Dog trouble when we're not home...

[chris14]

Hey everyone. I've had a 1yr 3mo old black lab for about a year now. We crate trained him for the first few months mainly to be used when we are at work (about 4hrs between me leaving and my fiance getting home). Eventually he started breaking out of his cages. Literally hurting himself to break the pieces of metal where they come together.

We decided to keep his cage there, but let him have the basement to himself while we're gone. Now he's pooping - almost never peeing - in the basement while we're gone. I don't remember him having any accidents since the first couple months we had him. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated and just let me know if you have other questions.

Chris

PS - I have a few other issues to take care of but we'll handle this one at a time.

 

[Zoom]

Sounds like some super seperation anxiety. A few questions:

Does he have accidents anywhere else in the house? Does he destroy anything else while he's out on his own? How much exercise is he getting, how often?

Would you consider doggie daycare?

 

[juliefurry]

I have a lab and while she doesn't go potty while we are gone she certainly will destroy things. She has seperation anxiety as well (or so we think) though and will bark when we are not home. A dog that is over a year old should be able to hold it in for 4 hours though. Have you tried leaving a t.v. or radio on for him (if you have one in the basement)? I leave my lab bones and balls to keep her entertained, and ofcourse she has our other dog to keep her company (because it's SO much more fun to get into trouble with someone else than by yourself). I would try leaving him things down there to keep him occupied, and try either a radio or television so he can hear voices.

oh yeah and I should also mention she is a year old and I JUST started giving her free roam of the house when we leave (but only if it's going to be short time frames I haven't let her roam free when we're not home for hours yet).

 

[Gwinnywillow]

In spite of the experience two weeks ago of a Whippet getting out of a crate, Airline (plastic) crates are quite sturdy. They have a large size (#500 I believe) that would serve your dog well. Otherwise, just put paper down and don't worry about poop as long as it only happens in the basement! Sometimes ya just gotta go with the flow.

 

[chris14]

Thanks for all the input everyone.

We pretty much decided he has really bad anxiety since he wouldn't stop drooling while he was alone in his cage and now it's led to this.

Zoom: He hasn't had an accident anywhere else in the house since we first got him. He caught on VERY well and I was extremely impressed. Unfortunately he does also have the habit of destroying whatever he can find. That's mostly when he's alone. If I'm working on the computer I have to keep him on a leash so I know where he is. And depending on the cost I would check it out.

Thanks again guys,
Chris

 

[chris14]

In spite of the experience two weeks ago of a Whippet getting out of a crate, Airline (plastic) crates are quite sturdy. They have a large size (#500 I believe) that would serve your dog well. Otherwise, just put paper down and don't worry about poop as long as it only happens in the basement! Sometimes ya just gotta go with the flow.

Do you know how much they run and where to shop for them? I haven't seen them at the local store I go to.

 

[yoko]

i know you said he was breaking out of the crate but when he was in it was he pooping? could you block off an area for him in the basement so he doesn't have quite as much room... kinda like crate training only with a section of the basement instead of a crate

 

[Pomp]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but my problem falls in the same category: trouble when I'm not home.


I've had my dogs since late November and all of a sudden, they have started to gnaw on the furniture. I came home yesterday and they had knocked over a lamp and bit off some of the lampshade. The other day, they gnawed at the arm of my leather chair.

Any suggestions on what to do? They're beagles so their sense of smell can get them into trouble. Is there some type of dog-safe spray I can use on the furniture to keep them away?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[B33CPE]

Do you know how much they run and where to shop for them? I haven't seen them at the local store I go to.

look at like petsmart or petco, and if you cant find any then you may need to order one like from drsfostersmith.com, i know they have them for like 74.99. also check cherrybrook.com and jefferspet.com i think jeffers is the cheapest ($55.00) but not sure.

 

[B33CPE]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but my problem falls in the same category: trouble when I'm not home.


I've had my dogs since late November and all of a sudden, they have started to gnaw on the furniture. I came home yesterday and they had knocked over a lamp and bit off some of the lampshade. The other day, they gnawed at the arm of my leather chair.

Any suggestions on what to do? They're beagles so their sense of smell can get them into trouble. Is there some type of dog-safe spray I can use on the furniture to keep them away?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Look at online pet supply stores like drsfostersmith.com, cherrybrook.com, or jefferspet.com and they sell spray that is suppose to stop chewing. you may also find it in a pet store, i have never used it though, i heard the biter apple kind works.

 

[Pomp]

Look at online pet supply stores like drsfostersmith.com, cherrybrook.com, or jefferspet.com and they sell spray that is suppose to stop chewing. you may also find it in a pet store, i have never used it though, i heard the biter apple kind works.

Thanks. There's a PetSmart right near me.

I found the following on their website. Anyone have any opinions on these?

http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...=1141404557675&itemNo=1&In=Dog&N=2033167&Ne=2


http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...=1141404557675&itemNo=1&In=Dog&N=2033167&Ne=2


http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...=1141404557680&itemNo=3&In=Dog&N=2033167&Ne=2

 

[TimberWolf84]

chris14 - Well i would have said that it was Anxiety due to being left alone at home, even though there was a basement for roaming and play. Another possibility is eating habbits which could cause a problem, what is he eating at the moment and how much, how often? , just curious


Pomp - I know that licking and compulsive licking of textile materials e.g. sofas and pillows is usually a sign of a digestive disorder but for gnawing of furniture i'd say that it could possibily be boredom. There is some bitter sprays available to deter this sort of behaviour which seems to work as i've even had to use it with my parents CKCS and her licking obsession as well as chewing unsuitable things


If you have further concerns and problems aren't really getting sorted i'd suggest contacting your veterianarian for further advice

 

[Pomp]

chris14 - Well i would have said that it was Anxiety due to being left alone at home, even though there was a basement for roaming and play. Another possibility is eating habbits which could cause a problem, what is he eating at the moment and how much, how often? , just curious


Pomp - I know that licking and compulsive licking of textile materials e.g. sofas and pillows is usually a sign of a digestive disorder but for gnawing of furniture i'd say that it could possibily be boredom. There is some bitter sprays available to deter this sort of behaviour which seems to work as i've even had to use it with my parents CKCS and her licking obsession as well as chewing unsuitable things


If you have further concerns and problems aren't really getting sorted i'd suggest contacting your veterianarian for further advice

Thanks for the reply. They don't seem to lick the furniture, just gnaw on it.

I think they're just being naughty. They tend to rip apart the stuffed animals that I get them too.

They could be bored, but wow, I don't know how they could be bored. They are walked nearly 3 hours a day, they have kongs, plenty of toys, and they have each other to play with. I don't know what more I could do to keep them busy.

Maybe it's just a case of them being young (they're about 1 1/2 years old) and hyper. They're beagles too so they're bigtime hunters.

 

[chris14]

Timberwolf - We've tried a few different brands of food and he's never seemed too interested in any of them. He's probably a little underweight (he's skinny but it's not like his ribs stick out). Problem is: when we started taking him to a vet, the vet told us we should be feeding him as much as he can all day and to leave his dish out for him. Unfortunately, I think it turned him into a picky eater.

So to answer your question we recently started using "Authority" puppy food and feeding him once a day (to reteach him he has to eat when we feed him) about 4-5 cups. We also have about a quarter bag of Purina large breed puppy food.