dont really know what to do, my 6 month lab/heeler mix will eat anything he can get his hands onto when me and my husband are gone. we can be gone for 5 min and there is something on the ground all chewed up. I really feel bad putting him in his crate for hrs on end sence both of us have full time jobs. is there any thing we can do
sepperation anxities
- Thread starter Moose27
- Start date
I'd just like to note that separation anxiety is a popular misdiagnosis and that just chewing things up when left alone is not really an indicator of it. As the owner of a true SA dog, believe me when I tell you that when your dog has SA, you know :yikes:
Crate-training (or some other form of confinement) is an excellent way to break a dog of the habit of inappropriate chewing while you're not around to correct and redirect. As far as a dog is concerned, the entire world is a chew toy and unless they have extensive experience with only having access to and being permitted to chew on their own chew toys, most dogs will go ahead and explore the world with their mouths when left at liberty to do so. Crating does not have to be forever. Most dogs once they get a little older and out of their puppy and adolescent chewing phases, and once they have the extensive experience of ONLY having access to their own approved chew toys, can be "uncrate-trained and eventually left to have free roam of the house.
Crate-training (or some other form of confinement) is an excellent way to break a dog of the habit of inappropriate chewing while you're not around to correct and redirect. As far as a dog is concerned, the entire world is a chew toy and unless they have extensive experience with only having access to and being permitted to chew on their own chew toys, most dogs will go ahead and explore the world with their mouths when left at liberty to do so. Crating does not have to be forever. Most dogs once they get a little older and out of their puppy and adolescent chewing phases, and once they have the extensive experience of ONLY having access to their own approved chew toys, can be "uncrate-trained and eventually left to have free roam of the house.
While some may be averse to crate training, for a large number of dogs and their owners it is a godsend. When done properly, crate use is not cruel and dogs can even learn to love their crate. Especially due to your dogs young age and the fact that they won’t grow out of this phase overnight, I would reassess your feelings on crating/ or otherwise confining the dog while you are at work, as I believe it to be likely one of your best options for the safety of your home (and your own sanity :lol-sign: ) .
Have you tried crating your dog yet or confining them to only a 1 room in the house? If not then there are many of us likely that can give you tips on making this transition easier and making the crate/ confinement a “positive†thing in your dogs eye. As Houndlove already stated, this doesn’t have to be for the rest of the dogs life as the dog will likely grow out of a lot of this behavior. We crated Prudence for the first 8 months we owned her due MILD SA as well as not feeling comfortable leaving her out with our cats. But after 8 months she now is crate free.
Have you tried crating your dog yet or confining them to only a 1 room in the house? If not then there are many of us likely that can give you tips on making this transition easier and making the crate/ confinement a “positive†thing in your dogs eye. As Houndlove already stated, this doesn’t have to be for the rest of the dogs life as the dog will likely grow out of a lot of this behavior. We crated Prudence for the first 8 months we owned her due MILD SA as well as not feeling comfortable leaving her out with our cats. But after 8 months she now is crate free.
Taylor's almost 6 months and is crated while I'm at work. I still feel guilty at times, but I don't think he minds it. I tried leaving him free around the apartment for only few minutes. He barked continuously until I came back. But he doesn't bark one bit when I leave him crated. He sees it as his own safe space. Besides...statistically, they sleep 90% of the time you're gone. I leave plenty of food, water, chew toys, and kong filled with peanut butter in there with him. He runs into his crate when he sees his peanut butter kong!
I don't want to crate him forever but I don't know how to transition it off. I also don't know how to transition him off of my bed and onto the floor at night.
I don't want to crate him forever but I don't know how to transition it off. I also don't know how to transition him off of my bed and onto the floor at night.
Having never raised a puppy, I can't say for sure... but 6 months may still be too young to really transition off the crate. But what we did was leave Prudence crated when we were at work and then on weekends when we would leave for only a couple hours we would leave her uncrated and block off parts of the house. We slowly built up the time level and area she could go into, until she was at 6 or 7 hours with no crating and no problems. We still give kongs when we leave the house.. every single time, without exception. They now LOVE when we leave the house and that is the only time they get kongs. They get 3 different ones on a plate stuffed with high value treats that they otherwise do not get.
As far as the bed, no good advice to give because we don't allow our guys on beds or couches. Those are the areas that only the cats are allowed to be on. But one thing to keep in mind is that you need to start training your pup that the ONLY time it is OK to come up on the bed is when you invite them.