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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.
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.
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