Bad dog...

iLoveMyPitbull1225 · May 2013

I have a two year old pit bull terrier. Up until about 2 weeks ago he was always left in his crate in our living room when we weren't home. One day I decided to experiment and let him stay out of his crate while I went to work, hoping for the best, because I do not feel like he deserves to spend the majority of his life in a crate. He is getting a little older now (we adopted him at 6 months) and we want to move towards a life where he can roam freely when we are not home during the day.

To my surprise, he didn't chew anything! For about two weeks it went great, nothing got destroyed. I keep the living room/ kitchen area that he is confined to while we're gone pretty tidy, no clothes or junk just laying around waiting to become a chew toy. He has several toys, in fact, that serve that purpose. I would leave him for about 4 hours when I went to work, come home for lunch, then leave him for about another 4-5 hours( depending on if I hit the gym). I was SO proud!

However, since this past Saturday he has destroyed at least 1 thing every day when left alone. First it was a bowl and spatula he got out of the sink, then trash, then blinds, and today he chewed up all three of our TV/DVD remotes beyond use.

I really do not understand the change in behavior. Everything was great for a while and now I have to go back to putting him in his crate all the time which sucks, but we cant afford to have all of our stuff chewed up.

Dog owners, what to do?

tipadoo · May 2013

If they are crate trained from a young age, it can be stressful for them to be let loose when they are alone. Their crate is their safe haven. Maybe limiting him to one room if you don't want to use the crate anymore would be a better option? Or, maybe he is just plain old bored and left alone too much...?

iLoveMyPitbull1225 · May 2013

That is what I do. Our living room and kitchen are combined and its not a very large area. I do understand that the change can be stressful. His crate is in the living room with him...It hasn't moved. He has access to it all day if he likes. What I don't understand is how he went for two weeks incident free and now hes acting up.

glovepuppet · May 2013

for two weeks it was new and exciting. could be boredom.

but it's also possible that something scared/upset him to trigger the destructive behaviour. could be anxiety.

Marcia661 · May 2013

Guaranteed, something has happened. It could be the smallest of things too, one never knows.
All of my dogs (all pits) were crated until they were well into Adulthood, not a punishment but rather a safe place.
Good luck to you

iLoveMyPitbull1225 · May 2013

That is kind of what I was thinking, though I am not sure what it could have been. The only other theory I have is that maybe it is because he has not been getting as long of walks lately, the weather has been rainy and messy.

glovepuppet · May 2013

well lack of exercise to run off excess energy could contribute.

there's a few things worth trying...

chewing releases happy hormones in dogs. it's a form of self medicating under stress. and picking things that smell of you (like remotes) is reassuring.
so, meaty bones? chew toys with food hidden inside? a rope toy that you handle enough to be sure it stinks of you?

in cases of mild anxiety, DAP diffusers are good.

vary the amount of time you're gone. make it so he has no idea when you're coming home. dogs learn timetables fast and he may be anxious about a long, stressful time as soon as you leave.

patrickblo13 · May 2013

We had the same thing happen with our dogs. We crated then started leaving them out and things were doing great for a few weeks. Then 1 week all of the sudden every day we were coming home to something new. We started by sternly yelling at them at the mess when we go home (dogs are smart, we would stand over whatever they destroyed and would say bad dog). We then got a gate to only open a few areas of the house. I would just make sure there are more than a variety of toys to play with. Also doggy proof so there really isn't anything for them to grab and destroy. We close hallway doors ect.. Lastly, exercise, A LOT OF IT. We have found with summer time the dogs are playing outside all of the time when we get home and during the day they are shot from the night before and just sleep all day...

Good luck

iLoveMyPitbull1225 · May 2013

He has the toys that you hide treats in, and a bone and another Kong toy but I guess it's not enough.

I did not explain it in my original post, but I have let him by himself other shorter amounts of time as well, for example, for about an hour while going to the grocery store. Its not necessarily always for several hours, but I do see how he could be anxious.

I just have to try to make sure he gets his walk somehow. We live in an apartment so unfortunately I don't have a yard I can let him run around in. I know a tired dog is a good dog, which makes me think this is most of the problem.

newcs · May 2013

Pits tend to be high energy and that can turn into anxious energy pretty easily. Ours is about a year and a half now but we keep him in his crate when we're not home. We did a trial period of letting him have the living room and kitchen while we were gone...he chewed the baseboards. So we put him in a large pen in the living room and he chewed the floor. We decided the best thing for all of us was for him to stay in his crate when we're gone. He wants to lay around and sleep half the day anyway so he hasn't seem to have an issue with it. Granted, my gf works from home most days so this is maybe once a week or when we both go out.

iLoveMyPitbull1225 · May 2013

Oh he is very high energy. My boyfriend and I both work full time but I try to take him for at least a 30 minute walk every day, if its nice usually an hour.

MorgueBabe · May 2013

Sounds like he has separation issues. We never started that big. We started leaving the dog alone for like 5 minutes came home - 10 minutes came home etc.

