Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 4:07 pm Post subject: trouble with 6 month old ripping everything up HELP
Please help i'm at the very last straw i am having to turn my house out of everything i am at home for most of the day my ruby and she gets 2 walks a day played with fed well busy house mine is with 4 kids but everytime i leave her in the morning to a 50 minute school run i come home to complete destruction don't know what else to do really she even tried to pull my bin out right in front of me everytime i am on my hands and knees for nearly an hour cleaning up the mess i am very close to rehoming her PLEASE HELP
Get a crate and put the pup in it when you aren't there to supervise it.
The pup is just a baby yet and doesn't know right from wrong. Every time she finds something fun and rewarding to do, like emptying the bin, if you're not there to correct her and give her something better to do, she will go back to do it again and again, even if you are there. It's far better that she never gets a chance to learn such bad habits, before they become ingrained.
I would second the crate suggestion in your case even though I haven't used them myself, except for travelling.
Also, has your puppy got lots of toys? If she has it's a good idea to rotate them to stop her getting bored of the same ones, because then tipping over the bin might seem more appealing.
Yep completely agree with the others a crate will help, with a few nice stuffed kongs maybe, keep her busy on getting the stuff out of them rather than your bins! Indi was a terrible chewer as a puppy and like John's Anna she pretty much ate my kitchen cupboards. We always crate Indi when we go out. Not that I dont trust her now because I know she would be ok but more of a piece of mind thing that she doesnt chew something like electrical cables - indi had a partiality to them and the radiator pipes as a pup! She had a crate, we put a nice stuff kong with paste or kibble or mashed banana (we froze them if we wanted them to last longer) we popped her in her crate and she would eat away. We would get back and she would still be going at the kong, eventually she realised we where home and would look up as if to say "oh mum, I didnt realise you had gone, I was far to busy enjoying this yummy kong!" You can also getting teething gel for puppies - we used it on Indi when she was going through the chewing/teeth falling out stage! Indi now associates going in her bed with getting a kong and will happily skip to bed if you tell her and show her she is getting a kong!! You can find all sorts of recipes online and on here (type in kong fillers in the search box). Indi's favourite fillings are mashed banana, cheerios, carrot, kibble, natural yoghurt, scrambled egg (not all in 1 kong together!) She cant have the kong paste because of her allergies but she did as a pup before we knew she had the allergies! She loves her Kong and keeps her busy!I would use a crate when you go out! Make it her den with nice toys and a blanket over the top and she`ll relish going in it!We eventually got to the stage where she would go in and we could cover the whole thing and she learnt that meant it was nap time! Indi now takes herself to bed in an evening as she now loves her crate that much (she hated it as a pup!)
Just to add I would introduce the crate in stages - 5 mins whilst your in the house etc, leaving her for 5 mins then let her out and gradually increase the time, I wouldnt do 50 mins straight from the outset. Although this is not impossible for a pup to hold she will need a wee so increase it so she learns to hold her bladder as well! Just start off small and ignore her when she is in there, once she is quiet and stopped whining (if she does) then let her out. Repeat it, make it fun, put kibble in there, buy lots of nice toys to play in there that she cant destroy like Kongs! She`ll see her crate as a nice place to go a chill! We also popped her in there for a day as puppies of that age are like toddlers they need their rest and sleep because if other pups are like indi they will be a nightmare later on in the day - I know indi has thrived of a routine of meals, sleeps, playtime and walks - they are just like babies!!!! Indi still has her morning nap at 9am for 2 hours (she gets up at 7.30!!! Lazy mare!) AND she`ll still sleep most of the afternoon and evening away and generally prefers her crate!!!!
Totally agree with the others - get a crate - we recently took some of our crates down and mine still look for them even though most of them don't need them any more - but my two and three year old are still crated at night and when we are out otherwise we wouldn't have a house left.
Also - you say she is getting two walks a day - how much exercise is she having? at this age, she should be having around 30 minutes a day max - too much exercise as well as placing joints at risk can build stamina which has no out - hence - destroys when you are not around.
Did the breeder not suggest using a crate when you got her?
We've always had Danes, never used crates, but I did get one for Brodie for 2 reasons, I was afraid of Zak lying on him during the night, 2 cause I didn't want my house wrecked
We brought Brodie home at 1 pm and because he had never been crated I was expecting problems, but come bedtime I threw in some treats and he went straight in. I put Zaks bed next to the crate and we've never had a peep. In fact he seems to know the time table, if oliver has got his coat on and I pick up his nursery bag both dogs go out in the hallway Zak on his bed Brodie in his crate.
During the day he usually follows me around watching what I'm doing, most of the time hes carrying a toy, we train as we go, if he looks as though hes full of mischief and completely hairbrained he gets put in his crate to calm down, and I WATCH HIM LIKE A HAWK all the time, when he turns into the devil I say agh agh very firnly when he gives me eye contact I say NO and point at him, at that point he knows hes done wrong and stops immediately.
The worst hes done is to chew the insides of OH slippers, oh dear, what a shame, never mind.
I would NEVER trust him on his own without somebody there at this age, I even put him in his crate when I go to the loo, cause it doesn't take long for them to do serious damage.
____________ Never look down on anybody unless your helping them up
I totally agree with the crate.I thought id got away with having a chewing pup,but oh no!! Ted has started at 7months and has chewed anything and everything,his fave is the skirting boards.Ted has always had a crate,and even when were home and he has the option of the couch he still chooses to go in his crate.Its good for when youre out,people visiting,or even their own safety.Dont despair,theyre still puppies and will calm down............eventually
I open the fridge, take out a Kong and Tucker runs into the lounge, into his crate and sits waiting impatiently for me to put his Kong in and shut the door
Tucker destroys things and gets into mischief when I step out of the room It's what my 2 have trained me to realise is normal with young labs! I put in A LOT of work into Luna when young, directing her attentions on to destroying things that were acceptable and at some point she stopped destruction! Tucker has been home 4 and a half months (he is now 18months old) and his redirection training is still under way! He is crated when I am out for his own safety and my sanity... if he is never decrated that is fine... sometimes I see flashes of hope though!!
Charlie was another who would have demolished our house if I hadn't crated him when he was a puppy. The crate saved our house, and kept me sane. Best money I ever spent.
Charlie was just under 9 weeks old when I got his crate, and took to it immediately. All I had to do was put some nice soft bedding in there and start giving him his meals in it.
By around 18 months he had outgrown the real chewing stage (many dogs do, but some may not) and could be left un-crated. Both my dogs still use a crate when travelling in the car though, and always will.
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