Our Jack Russell is now 8 months old and I am very concerned that he is over attached. He has become very destructive when left alone in the house. This is particularly bad when left in the mornings;afternoons don't seem to be such an anxious time for him.
He can be left alone for half an hour and be just as destructive as being left for and hour or so. At night time he is content and will sleep right through.
We leave the radio on for him when he is alone so that there is some noise around. He also has access to several rooms in the house, including a bedroom where we know he has been snuggling on the bed.We have also left some old smelly clothes around for him to feel comforted by.We have given him chew toys and ropes etc. I am currently freezing a Kong to see if that will help, or whether it really is an attachment problem.
Help please! What does anyone suggest?
The destruction is so far as follows: shoes, mail, front door mat, door frame etc.

Hi
Why not try a crate-you can still leave him his toys,kong etc but in a safe environment where he cannot harm anything.The one in Argos would be plenty big enough for a JRT and at £38 its a lot cheaper than replacing furniture etc...Plus you can go out and not worry what you will find when you get home.They are not a form of punishment and although some dogs protest at first they usually end up seeing the crate as 'their place'.
Regards Archer

Try making some of his toys like the kong, a high value toy. he only gets this filled with goodies when you are going out, all other times it is picked up and put away. i usually prepare my kong, say 10 mins in front of the dog, leave it out of reach until i have my coat on then put it down for her. my dog can't wait for me to go!! but you must put it away when you return (my dog actually finds it and returns it to me when i come in, and i give her a small chew for it in return!) do this with a selection of toys so that he thinks they are your toys and he gets them until you return!! mind you she is very food mad!! but may work with toys worth a go

Thanks for the advice. I read about the crate, but I'm not too sure about leaving him all cooped up. Surely he would go to his bed if that was the case? I'll certainly try leaving out special toys when we go out, maybe it will help. Are there any other suggestions out there to help couteract the attachment problems I think the dog (and we!) may be having?

Hi, I have always left my dogs in the "dog room" - which is the utility room in our house.

My current puppy, a 5 month old Great Dane, never touches anything, even if I leave him for four hours or so. The important thing, in my opinion, is to establish a set routine for your puppy before you leave him. So start again from scratch (5 mins, ten mins, 15 mins etc), build up, and start a routine. Mine goes like this:

Short stay:
Put him in bed
Make him "down"
Give a chew
Shut the door
Ignore any whinging

Do not return if whining or scratching, wait till he stops and then go in, fuss, give chew and let out

Long stay:
Walk
Dinner
Bed
Chew
Shut the door

Reinforce this by making him go to his bed every time he's been for a walk to rest (to give you a break aswell)... and he will understand that it is "one of those things he has to do" and not a punishment.

I hope this gives you some ideas

Chloe

I use a crate for my pup although we have just started leaving him out at night.During the day the crate is left open and at times all three of my boys will sleep in it.It is a matter of personal preference but I find that once they're used to it they usually love their new 'den'.Having had experience of a dog who started by eating toys then progressed onto furniture,carpets,BT connection boxes,floor boards(having eaten the carpet),plaster out of the walls and eventually the back of the toilet(leading to a flood of the basement),I find a crate the perfect answer to chewing and toilet training BUT we all have our own ways.
Hope you find a solution!Archer.

Is it possible that the distruction is happenening when people call at the house - postman etc?

Christine

It could well be that the postlady is the trigger for him to start destroying. Today we left him for 2 hours between 11 and 1pm and he played with his stuffed Kong. Nothing was destroyed on our return, but then again we had not received any mail either!
Thankyou all for the ideas so far!