Yes I have a teenage deliqent in the house. Came in from work a little while ago to find my dining room full of destroyed items.
I stopped putting Shady (My 6 month RottiexGSD) in her cage when I went out because although it is large she had got too big for it and was well behaved when I tried leaving her with the dining room to wander in.
I make sure nothing is left lying round just in case, leave her with stuffed,frozen Kong and toys etc, and for the past month she has been an angel, but today I have come in after being at work for 4 hrs to find destruction.
She had got the cupboard door on the desk open and has chewed into thousands of pieces my computer cd's containing information photos etc, the box they were in. Stacks of envelopes and important letters. God knows how much she has swallowed. She has obviously reached the "Kevin" stage big time and in style.
Needless to say she had a massive telling off but in true "Kevin" style didn't listen to a word.
So when I go back to work this afternoon she will be firmly shut in that cage for my peace of mind and sanity and her safety.
Tonight I am going to a friends who has a very slightly bigger cage and we are swapping cages as her labs fit easily in mine.
Then she will be firmly shut in while I work, until she grows up into calm and serene adulthood. So for her sake I hope she doesn't wait until she is twelve to grow up.
One very very mad Bev    

>Needless to say she had a massive telling off but in true "Kevin" style didn't listen to a word.

I'm not surprised she would not have clue what you were on about :rolleyes: from her perspective all she had done is passed a otherwise boring morning playing with the toys that you left for her.
Most dogs are too big to be left, even in the largest of cages, for more than a hour or two.  Can you not contain her in a room where all items that can be damaged can be removed such as a kitchen, utility room, porch, north facing conservatory or even a bathroom?

The dining room is the only safe room I have.  Kitchen has electric wires she can get hold of leading to fridge/freezer as the socket is stupidly down near the skirting board.  Low socket also in the hall  and telephone wires come from next to that.
No way is she staying in the living room with carpet and everything else in there.
She has been used to being left for up to 4 hrs 3 mornings a week during school term time since a baby and been fine.  The one morning I am gone 5 hrs a dog walker comes in and takes both the dogs out.
This was only a lighthearted post and the massive telling off only consisted of "What the hell is this" and "outside while I clear this mess up".
She has since been for a lovely free run in the field with a little training added in.
I have to work since my husband was killed to support my 14yr old daughter and myself, but only work part time because of the dogs, and won't leave them longer than 4 hrs.

Bev

I think you are taking my post as a "massive telling off" which it isn't :). I think 4 hours is fine to leave a dog but there really isn't any point in telling off a dog for something it isn't doing at that particular point in time.  However I still say this is too long to leave a dog in a crate and it doesn't really solve your problem because she is going to get bigger again before you can reliably say she is unlikely to attempt to destroy anything (if ever with some dogs) you really need to look at another way.  Whatever room you deem the safest you are going to need to secure items, wires etc.

Hi isabel,
so if 4 hours is too long to leave in a crate, what about night times? my dog (dobe 7 months) is shut in his crate from about 11 pm till 7 am is this wrong too?

No, most dogs will sleep the night through but having spent a sedentary night they need more freedom to move around, develop their muscles and build strong bones by frequent weight bearing exercise rather than being forced to remain pretty static for long periods of time again.

I can sympathise Bev....Who said dogs didn't have a sense of humour :D

I've been there, done that, got the video and am now wearing the T-shirt :rolleyes:

I went through a stage a few months back where my little madam displayed her more riotous, moronic side and unfortunately, for her own safety and mine, on the odd occasion I had to leave her, she went back in her (large)crate.

We leave her in the kitchen and hall (only rooms uncarpeted) She got child locks off the cupboard doors relieved me of the only small skirting board we had, took a self taught class in "lino lifting" and numerous other things that were fixed and non removable (well we thought so anyway). She used to create chaos in an empty room. The only things that were left untouched were her filled Kong, toys and bed. This was always after a good game and walk by the way.

Take heart ;) it doesn't last forever, only damage I've had recently is a big bag of newspapers that I stupidly left on the table. Came back into the room after 10 minutes and she was very proudly laying in the middle of shredded paper with her tail thumping madly. I had to laugh....:D

What age are these delinquents? (Starts to get worried as her well behaved baby is 6 months and can feel this delinquent stage on the horizon)

Oooh dear Leanne, your precious 6 month old baby hasn't even started yet :P

Of course she may not, but then and again......

