Destructive dog

Nrmlspeed

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#1
Hello. New to this forum and I'm glad I ran across it. So far I've seen a lot of good advice and can tell that there are a lot of dog lovers out there that might be able to help us out.

We rescued Casey from the pound. Casey is a border-collie / cocker spaniel mix and about 1 year old. We've had him for about 5 months and love this dog to death. Recently we added another puppy to the family which is a 3 month old and they are the best of friends.

We crate trained Casey. He goes into the crate every night for bed and loves it. When we leave the house he normally stays in the crate. We tried to leave him alone in the yard when we left the house and that's when bad things started to happen.

When leaving Casey outside he digs holes and has a sprinkler fetish. He also likes to eat my roses. Casey likes to pull out the drip lines to my sprinkler system. This is a tremendous pain in the you know what. I just installed these things and I have had to re-install the lines numerous times. It happens when we are not home mostly. Well, when he does this he knows he's done something wrong because I take him to the sprinkler and holes and say "NO" and he seems to get it. I've caught him in the act a few times to and say "NO" and he knows that this is a bad deal. I also know it's not the new puppy doing these things because Casey started this before the puppy was around.

Well, we used some of the "Dog Away" smelly stuff on the drip lines and that seemed to be a cure. No ripped up sprinklers for a week. We had plans to leave the house for many hours and didn't want to coop them up in the crates so we hesitantly let them stay outside with free roam to the inside via doggie-door. This was a trial run. Well, it didn't work. Casey ripped out about 5 drip lines that I had recently installed. These lines are hard to find...buried under gravel and only a tiny end piece is exposed. He found them. He also ate the plants a had just installed and somehow got up on top of my new desk. The desk is a soft wood and is now destroyed from claw marks. How the hell he got up there I have no idea. Why he got up there? No clue...baffled. This trial run went very bad. More sprinkler lines to replace and a $1,000 desk destroyed.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to be that guy that leaves the dog to a dog run on the side yard when I leave. I don't want to have to put him in a crate every time either. I've had many dogs and never had to crate them for behavior issues like this. They just didn't destroy anything.

I don't want to give up on Casey and just need to find a solution to this separation anxiety he has. After three weeks of sprinkler repair though....I'm getting very frustrated. I feel I have to have an eye on him at ALL times and can NEVER leave him alone again unless he's in a crate. I just don't think it's right to crate a dog so frequently though. That's why I'm writing this. I just don't know what to do.


Can anybody help me with crazy Casey?
 

AusCatDogs_4Ever

but please call me Aus.
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#2
Is he getting enough exercise? If he's not then that's why he is destroying things, and if it's not because of lack of exercise maybe he's bored. Give him a job to do, have him involved in family activities and give him chew toys and bones to keep himself busy.
 

orbit86

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The Dog Whisperer on NGC (National Geographic Channel) solved this problem. a dog kept chewing stuff so he put the regular chewed items next to him and when he went to do it he would pull the leash and kinda reprimand him everytime telling him its not right. eventually the next day the dog wouldnt chew anything except his bone. (he pulled the leash to the right, not back)
 
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#4
yes excersise is a big thing here also, how much dose he get daily? dogs dig because they are bored and have nothing better to do with their time, some dogs just dont do well left out alone, how long are you away during the day?
id say the best thing to do is crate him..i see no harm in leaving him crated as long as you are not away for more than 8 hours. my 2 biggest are crated when im away at work during the day, i dont trust them out alone they dont like being alone and are destructive. but my littlest dog doby i leave out all day because i trust him, once he learns that chewing up things is a huge "no no" THEN you should let him out alone
 

Nrmlspeed

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#5
Thanks for the responses!

As for how often we/I am home, we are home probably more than the average family. We do not have the typical 9-5 job. After reading some responses I have considered that Casey could use some more exercise and metal stimulation. The dog whisperer idea of placing the sprinklers in front of him... I did that and he knows that black plastic drip lines lying of him are a "no, no" but unfortunately, I think that 'buried' sprinkler lines are so fun to dig up at his young age that it doesn't have the full effect yet. We plan on getting him into some agility classes. This dog seems way too smart to just sit idle and only knowing the standard "sit, lay down, shake" routine. As for ripping up the sprinklers, we'll see what happens. I built a fence yesterday on the side of the house and that's where he will go for long daytime sits if they come up in the future.

Thanks for the replies!

Brian
 
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#6
since your dog is a BC mix it´s prob cuz he is bored..
bc´s require alot of mental stimulance.. as someone already said he needs a job *S*
let him use his brain and also teach him how to relax in different sits.

good luck.
 

JennSLK

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#7
OK. I dont mean this in a meen way, but you really leave them ouside ALONE while you are gone? You have more guts than I do. They could get loose, stollen, poisoned, ect..

That being said he needs more exersize.
 
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#8
My dogs would trash my yard in a heartbeat should I leave them outside alone. While I'm gone, one is crated (still chews) and one roams the house.

If I were in your shoes, I would just continue to crate the dog especially because he's already crate trained.

Echoing the others, make sure Casey gets lots of exercise.
 

Jynx

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#9
I also agree with crating him while your gone.

Even tho you think he knows he's done "wrong", it's obvious to me, he either does NOT know he's done wrong cause he keeps doing it, or it's more likely "fun" for him to dig stuff up..And why? Well yes I agree with the boredom part.

BC's that don't get enough excercise, physically and mentally, are going to find something to do, in this case not a good thing. *vbg*

If he likes his crate, he's much safer in it while your gone and will keep things from being dug up/chewed up. Give him some great raw marrow bones to keep him occupied while your gone.

Sounds like he's one smart pooch! altho a tad expensive *vbg*
diane
 

Carolyn

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#10
Just a question, and sorry if it's been answered, but if he is left alone outside of the crate inside the home is he destructive too? There's nothing wrong in leaving a dog outside, when you're gone provided, the dog has adequate shelter, water, and lots to amuse him/herself with. Also good secure fencing, and yard security is a must.

Unfortunately for whatever reasons, being that they have to, or they want to, people leave their dogs outside, whilst they are away with no trouble whatsoever.

I was thinking as well as more excersise, you could if you aren't already, incorporate training in the regime as well. Obedience training, as well as fun games and tricks, to keep that Border Collie part of him a bit more stimulated.




Good luck.
 

aelizilly

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#11
I agree more exercise and mind stimulating activity is needed. And I agree it would be a good idea to keep him crated since he is already crate trained.
 

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