Merlin has always been crated whilst we are out of the house and i decided that we would start leaving him out. So the first time it was 20 mins and we built up slowly until i left him today for almost 3 hours. He has been brill, very minimal damage, only to post & free papers. I came in today and he had only nibbled a very small piece from a letter and was sound asleep on the sofa. He got lots of praise, we went out into the garden came in and had some cuddles then i put the dinner on, took some washing out of the machine and spread it on radiators and hoovered. Merlin went back to sleep on the sofa, i went up the stairs to use the loo and he came and sat at the bottom, which is normal as he usually waits for me to come back down. I was gone a few minutes maximum and when i came back down he was shredding my brand new jumper that he had taken off the radiator. As soon as he saw me he dropped it and ran behind the chair. I was so angry that i cried, (jumper was expensive and a gift). If he had done anything whilst i was out then it would have been my fault for not leaving him enough to occupy him. Also i have read on here that dogs do not know they have done wrong, but if this were the case why did he drop it and hide away. I picked it up and gave a stern no. Is that enough? He hasnt taken from the rads since he was about 6 months old so i cant figure out why he has today. If he has ever taken anything that does not belong to him i have always given a stern no and swapped it for something of his, praising him when he accepts it. I also praise him when he is playing with his own stuff. Why on earth has he regressed to this and why in these circumstances Any ideas.

Was today the first time you'd left him for such a long time?  Was the jumper damp from the washing machine or 'brand new' as in still in its packaging, or had you worn it recently?

He didn't know he'd done 'wrong', but he did know, from your body language and/or your voice, that you weren't happy with him, so he removed himself to somewhere he considered 'safe' while offering you appeasement signals.

I suspect you may just have discovered Merlin's personal limit for being left alone and he's reacted in this way to relieve the stress he was feeling, perhaps triggered by the fact that you dissapeared again so soon after coming home to him.

Oh dear, what a shame it was your jumper he got hold of. Like the other poster says, he was just reacting to your signs of disapproval, he didn't realise what exactly was wrong. Maybe reduce the leaving alone time a little bit for a while?

Sorry to hear about your jumper ... what was it made out of? My cat benny has to maul anything with even a hint of cashmere in it, I also had a lovely jumper that he loved into little pieces ... and now I never buy things with cashmere in it! I think he can smell the 'animal' in it, if that is poss.
You should see Floyd (BC) with my sheepskin rug I'm sure he knows he's supposed to be herding it up ... and benny won't go near it, he seems to know it is unnatural for him to stand on a sheeps back

Sorry about your jumper he was just proberbly excited to see you :-)

it was fleece, like the blanket he had as a pup so maybe thats why, he saw it as a comforter. It was wet, fresh out of the machine stinking of surf.
MM what does BTW stand for? I have been trying to work that out, (bit thick today)

BTW - by the way

By The Way LOL

. Also i have read on here that dogs do not know they have done wrong, but if this were the case why did he drop it and hide away.

Because of your body language If you had smiled & praised him(not suggesting you should have BTW)he wouldn't have dropped it. He will have read the anger in her body posture, I used to show people that this was the case by using one of my beardies, who had done nothing wrong I simply looked at her frowning, wearing an angry expression & she would instantly go into appeasement mode. I turned away & looked back at her smiling & she stopped

TBH if you don't want your dog to damage something then don't leave it within reach. I never tell a dog off even if I catch them doing with something I shouldn't have left in their reach. They get a look & then have it taken from them silently I never leave clothing/footwear within their reach as they will have my scent on them

It's an expensive lesson to learn(lol one of my beardies once ate a pair of shoes that had been left in a box on a table & she left just the metal bits ! & the box which still had the lid on-never did it again They cost 19 shillings & 11 pence which was a lot in the 70's !)

I used to show people that this was the case by using one of my beardies, who had done nothing wrong I simply looked at her frowning, wearing an angry expression & she would instantly go into appeasement mode. I turned away & looked back at her smiling & she stopped

This I had to try out. LOL. I quietly walked over to the kitchen gate just now and looked over it -6 dogs all laying in their beds. Looked at them and frowned.  Uh oh, ALL 6 looked submissive, ears down, and wondered what they'd done! Smiled instead and wham, all 6 dogs jumepd up and ran to the gate jumping up to say hello, tails wagging.

