Indoor Tethering? Other Options?

[StillandSilent]

I am really at my wits end with Quid. I love this dog, and when I'm home he's very well behaved. When I leave, he gets into everything and eats inappropriate things. Not even food, but things like plastic bags and my plastic spatula. Blockage causing things.

If I crate him, he screams from the moment I leave until the moment I come back. If I were in a house, I would just deal with it, but I'm in an apartment and the neighbors don't like listening to it.

If I leave him loose, he's quiet, but destructive.

It is probably worth noting that this doesn't seem like separation anxiety. He doesn't claw at the doors or windows and a neighbor who has peeked in randomly never sees him in distress. She does occasionally see him chewing up his ill-gotten treasures, but he doesn't seem upset. He is still very puppyish, and I think he just chews things that appeal to him.

The final straw was yesterday when I was gone for 20 minutes and he climbed onto a desk and grabbed Gimmicks pills and chewed the bottle up. Thankfully, he did not eat the pills themselves, but this is a safety issue as much as a behavioral one.

This is a studio apartment, so there is no room he can be shut in and kept away from his treasures.

In desperation, I chained him to my bed this morning. He had a six foot leash attached to a harness, a blanket, a toy and a chew. When I got home 40 minutes later, he seemed happy and comfortable. The same neighbor peeked in an said he was asleep on the blanket when she looked.

But I feel terrible about doing this. There is no real reason for it, other then I just feel mean. Am I? The bed is solid, and he's not the sort of dog who tangle himself up, but I can't help feeling like this isn't totally safe.

Does anyone have other suggestions for keeping him safe from himself? Or am I just anthropomorphizing a dog who was perfectly content being tied?

ETA: He is never kept up for more then two hours, and it is very rare that he would be up for more then 30-40 minutes. It is also not a daily thing.

 

[teacuptiger]

What about an ex-pen? That's what I'm doing with Roxie because while she likes space, she also likes shredding boxes and breaking into my bedroom's trash.

I think Quid would be fine with being tethered though, if he was okay with it the very first time.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

What about just muzzling him when you're gone? Then he can be out but then he can't destroy things.

 

[krissy]

I would not tether him with no one around. If he panics he could strangle himself. I don't even allow dogs to wear tags in crates here because I one found Kili's tags in her crate with the ring completely bent and unwound. She'd obviously gotten the tags stuck in the bars of the crate and pulled the tags off in her efforts to get loose. I wouldn't even have her wear a collar in there except that my BF would let her out naked and forget to put her collar on.

I second muzzling. This is what I do with foster greyhounds that do not tolerate crating. Get a comfortable basket muzzle and just leave him loose.

Or try the x-pen. But I feel like if he doesn't tolerate a crate he may not tolerate a pen either. My last foster didn't tolerate the crate so I tried to baby gate her and that didn't work either. But muzzled and loose meant no problems.

 

[noludoru]

1. A tether is WAY nicer than a crate. Room to move. Careful what you define as sturdy, though, my dog can move a whole couch or break a chain attached to a tree.

2. Bark collar for crate is also an option. This did WONDERS for my living situation with the current roommate, as there were tons of times I couldn't leave him loose (he gets into things and decided housebreaking was optional), but he whined/screamed/barked in the crate. And our bedroom walls are thin. Windows are worse. My roommate wasn't the only one being disturbed, THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD could hear him. He now goes into the crate, chills out, and settles down. I should have done this five years ago, but I thought shocking your dog was evil and unforgivable. So, whatever, I'm going to hell, but we're both happy now.

3. Muzzling is what we're considering right now because the roommate refuses to move the cat food somewhere he can't get it, AND I WILL NOT CLEAN UP ANY MORE EXPLOSIVE ORANGE DIARRHEA. I REFUSE.

 

[JacksonsMom]

Is there a bathroom he could be left in? A Rottie I used to dogsit was similar - he didn't have separation anxiety but was miserable in the crate but destroyed things around the house while loose. They began locking him in the bathroom - nothing to be destroyed, tile floor (they'd take off the toilet paper roll obviously).

 

[monkeys23]

Shortly after I got Scout four years and change ago, she was weird about her new crate (wouldn't go in AT ALL for several weeks) and I was leaving them in my art studio on campus during my shift at work. She felt safe under this heavy square table so I clipped a 10ft tie out to it and she did fine with it. She has bad SA and it does not always manifest with being frantic at the windows... if she has stuff to anxiously shred she isn't going to be going at the windows and doors.

Before the unchewable tie-out she destroyed two of Lily's leashes (I hadn't bought a leash of her own because I had two already... haha, now I keep at least one extra just in case), including a very nice leather multi-way lead a friend had given me.

I don't think he necessarily has to be SA to be anxious about you leaving. You have been his most dependable safe zone for a long time. So boredom + worrying about you being gone... not too surprising. Eh if he is calm enough to sleep tied up that is great. I'm sure sometime in the future he'll be able to be loose or penned or whatever works and at least you have a way to keep your stuff intact while you work on that.

 

[StillandSilent]

See, this is why I love Chaz. I never even considered a muzzle for him, and I think it's a great idea. Does anyone have suggestions for a good one that isn't too expensive but will be fairly easy to fit? How long did it take others dogs to get accustomed to it?

He had his second shot at what we are jokingly calling the "punishment pit" while I went out to dinner. No screaming, no fuss and no bothering either the leash he was tied with or his things. He was standing up and excited to see me when I got home, but the bed was warm, so he had been in it just a few minutes before. I also moved the papasan chair to where he could climb in, because he loves that chair. He has access to several nice places to lay and seems to be taking it well. I'm sure he would rather be loose with my boys, but he can't handle that privledge yet.

