If he trashes my garage, will he trash my house?

I have a 15 month old Lab Retriever mix named Buddy.. He's been neutered, and is extremely well behaved when I'm around. Does not chew, obeys commands, and naps a lot. I've only had him for a week, no idea about previous owners, but the dog APPEARS to be housebroken.. At night he either sleeps in my bed next to my wife and I, or on his beach towel on top of our couch.

When I'm NOT arround, Dr. Jekyl becomes Mr. Hyde.

When I'm at work, I leave him in the garage for about 8 hours. When I come home, the garage will be trashed. Stuff is tipped over or ripped up. We went out the other night and put him in our upstairs common area (kinda like a round hallway that gives access to all the bedrooms and to the stairs that lead downstairs.. I closed all the bedroom doors, and blocked access to the stairs with the baby gate.. When I came home 3 hours later, he had chewed through the baby gate.

Today, he was barking and whimpering really bad so I couldn't bear to lock him up in the garage. I hid my "important" stuff and pushed a bookshelf in front of my $10,000 A/V setup (I know I'm asking for trouble) and left him inside the house. He was sitting on the couch ignoring me when I left. I'm THINKING he might behave because he thinks of the garage as a cage and the house as his home, and may not trash the place?

Am I asking for a suprise when I get home tonight?

Welcome to chaz!!!

Sounds like boredom or seperation anxiety.

Have you tried kong toys yet? You stuff them with food (like peanut butter--you can stuff it with it, then stick it in the freezer overnight so it's harder for the dog to get out) and the dog has to lick it out. It keeps them interested and they have to use their brains.

Um...yeah, probably a surprise. It sounds like your furkid has separation anxiety. And, he doesn't like to be left. Try getting him a Kong and stuffing it with something reeeeaaaally yummy, like Peanut butter, or cheese, or even some Kong stuffin' if he likes it (Kong stuffin' is sold at pet supply stores) and freeze it, and giving it to him when you leave. I'm sure CT will have some good advice for you.

LOL Gaddy, double post!!

My thoughts are that Buddy (a.k.a Mr. Hyde) is venting his frustration and missing you by taking it out on your things.

Dogs are really good at letting you know when they are not happy with you, and I know you have to work as most people do during the day. I had my dog since he was a puppy so I was able to crate train him, which helped a lot, but eventually when he was big enough I left him in the privacy fenced in back yard and he chewed the wood all around my door frame. He also ruined the cable to our satellite whne we had it. He also chewed on the drain pipes. I also had to buy cement water directors (whatever the things are under the drain) because he chewed up my vinyl ones. All of this was due to him being left home alone while we were at work. Well, that is my suspicion anyway. Eventually, he got used to being able to occupy himself while we were gone to work, but that still does not save the occasional hose or knob on the grill. Labs are BIG time chewers, so you need to doggy proof the area as much as possible and hope for the best, unless you want to try to crate train him and see if that works. Brady is very good about going into his crate at night, but he is not in it during the day. It will get better, I think he just needs to get used to you being gone and used to his new family. Don't worry, he has just had a lot of changes in the past week, and he may be venting about that. He will come around. You can talk about it here anytime you need to.

Thanks for the feedback folks.. Yeah I'm hoping I won't have to eat him. (I kid, I kid) ..


Its weird because he doesn't get bored when I'm at home, even if I don't play with him. Spent all weekend upstairs in my office, and all he did was nap, take a break to get some water, and nap some more.. He likes to stretch out in front of a window and bask in the sun - very mellow. He's a very boring dog. He doesn't play with the toys I buy him.

The only time I see him very excited is a) when we're about to go out or b) when i come home from work (which may validate some of your theories)

Where do I get these Kong toys? Do they have them at petco or petsmart (our local big pet chains) ..

Yes, Kongs are sold at Petco and PetsMart. I just bought a pair of them yesterday from PetsMart. They're great toys.

Kongs and puzzle toys are excellent ways to amuse a dog for a little while. Mine get bored with them in less than and hour.

I think the problem is deeper than that. Eight hours is quite awhile to be alone and probably bored. Not unreasonable at his age though although he's still puppy/puppish. He may have bad feelings associated with the garage. Think of it as a giant crate. If you don't slowly adjust them to it with positive experiences they will still feel caged. Try introducing him to it and helping him make it 'his' space. Play in there with him, give him treats and things to do in there. Go in there and don't close the door. Help him chose to be in there. That might help.

Another option is to proof a part of the house like the kitchen or the bathroom so he can't get hurt or do any serious damage. That way he'll still have good associations, feel like he's in his den and be safe.

Just some ideas.

welcome!

Putting him in the garage is going to make matters worse as he'll feel aggitated at being locked out of his home. It's a good way to help a dog develop seperation anxiety if they don't already have it. I think it would be good to get him back in the house as soon as possible, dog proofing whatever room you leave him in when you're gone and spraying bitter apple spray near doors and curtains to discourage chewing. However, Labs are big chewers and you'll probably have a chewing problem for several years, so I'd acclimate him to a crate slowly but soon.

Remember to use Bitter Apple spray. I had Max in the kitchen and he chewed the molding around the window and then ate edges of my countertop off. I was in shock! Bitter Apple is the only thing that deters him from chewing on things he shouldn't. I don't have to use it anymore for Max but now have it for the puppy. Whenever she starts to chew on something she shouldn't, I pull her away and spray the area.

I was JUST going to tell you I did that..

I left him alone yesterday inside the house for 4 hours, no damage whatsoever.. when my wife got home, she found him sleeping and stretching..

he has a comfortable space he's marked on the couch with his beach towels (that have his scent) so I just closed all the bedroom doors, left him a bunch of toys, and sprayed bitter apple all around my A/V setup.

I'm not sure HOW mixed he is - his papers say he's a lab retriever mix, and he KINDA looks like a lab, but really looks like a mutt.. the odd thing is, when he's not confined or pissed off, he DOES NOT CHEW.. i gave him the kong stuffed full of liver bits and he could only lick it.

I've only had him a week though (my first dog).. hopefully he'll learn how to be a lazy bum and sleep all day.

Yay! I'm glad Mr. Hyde is doing well! Can we have some pictures?? I love pictures!

Some dogs just don't do well being "banished," especially if they've been in a shelter and the area they're banished to reminds them of the shelter in any way. Hopefully you've found the solution.