I can't help with the jumper episode, but I managed to stop my dog from chewing post and papers etc. I just did loads and loads of practise. Everytime anything came though the letterbox there was obviously, great excitement.....and great fun to be had !. I tried one of the basket things but hated it. Anyway, what I did was to pretend that something had been posted. While he was in another room, I'd put an envelope or just a piece of paper on the doormat and make the letterbox rattle. He would come charging over to see what it was. As soon as he got to the post I just shouted no, very firmly. I did it loads of times over quite a few days and it worked. All he ever does now is to sniff whatever is on the floor. If I'm home I still always praise him for looking but not touching and I'm pleased to say that he has never touched or chewed any post since, even if he's on his own.
Good luck !.

Val

LOL It is amazing isn't !

I would have replied rather smugly along the lines of "dogs can resist anything except temptingly expensive objects" and suggest that things you value should always be kept well out of the way. Unfortunately I've lost what tiny patch of moral high ground I was struggling to occupy by discovering Nipper chewing right through the strap on an expensive, if not very elegant, boot a little while ago. :rolleyes:

probably the jumper had your smell on it which would be enticing ! !  :)

With a young dog I NEVER leave anything lying around ...got a habit of one last look before I leave a room just in case!!

Very sorry to hear about your favourite sweater afraid you'll have to put that one down to experience!!

MM
I know what you mean about the frown then a smile works everytime with my two!

Roni

it must have been unconsious body language, as i didnt realise it was my jumper until he ran behind the sofa. I appreciate my fault as when i leave him i always make sure there is nothing at merlin level, which is quite high, i only nipped to the loo. Today when i came in he was asleep on the sofa and i went to the loo first, when i came down he was at his usual place at the bottom of the stairs with his bum wagging. I just couldnt work out why he had done it at this time. OH said he left him for 30 mins the other day with clothes all over the rads and he didnt touch anything I think if i am being honest, he is so well behaved usually, obedient and loving that when he decides he doesnt want to be, which is a rare occassion, his stunts are stinkers I guess we all have bad days so dogs must too. I dont know if this is right but i put the jumper back on the rad and if he sniffed it i said a stern no and he left it after only 2 no's. It  is still there now, is this an ok training method? I guess i was mega frustrated as he had been so good all day and i turned my back for 2 mins and he ripped my jumper. TBH i expected more destruction while i was out of the house and really couldnt understand why he chose to do it while i was home. Obviously now i see that he probably would have if i put it there before i left the house. I may give him an old t shirt as the few times he has done this to clothes they have been mine, OH has got a really ugly jumper i wish he had done it to that one as i cant seem to loose it well enough I will try that with the mail though, Thanks.

>OH has got a really ugly jumper i wish he had done it to that<

ROFL :D  ;)

To be honest I often think that the reason why dogs do certain things is as simple as "because I can" and "because today I think I will"!  Which is why I've never been comfortable leaving any of my dogs with the run of the house when I'm out just in case one of those unreliable moments come on!  The one thing you can always rely on is a dog turning its nose up at the jumper you'd desperately like him to pay particularly thorough attention to, mind. ;)

when i have been out for a  long while my girl will let me know that that is not acceptable to her by unmaking my made bed (the beds kingsize and a real sh** to make and i swear she knows it . She wont do it if ive only been out for an hour or two though

... amusing rep;lies on the thread, but to be practical alongside some excellent advice, you need to take baby steps with a young dog. I never give mine run of the house - not even at 12 years of age. Certainly fora young dog of just a year or so, if and when I decided crating was no longer necessary, I would still restrict them to a room where they couldn't do much damage.

I appreciate you probably thought the stuffn the radiator was safe as he had never shown interest in it, but then, next time suddenly he will find an end thread on the carpet and you will come back to a shredded carpet corner, or some other such thing.... they are always finding something new to discover, they are just inquisitive kids!

