I am often read others posts on destructive pups before and thought - heck I can deal with that. But Max, our now 8 month old Dobe has really gone for gold of late. After succeeding a few weeks ago to eat a hole in the wall (not a corner of a wall - we're talking a flat piece of wall in the hall) whilst we were in another room. Size of a dinner plate and right through the plaster to the joists. Now repaired and we have have suffered chews to to most other items in the house.

Since then he is getting destructive. Most things are fair game. We have given him chews - which he enjoys - but not too many toys as once are made available (not after any of his destruction of course). I would have thought that destruction may come when we are away from the house but no, sadly when we are there is the norm and always when we are downstairs. Over the last month he has taken to shredding his bed (wasnt washed and no change which I can think would cause it). Now on our third and compelely loathe to run out and buy another "chew toy bed".

Otherwise a well balanced dog, keeping testing for dominance but we hold to the ignore for the first five mins a day - eat before him - alpha parents role - and that seems to have him in check. Walks are fine. Always returns on call.

Am I just thinking back to previous pups through rose tinted glasses ? He has the run of the house downstairs and since we dont allow him upstairs at all. There is no barrier at the stairs and he has always respected that rule. I am thinking a connection between us going upstairs to bed and him eating the hallway and his bed which is usually under the stairs. Although with Max his bed is sometimes mobile :) and finds its way into the garden where he may sunbathe. He's not left alone and often comes to work with me as Im fortunate enough to have my own business and he's as good as gold there. 2 long walks a day and constant company.

Any thoughts on this one - Im getting a bit stuck on a solution and only can think of him chewing mainly in the areas that we "leave him" to go to bed. This has been recently reinforced by the fact that in the mornings when he's let outside to the garden and I return to take my wife coffee in bed (ahh - 1 day she will make me one :) ) he whines until one of us comes downstairs again. We obviously ingnore that and he gets attention when we want to give it to him and not the other way around. But then its not when we're upstairs this takes place but I suspect the hallway destruction may be due to this being "the place of parting from the pack".

Any thoughts welcome. And thanks. Of course the answer of "Dobes will be Dobes" could apply :)

Is it a hollow wall?

You may have mice in it - the only time (so far) one of my lot attacked a wall was when there was a mouse there, once I got rid of the mice (with dogs help) the walls were permitted to remain in place.

Christine

I'd didnt think of that Christine ! Yes its hollow but no mice thank heavens. Its a recent build and no sign of little scurrying feet to date :) Its not the wall now of course. its most other places not even on that side or where mice might get. But its nice to know that I have a standby ratcatcher LOL :) He sometimes now goes for the stairs, the skirting in the hall where it does back onto a hollow wall. Thanks though - have a good day!

Our lad has shredded a couple of beds -and has chewed at the wall -he has a bit of a 'thing ' for concrete and plaster !!!
He also scratches at the floor in the mornings -where the water pipe runs under -It must gurgle when we turn the heating on :)
Liz

There's always the option of crating him in the night instead of letting him roam. Then he's safe and your house is safe :) :D
Easy to provide old towels in the bottom for a bed and so what if he rips them up? ;) It's a thought until he grows out of adolescence :rolleyes:

Ah - life were that easy. Problem is out little darling is the picture of model behavour at night. Only seems to do it during the DAY and when people are actually in the house ! I'm sure he is attending SAS classes at nite when we aren't looking. You can by sat in the Lounge and not actually hear him up to anything unusual :) Ah well - wait it out it is then. I was wracking my brains about this one but thanks for trying all :) Anymore suggestions always welcomed. My walls, skirting and about any object not nailed down would appreciate it ;) LOL.

Dogs are like having kids...... when everything grows quiet, that's the time to worry and wonder what they're up to now :D :rolleyes: :D

Daren, wrong breed otherwise Max could be a cousin to Teelin the Terror. I don't think you are looking back through rose tinted specs at all. Deerhounds and wolfhounds are usually the least destructive of puppies, and shredded curtains / piles of sawdust where the table used to be came as a nasty shock to us. She was the same as Max, with days of being good and then a sudden destructive frenzy, always when someone was around but in another room. The only thing she didn't eat were the walls, probably only because they are solid stone :-). We have no barrier at the stairs but none of our dogs go upstairs except by invitation, and like Max, Teelin respected that. We tried everything short of caging her every time we left the room, and nothing did a pin of good. She actually seemed to like Bitter Apple (not to mention Ian's apple trees :-)) and other nasty tasting products. The bad news is that the kitchen (and fruit trees) now look as if they were designed by a lunatic with a chainsaw fixation. The good news is that she stopped around 14 months. You could try Bitter Apple etc, but based on Teelin, I suspect that you'll have to wait for another 6 - 8 months and then redecorate :-).

I know that a dog can become destructive at any point in their lives, but if a young dog was going to start chewing anything and everything then when does that generally start? Are there tips on avoiding this, assuming the young dog already has its own toys etc?

I've little experience of this as Teelin was our first serious chewer, but she only became a real menace at around 5 months. Ian thinks she got her taste for destruction because (unlike our other puppies) she had soft toys as a baby pup and worked her way from them, via curtains and the mattresses we use as dog beds, to tables, chairs, wood panelling and gear sticks. I'm less convinced and wonder if it runs in breeding lines, but if Teelin's pups won't be getting soft toys!

LOL - I sought solice in your post. It would seem that redecoration is the only answer :) Of course, not that we just spent £8,000 on redecorating and reflooring everything. It used to look really nice, I'm sure it did! Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing LOL Ah well - he's just gone through a blanket today which was happily being used as a bed for a few days. Sigh. Perhaps prozac for the next few months is the way forward :) Thanks all.

Daren you could always do what we did - keep the wreckage and try to convince people that its the very fashionable Chien Noveau look, created especially for us and at great cost by that well known artiste of home decor, Frau von Teelin :D. On the other hand, no one seems to believe that line, so maybe you should stick with the Prozac :-)

Wine works for me :D
Liz

... or whiskey Liz ;-). Question is, do you administer it to the humans, the pup or both?

Sharon -after a couple of glasses .........who cares :D
liz