If he is so high energy can you bring him to day care? we bring our dogs to day care if we are going to be out of the house for a long period of time. They run and have a great day, and make friends and socialize. It's normally only 20$ a day.

Also can you look up a in home trainer? They can help you work past this.

iLoveMyPitbull1225 · May 2013

Every day? I would love to take him to day care but there is no way I could afford it. 20 bucks a day for 5 days a week is 100. No way.

CarolinaMoon76 · May 2013

30 minutes a day exercise is not enough, especially if there is no yard for him to run around. He should really have at least an hour and a half each day imo. Our guy would get 45mins twice a day at least when he was younger. He wouldn't have been a big dog but needed that amount. As he is now 12 he gets about an hour throughout the day come rain, sun or shine unless he is not in the mood.....

MorgueBabe · May 2013

30 minutes a day exercise is not enough, especially if there is no yard for him to run around. He should really have at least an hour and a half each day imo.

I agree - he doesn't seem like he's getting exercise or stimulation. His breed needs activity and shouldn't be in a crate all day - it will create destructive behavior problems. Can you hire a dog walker to walk him mid day?
Can I ask ask why you have a high energy breed/dog if does not fit with your life style or apartment living situation?

MorgueBabe · May 2013

mistake post

newcs · May 2013

Ours needs about 2hrs of running or playing hard to tire him out and a walk does just about nothing, even if we walk for a long time. Those pittie legs could walk all day! Could you bring him to daycare a couple times a week? If he gets played out at daycare, it sometimes carries over into the next day.

Do you have a yard or know someone with one that you could have him run around in on a regular basis? We got our pup the egg toy (http://www.amazon.com/Jolly-Pets-Plastic-12-Inch-Yellow/dp/B003TEQ2U6) and it's the best thing we've found. He gets bored of playing with us in the yard but if we send him out with that, he'll chase it, pounce it and continually try and fail to pick it up because it's too big so he tires himself out.

BikerGirlElaine · May 2013

It does sound like a question of more exercise. We take our one-year old to the dog park every other day and have since she had all her shots. When she hasn't had enough exercise she gets 'that look' in her eyes.

Do you have a dog park nearby?

Do you have any friends with dogs so that you can get them together to play?

Could you do, say:

Lots of exercise Sunday

Doggy Day Care Tuesday

Play date/dog park Wednesday night

Drop him off with friends on Friday for a half day

*All* stimulation helps, by the way. Learning tricks or obedience training is stimulating, too, even just a trip to the pet store is exciting. Our girl goes in the car with my boyfriend just about everywhere.

iLoveMyPitbull1225 · May 2013

30 minutes a day exercise is not enough, especially if there is no yard for him to run around. He should really have at least an hour and a half each day imo.

I agree - he doesn't seem like he's getting exercise or stimulation. His breed needs activity and shouldn't be in a crate all day - it will create destructive behavior problems. Can you hire a dog walker to walk him mid day?
Can I ask ask why you have a high energy breed/dog if does not fit with your life style or apartment living situation?

We adopted a pit because it was what we wanted.

I am a student, so I only work full time in the summer. I have more time to be at home during school because I work less. Plus I'm with him every single day, like I said I'm only ever gone for 4-5 hours at a time. We go up to a state park up the road to hiking trails, but we don't do dog parks that frequently because he also gets car sick, which is a whole other issue.

When we adopted him a year and a half ago, the dog and I lived with my parents. There was almost always someone at home who could do something with him, my mom helped walk him, etc. They had a yard to run in. We moved into the apartment in October.

I would really love to pay for doggie day care or a walker but I just can't. We do have doggie friends that he plays with and he really loves that but its not something that is done frequently enough. We play and practice his obedience too. And even some days, he seems like he doesn't want to walk for very long. He just stops, and looks back towards the house.

I think what I might try is getting up earlier in the morning and taking him for walks as well. That way he will get walked in the morning, at lunch time, and when I get home from work. That should be closer to two hours.

SueFromRI · May 2013

I have dogs that are chewers. Confine him to one room - I usually use the bathroom, take out any bath rugs etc.. Put in his bedding, food, & water bowl. Leave a Nylabone and /or one or two Kong toys in that room. Any shape, appropriate size. Nylabone and Kong are the most durable. Pick up a product called Bitter Apple (or the equivalent) to use on what you don't want him to chew. I got the jel and wiped the wood trim. You can change the room each week or month to train him. One room at a time until he proves himself 100%. Try for challenging toys - something that makes him 'work' for a treat, or hide a toy in paper bag that he has to find.
Exercise him as much as possible. Dogs get destructive (by our definition) when they are bored. In their minds, they are just trying to invent a new game.

Bekahmardis · May 2013

My two dogs love their crates and happily run into them when my SO and I are getting ready to leave for work. We have a big back yard for them to play in when we come home, though, so they get plenty of exercise that way, and they sleep with us in the bedroom (often in the bed) so they get their mommy and daddy time, too. I don't trust them not to encourage each other to get into mischief if they are left out of their crates alone. Ever. If nothing else, they could get entangled in something or accidentally chew something and choke on it, etc.

I have trust issues....

Bad dog...

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