Hi, I have a little 16 lb 2 year old beagle mix that I adopted from the local shelter back in June. He's wonderful and potty trained and all, but still wants to chew on EVERYTHING. We really dont want to have to crate him because he has a bit of seperation anxiety but we just moved into a new house and don't want it destroyed when we go to work. Any suggestions?
Chewing/Leaving Alone
- Thread starter bailey85
- Start date
crate training is actually a very handy and in some cases is actually safer for the dog. If you don't want to though, then perhaps you can choose a room that has little to chew on in it and leave him in there with some toys. Kongs are great because they make the dog work for the treat, which distracts them for a while and gives them mental stimulation.
If there were just a few isolated things, there are sprays that leave a bitter taste on the surface which deters the dog from chewing there... but obviously if it's everything that's not going to work.....
If there were just a few isolated things, there are sprays that leave a bitter taste on the surface which deters the dog from chewing there... but obviously if it's everything that's not going to work.....
Why don't you want to crate him? If you crate-train a dog properly, he will think of it as its den and will be happy in there. It not only keeps your house in good shape, it keeps your dog away from potentially dangerous things. My dog has a bit of separation anxiety as well and I never leave the house without crating him. He is much calmer and spends his time sleeping in his crate compared to if I leave him in the kitchen when he scratches our doors so bad we got to replace them. It's much easier for at least my dog to have a place of his own that he feels safe in.
i guess I should elaborate. He does okay in the crate for very short periods of time. But anything over an hour he gets pretty restless. The first day we left him in the crate he completely destroyed the towels and dog bed we left in there... i mean to bits and pieces and shreads. We finally went out to the fabric store and bought denim and made a bed out of that thinking that it's more durable than regualr dog beds because i'd hate for him to be on the bare floor-but he just destroyed everything. We also got that bitter yuck stuff to spray on things, like his bed, but it hasn't deterred him at all...
How much exercise does he get and how did you train him to like his crate? It sounds a bit like he's not accustomed to being in it for long and there's more to it than just put him in and leave him to figure it out on his own. Gotta start with very short sessions and gradually move on to longer when he gets used to it. Some dogs like some toys to keep themselves occupied as well, like a kong or treat ball.
Personally I started crate-training the very same day I took my dog home at 8 weeks. He got all his meals in his crate, played fun games in and around it and he's slept in his crate every single night since then. The first few months every time he fell asleep elsewhere during the day I carried him into his crate, just to reinforce the idea that his crate is where he sleeps, and now he's perfectly content being there and just sleep. I do think my dog was quite easy to crate train, I expected much more troubles (and sleepless nights) than I had. I can imagine crate training an adult dog is harder and will take more time.
Personally I started crate-training the very same day I took my dog home at 8 weeks. He got all his meals in his crate, played fun games in and around it and he's slept in his crate every single night since then. The first few months every time he fell asleep elsewhere during the day I carried him into his crate, just to reinforce the idea that his crate is where he sleeps, and now he's perfectly content being there and just sleep. I do think my dog was quite easy to crate train, I expected much more troubles (and sleepless nights) than I had. I can imagine crate training an adult dog is harder and will take more time.