My juvenile delinquent is nearly 13 months and I fear isn't even half way through her "Kevin" stage

I have a now sedate matron, who was known in her youth as Chain Saw Jaws. She never chewed a thing until she was 6 months old. Then she quite literally began to eat the house and kept right on going until she finally stopped at 15 months!

Just when you thought it was safe eh Bev I left the bedroom dorr open a couple nights ago & my shoes outside the w/robe, my *youngster* 18mths btw :rolleyes: tripped in & brought 1 of the shoes into the hall & settled down on her bed to chew the back out of it while I was in the kitchen arghhhhhhhhh :D :D I got quite a collection of good single shoes now:rolleyes:

oh dear! i came home the other day, and someone must have chucked my new stupidly pointy cream leather shoes in the kitchen with flo- when i came home though- i discovered flo had transformed my shoes into peep toe shoes! i put them on and you could see my big toe!

oh- just thought i'd ask bev- do you think shady ate anything sharp or too big?- if so keep close eye on him/her incase it causes any probs ;)

I had one that even used to eat his bed :rolleyes: People used to wonder why I kept him bedded on newspaper!

This week I've come home to ash on the floor, coal on the floor, bedding all scrunched up and peed on, coal on the floor and a cone of feather wool all chewed up into tiny bits ;) Yes, my youngster has become a 'Kevin' :D She is 15 months old! ;)

I am a bit worried about the computer CD dics, so will be keeping a close eye on the madam.
She is not crated at night as she sleeps on my bedroom floor so the only time she would ever be crated is those 4hrs 3 times a week while I work.  But i'm going to see how she goes first, give her one more chance.
But if she is going to endanger herself, which is my main concern then she will have to be crated for her own safety.
Leanne, Shady is 6 nearly 7months old, don't know what breed yours is as they all differ but be prepared you may be about to enter "The Kevin Zone"

My 2 year old GSD still has her moments but anything she pinches is only to get our attention. She doesn't destroy anything, just picks it up and brings it to you. I think you have a long way to go yet, I still put Gabi in her crate if I have to leave her on her own. I should rephrase that, she now knows my routine and goes on her bed herself as soon as she sees me reach for my purse or bag. None of the shops in my area allow dogs in so the shopping bag is her cue that I am going out alone. Have a look at the Bring and Buy on this site sometimes you see ex large crates for sale second hand.

The time they catch me out is when you think they have got over it and have chewed nothing for months. THen just when you are least expecting it they attack something really importaint :rolleyes:

I bought a roll of wire protector to put around the room when my pup was younger it was great she never went near it .
I bought it in B&Q cost about £6.00 but worth it for peace of mind ..it lays flat on the floor so a bit more difficult for them to get hold off and the wires are fixed inside .
(more heavy duty looked awful cause its black but worth it)

Roni

calm and serene adult hood a few years yet I think, I had no damage as I made full use of a huge crate . but I am lucky that I work late afternoons so although the dog was in it for 4 to 5 hours he was tired out by then anyway. I couldnt bear to wake a dog up, and then put it back in for 4 hours during the day, thats why I waIted till I had free time before I got a dog. If you have to do that I suggest getting up very early to take it out for a walk and spend time with it before going to work.

Hi I can totally sympathise, my little girl Skye (dalmatian bitch) who is now 2 used to destroy anything in sight so we used to put her in the cage when we were out which is normally a max of about 3 hrs. She ate through walls lifted floor tiles and we have bought her numerous beds which she has destroyed. Thankfully she seems to have calmed a lot now and very rarely does anything however we have given up on beds for her as she always eventually destroys them even those supposed to be indestructible. We no longer use a cage as I hated her having to be in there but we do have a small room at the back of the house which we have tiled where she goes as a last resort if needed.

There are limits to what a JRT can reach and destroy and in fairness, my pup has never been particularly destructive unless you put temptation directly in his path. Shoes being prime candidates! However, he's now six months old and I realise I should have called him "Artful Dodger" instead of Nipper because the baby puppy chewing has been replaced with some very cunning thieving! His pickpocketing skills are second to none...:D

Even though he appears much "safer" around the house I still don't give him unsupervised access and he's always put in the puppy proof kitchen when I go out.  A situation I don't plan to change for some long time!

Mine are in disgrace because they stole my OH's caramel egg last night (the small ones, nothing too lethal for dogs luckily!). We are usually really careful about what's left on the coffee table, but although they like to lick the plates, it's the first time they've stolen a wrapped and untouched item like that. And the main suspect for the inital theft is nearly 4!!!