My question would be, why decide to stop cratingome dogs raised with it absolutely love their 'dens' and maybe its theplace yur man would feel safe and couldn't get into any sort of trouble when you aren't around....?Not all dogs need to progress to never being crated....
Di,

He needs to be out now because he is a bit too big for it and i am having to leave him for longer and dont think its fair to him to be locked up. I bought the right sixe crate for his breed but he is taller than breed standard maximum by 3 1/2 inches. I cant restrict him to 1 room as my kitchen & dining room are open plan and my living room is open plan. the doors which seperate these 2 rooms are glass and push open. If you pop him into the dining room and shut these, (they open into the dining room), he jumps at them until one opens. I think this is dangerous as he may break the glass and injure himself. There is a stair gate to restrict him to the downstairs. The thing is, he hasnt created any damage when he has been left, only when i am in the house and go to the loo, this is what i couldnt understand. he has access to his crate at all times but the scamp much prefers the sofa

I would put him in the kitchen while I went up the stairs I know it is a nuisance but well worth the trouble rather than when you return to find some kind of destruction has occured.
I usually close the living room door but leave the kitchen door open when I need to leave my two for  a little while eventhough I am still in the house so to speak because I have done it from them both being young pups and it is a habit (second girl loved to chew the remotes) I have also trained ;) my son and hubby to do the same LOL

Roni

Its a little hard to know where to go with this if can't restrict him in the house, he is getting into occasional mischief but he has outgrown his crate.

I would never leave a young or visitor dog with two or three ooms full of fun things to destroy myself. If my dinning room and kicthen were interlinked I would find somewhere else, the hall for example with a babygate at the bottom of the stairs to stop him pounding up and down or a utility room or a conservatory. Somewhere small and restrictive where damage limitation can be exercised ;-)

If he has to have free run you have no chance of teaching him what is right and wrong really. When you are there, yes, but they are smart. When you are gone it goes out the window whilst they are small. Lessons we teach them that we think are imprinted are only recognised by our presence being there often.

Personally, I'd buy a bigger cage. You have the wrong idea about how dogs who are crae trained see their cages if you feel he needs to stop being locked up - as you phrased it. They see it as 'their place'. Their bedroom with posters on the wall and their secret stash of girlie mags ;-) (metaphorically speaking of course...)

Di

i didnt think it was ok for a dog to be crated for more than 2 hours, I am sure that i read that on here somewhere Otherwise i would have bought him a bigger one. We dont have a passage,the living room is open plan with a baby gate on the stairs. There are glass doors which lead to the kitchen/diningroom and i am afraid if i shut these that he will hurt himself on the glass when he jumps at them to open them. He doesnt and never has done damage other than mail while he has been left, just when i get home and leave him to go to the loo. When he is left alone he just sleeps on the sofa. our downstairs is basically 2 rooms. We are currently looking for a house which has got a utility room or conservatory for him to have his own room.

... The trouble with forums such as this is that one does remember certain peoples opinion and then sort of think of it as fact. Of course it is all just opinion on here. Dogs can be crated for any amount of SENSIBLE time. Lets see, at night for example 5 - 7 hours for an adult dog is not a problem in any way. During the day the reason one tends to say no more than 4 hours is because any longer and it is starting to look like someone can buy a puppy, buy a crate and ush off to work full time from 9 - 5 and leave the puppy in the crate for that time...

4 hours SHOULD be all a dog is in during the day because even if someone went shopping on a SERIOUSLY long expedition, or went to work and came home lunhctime, this is the longest that should NEED to be used as far as time goes before coming home.

2 hours is absolutely not the longest amount of time. Boards like this try and promote ethical care and ownership but some can take it a little too far.... 4 hours is fine, if one thinks of it sensibly. thinking of it as 4 hours, NOT 4 hours, ten minutes out, 4 hours back in for the afternoon shift, out for a bit then in all night again... that is NOT ethical or beneficial to the dog in any way.

Looking for a new house to solve your troubles seems a bit extreme - grin! You must have a wonderful husband ;-)

Di

ssh but i have hated this house since i moved here, (not my decision to buy) and that is one of my excuses. Also the dogs stuff has over taken 2 kitchen cupboards and a drawer, he could have his own cupboards in his own room. My husband is a softy where the dog is concerned so thats why i use that to my advantage. That and the fact that my dog is spoilt rotten