's developed more impulse control. Do leave a variety of acceptable chew toys around though, and rotate them so she doesn't get bored with them.

Do you have a crate? I'd crate her when you're out so she can't be so destructive and leave her with some puzzle-type toys or stuffed, frozen Kongs. These will give her an acceptable outlet for chewing and the like. My dog wasn't trustworthy unsupervised for long periods until she was over a year old, so this is what I did with her and I came home at lunch to walk her and play with her. You can hire a dogwalker to come in midday if you work too far from home to make this feasible for you.

Ariyasnow1

No amount of punishment or exercise has worked

My initial thought was 'maybe the dog isn't getting enough exercise'. How much exercise does she get daily? Younger, highly active dogs should get about 90 minutes of exercise a day.

I wouldn't think golden would have bad separation anxiety, but it’s possible. Does she bark and act anxious when you leave? Do you provide her with enough chew toys (aka distractions..) within her containment area?

I have an Alaskan Klee Kai who has bad separation anxiety. I had him crate trained through his first year, but it never worked out for me. What did work finally was a small room and routine. My apt has a mud room which is perfect for him to stay in. After staying in the same room, and me leaving at the same time every day, his at-home-separation anxiety has decreased drastically. He was only destructive if he was ever left in the main part of the apt (he chewed the carpet a couple times), but that was the only time. In his room, he is fine.

Perhaps it is because they are young, and since you are not there to discipline them right as they are doing the act (discipline them after the fact serves no purpose other than confusing the dog), well, they simply don’t know any better.

You could try crate training, or try deterrents such as sprays to put on the furniture. Defiantly use tons of positive reinforcement when the dog plays with her toys!

I would also suggest you find a local obedience dog trainer in your area to help you with your case.

Atlantique

No amount of punishment or exercise has worked

My initial thought was 'maybe the dog isn't getting enough exercise'. How much exercise does she get daily? Younger, highly active dogs should get about 90 minutes of exercise a day.

I wouldn't think golden would have bad separation anxiety, but it’s possible. Does she bark and act anxious when you leave? Do you provide her with enough chew toys (aka distractions..) within her containment area?

I have an Alaskan Klee Kai who has bad separation anxiety. I had him crate trained through his first year, but it never worked out for me. What did work finally was a small room and routine. My apt has a mud room which is perfect for him to stay in. After staying in the same room, and me leaving at the same time every day, his at-home-separation anxiety has decreased drastically. He was only destructive if he was ever left in the main part of the apt (he chewed the carpet a couple times), but that was the only time. In his room, he is fine.

Perhaps it is because they are young, and since you are not there to discipline them right as they are doing the act (discipline them after the fact serves no purpose other than confusing the dog), well, they simply don’t know any better.

You could try crate training, or try deterrents such as sprays to put on the furniture. Defiantly use tons of positive reinforcement when the dog plays with her toys!

I would also suggest you find a local obedience dog trainer in your area to help you with your case.

Agree with most of this. And excellent point on the timing of corrections--late corrections at best confuse the dog and at worst make them fearful of you.

The only reason it's possible that this is spearation anxiety is that GR's are so popular that there are a lot of awful breeders out there creating lousy temperaments. The more popular a breed becomes, the more problems they develop unfortunately as the BYBs get into it.

iamthepreston

Don't make a big deal when you leave or return from going anywhere. I never greet my dog when I come home first thing. I do my business then play with my dog.

My last dog had bad seperation anxiety. He was a 150 pound Pyreness/OES mix. He tore down all the blinds, cracked the toilet, and chewed up 2 window seals the 1st time he was left alone.

I never medicated him, but I did have to crate him for a year. He eventually settled down. Good luck.