I will definitely explore a muzzle for him, though. Even though he is harnessed instead of tied by the neck, it does make me nervous. but I think this will work as a stop gap until I can get him used to wearing the muzzle.

I tried both citronella and e-collars when he was with me the first time. He had a horrendous reaction to the citronella and broke out in welts all over his poor neck wattles. The ecollar silenced him, but I came home to a crate soaked in drool and pee, and I will not go that route again. Stressing him like that just isn't worth it.

I agree that it probably is some anxiety combined with general boredom. I wish I could figure out what attracts him to certain objects, but there doesnt' seem to be much pattern.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

I have no idea about muzzles. For Tango I like the soft muzzles but he only gets that for the vet's office. If you have a good dog store nearby, you should be able to get one to try with easy returns.

Good luck!

 

[pinkspore]

I like the Baskerville Ultra muzzle, it's somewhat flexible and a lot of people use it for extended wear. I am currently teaching both of mine to wear it, but I'm going very slowly so it's been a few days and we're still not there yet.

 

[Steve Wisley]

I am not a big fan of muzzles, so would not recommend using one for several reasons. A dog can do ok tethered, but still not the best option. Could you gate off one room and make it dog safe? That might be a temporary solution. I am not sure you do not have some separation issues. I recently read an article about separation issues that the author thought it was related to the dominance thing. It might be worth a look.

 

[Fran101]

I am not a big fan of muzzles, so would not recommend using one for several reasons. A dog can do ok tethered, but still not the best option. Could you gate off one room and make it dog safe? That might be a temporary solution. I am not sure you do not have some separation issues. I recently read an article about separation issues that the author thought it was related to the dominance thing. It might be worth a look.

She lives in a studio, there is no way to gate anything off I'm afraid... and what are your reasons for not being a fan of muzzles? They seem to be a safe alternative.

 

[PWCorgi]

I also love the Baskerville Ultra, both of my dogs are conditioned to wear one when necessary.

Just make sure that he is comfortable with it on (have him wear it for a couple hours while you are around), and test that he can drink with it on.

With both of my dogs I taught them to put their snout in the muzzle for treats, then just let it on for a couple seconds, then worked up from there.

 

[Laurelin]

In addition to the suggestions, have you looked into crate games? Now, it will NOT work short term for the screaming behavior but I have had amazing luck with it over a long period of time with the papillons and their crates. Maybe that way you could find a short term solution and also work on a longer term solution to fix the crate screaming?

 

[Julee]

I like the bathroom idea, and I would go with the tether before I went with the muzzle. Muzzling when not supervised scares me... can very easily see nails/toes getting stuck and hurt if they went to scratch it off. The Baskerville especially.

 

[teacuptiger]

I like the bathroom idea, and I would go with the tether before I went with the muzzle. Muzzling when not supervised scares me... can very easily see nails/toes getting stuck and hurt if they went to scratch it off. The Baskerville especially.

And not just toes getting stuck... what happens when a dog shoves their muzzle into/onto something and it gets stuck?

I would also go with the Baskerville, however. If you have to muzzle, then the Baskerville is a very good option. Soft muzzles are just... no.

 

[crazedACD]

Baskerville muzzles, yep.

Would he be more comfortable in an xpen vs a crate? You can make them pretty big and spacious.

I tried both citronella and e-collars when he was with me the first time. He had a horrendous reaction to the citronella and broke out in welts all over his poor neck wattles. The ecollar silenced him, but I came home to a crate soaked in drool and pee, and I will not go that route again. Stressing him like that just isn't worth it.

The spray collars do have an unscented version .

 

[Steve Wisley]

She lives in a studio, there is no way to gate anything off I'm afraid... and what are your reasons for not being a fan of muzzles? They seem to be a safe alternative.

If you have four sides you can make a pen in the middle of the room. Do you think a dog is comfortable with a muzzle on all day? Besides there is a possibility of catching it on something.

 

[CharlieDog]

If you have four sides you can make a pen in the middle of the room. Do you think a dog is comfortable with a muzzle on all day? Besides there is a possibility of catching it on something.

My dog hates wearing a collar, but just because they don't like it doesn't mean I don't make them all wear collars. Being muzzled and unstressed is a heck of a lot better than eating something that will cause a blockage, because let me tell you, I'm QUITE freaking sure a blockage is a HELL of a lot more uncomfortable in both short AND long term than a muzzle. She's already said a crate is not an option. Come off it.

And I've had dogs catch TOENAILS (that were the completely correct length) in crates, I had a dog get a foot stuck in an expen, ect.

I think a muzzle is a completely viable option, especially if he's introduced to it correctly, and wears it while she's with him for the first little while so that if he does stick it somewhere that it could get stuck, he won't do it again.

I know Petco sells Baskerville muzzles.

I've also never heard of a dog getting a toe stuck in a muzzle, though I HAVE heard of dogs twisting up tie outs and tourniqueting a leg off.

 

[krissy]

And not just toes getting stuck... what happens when a dog shoves their muzzle into/onto something and it gets stuck?

I would also go with the Baskerville, however. If you have to muzzle, then the Baskerville is a very good option. Soft muzzles are just... no.

Never really thought of that but I have never had, or heard of, a dog doing anything like that with a muzzle on. Perhaps because most greyhounds are well accustomed to their muzzles and don't fuss much with them. Greyhound folks are pretty anal about safety too, so I imagine if any incident were reported they'd be all over it.

No help for muzzle type since we use greyhound muzzles.