My 8month lab put a hole in my door help !

[ellie2012]

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Hello .... my names caitlin i have a
puppie whos now 8 months called ellie ....

she has been left out of her crate now for 2 months and doing brillant until i got home today and the front door mat has been chewed and shes put a whole in my door !!!

Not good but i do not want to put her back into her crate because i want to be able to leave
her out .... she was left alone for a 4 -5hrs but has been left by her self for long in the past ... she had a
bone and lots off toys to play with and the whole house to play with... i
thought it may be down to bordom...

even though her crate isnt set up she has another bed so she still has somewhere to go to feel safe ....
but why is she doing this and what do i do ? she noz shes done wrong .. she sulking in her bed and hasnt moved since i told her off , she has recently started chewing / stratching wallpaper so we stopped
her from going in that room and then she has also started sucking/ chewing her blankets but i thought this was due to her seeing another dog do that ?? Can anyone shed any light ... i dont want to undo all the work we have done to get her this far because shes a brillant dog and so easy to train

 

[chelynnah]

Sounds like she's stressed. A lot of those behaviours aren't just about destruction but about self calming and destressing. Much as you don't want to go back to the crate if you have one big enough that she has plenty of room to lie and turn, that is most likely your answer. A lot of dogs feel much more secure in a crate than loose. And they are safer in there. Forget about the damage to your door, think about the damage that could go on inside her if a piece of wood ripped up her insides while going through if she swallowed any. And depending on the age of your place, if she chewed any of the wall, who knows what kind of stuff could be in there that could poison or harm her.

I don't start leaving my pups loose till about a year old, and only then for short periods of time slowly built up. She's hitting puberty, and will backslide. She is much safer still crated if you can get a good size one for her. This isn't just about what's 'convenient', it's about her safety.

 

[Jasp]

My dog has just turned 4 and is always left in his crate if we have to go out without him. Admittedly its not usually for more than an hour or two and he has been left out of it before (since reaching maturity) without incident, but I know for a fact that he is happier in there than he is getting stressed around the house on his own and he is definitely a lot safer.

It is never nice to come back home to damage or a mess but for me, those are tell tale signs that the dog has either been upset or stressed by the experience, or just plain bored. Dogs are very social creatures and they do not cope well in isolation, they can learn to deal with it, but it is never a pleasant experience for them.

Safety has to be your number one priority and any dog that chews or is destructive, for whatever reason, runs the risk of serious injury or worse if they get hold of something they shouldn't. Even dog toys can kill if left unsupervised, my poor lad has to make do with just tennis balls now because he eats everything else! I would go back to your crate but try and make it a more positive thing rather than seeing it as a step backwards, make it her special place where she gets all her most favourite treats, where she can go to chill out, even where she goes to eat. You will be keeping her safe as well as your house and she will be far less stressed.

She looks gorgeous, bright eyes and a beautiful lab face, butter wouldn't melt, lol!

 

[Tigernidster]

Your pup doesn't know she has "done wrong". All she knows is that from your body language and the tone of your voice you are angry with her, poor girl. Don't make the mistake of attributing her "guilty" reaction to any damage she has done.

I'm afraid she is lonely and bored and will continue to wreak devastation if left to her own devices. If crated she will possibly be safer but desperately unhappy.

 

[murphyrules]

My eldest dog did exactly the same to my door after 7 years of being left free in the living room when ever we went out without ever damaging anything, turns out my neighbour had been knocking and ringing the door bell every 5 mins for nearly an hour as she thought I was in the house (car was there I wasnt) so it was no wonder he tried to get through the door to see what was going on! I am only at the point now of leaving my 2year old out of his cage whenever we go out and its only ever been for up to an hour. Same as Jasp my boy loves his cage its his safety bubble. Good luck with Ellie she is beautiful.

 

[banana]

Hello Caitlin - welcome to Dog Forum - I love Ellie - she is pretty as a picture!!!

Lots of good advice for you here!!

 

[lurcherman]

id never leave a dog in a crate but thats just me, before you go out the 8month old dog need s abig walk and id never leave a dog unatended with a bone, i did leave one of my dogs in a big garageand tidy up abit, everybody nowadays has to leave dog for more than 4 hours thats life but its what can be done before you go out, im a big walker so before i go out its a hour plus then dogs are always fine,

 

[Tigernidster]

id never leave a dog in a crate but thats just me, before you go out the 8month old dog need s abig walk and id never leave a dog unatended with a bone, i did leave one of my dogs in a big garageand tidy up abit, everybody nowadays has to leave dog for more than 4 hours thats life but its what can be done before you go out, im a big walker so before i go out its a hour plus then dogs are always fine,

I take your point but you can't walk an 8 month old lab for that length of time - it will do too much long term damage to tender joints.

I think 4 hours is enough for a mature dog to be left - someone should be in to check on the animal, give it a short walk and, most important of all, some company. Puppies should not be left alone that long - it simply isn't fair.

 

[lurcherman]

yes on the joints when old enough which will be soon, a happy dog is a tired dog and it is how ive managed over the past 30 yrs, labs can take a fair bit of walks as a gun dog, come swimmer which should keep the dog fit, but there lies the trouble dogs that aint fit, but i wish you all the best with your dog it looks a good one..