Out of character dog behavior

[AlmiraGulch]

I've had dogs a good portion of my life and I've never had this happen before, so I don't know what to do.

 

My dog has been thoroughly trained and is typically very well behaved. He was completey housebroken at within a week of us having him. He is a bulldog, so an aggressive chewer, but wtih only a couple of incidents to soil his record he has done very well chewing only his toys and bones. He is not aggressive. He is neutered. He turned a year old on May 24.

 

Recently (maybe the last month?) I think he has lost his little doggie mind. Every time we leave the house we come home to something chewed to bits. He has even started climbing on tables to get things that were otherwise out of his reach. The last two times I left I came home to poop on the floor. That has never, ever happened before. He's not sick. I know, because I just took him to the vet because his eating habits have changed and i was afraid he might have an obstruction from something he chewed.

 

Obviously he's going back in the crate until we sort through this, but I have no idea what the problem is or how we can solve it. I assume he has some sort of separation anxiety. I also thought maybe he has some excess energy he needs to get rid of. It's quite hot here so we haven't been outside as much. I can't keep him out too long because bulldogs do quite poorly in the heat. We have been trying to play with him more, even if just in the house.

 

Who has dealt this? What do I do? I'd like to address the issue(s) rather than just keep him crated for the rest of his life every time we walk out the door.

[jenn-]

I crate my chewer. She will be crated for the rest of her life more than likely. She has never destroyed anything in the house (except her numerous toys), but will tear things apart if left outside alone. I know she would get bored and chew unfavorable things in the house if she started to feel anxious. For now, it is a safety issue for you though. He will eventually chew something and get blocked or electrocuted (if he decides power cords are fun to play with).

[Pawz4me]

It certainly sounds like a classic case of separation anxiety. The fact that he's pooped in the house twice indicates to me that it's SA rather than a simple inappropriate chewing problem. My guess is that something traumatic (to his way of thinking) occurred at some point while he was home alone and that triggered it. It could have been something as simple as a loud noise outside, a thunderstorm, a smoke detector chirping due to a low battery, etc.

 

Does he mind being crated? Some dogs hate it, and some find it a very comforting den-like place. If he doesn't mind the crate, then I'd try leaving him in it with a special chew toy (a stuffed frozen Kong is my favorite) and some soft music playing. If he does well with that a few times then you could try the special chew toy and music but not crate him and see how he handles that.

 

If he exhibits symptoms of anxiety in the crate with a treat and soft music playing, then you may have to consider putting him on some medication to help relieve some of his anxiety while you work on the retraining process. It's extremely difficult for a highly stressed dog to learn, so using some type of medication to relieve the anxiety is usually a key "tool" in the retraining process.

[AlmiraGulch]

It certainly sounds like a classic case of separation anxiety. The fact that he's pooped in the house twice indicates to me that it's SA rather than a simple inappropriate chewing problem. My guess is that something traumatic (to his way of thinking) occurred at some point while he was home alone and that triggered it. It could have been something as simple as a loud noise outside, a thunderstorm, a smoke detector chirping due to a low battery, etc.

 

Does he mind being crated? Some dogs hate it, and some find it a very comforting den-like place. If he doesn't mind the crate, then I'd try leaving him in it with a special chew toy (a stuffed frozen Kong is my favorite) and some soft music playing. If he does well with that a few times then you could try the special chew toy and music but not crate him and see how he handles that.

 

If he exhibits symptoms of anxiety in the crate with a treat and soft music playing, then you may have to consider putting him on some medication to help relieve some of his anxiety while you work on the re-training process. It's extremely difficult for a highly stressed dog to learn, so using some type of medication to relieve the anxiety is usually key to retraining.

 

Oooohhh....this is good stuff!

 

He has never minded being crated, but now that I think about it I know that when we were on vacation in April and he was at a friend's house, the friend came home from work and the dog had chewed up the pad in his crate. Also, that was the first time he'd been alone for that many hours (a full work day) because I work from home. I think maybe that could have been the start of all of this.

 

I love the idea of the special chew toy and soft music. I'm going to try that for sure. And if it doesn't work, I'll have to ask the vet about medication, as you've suggested. I don't want to crate him when we leave forever if there is an alternative. I'll do it as long as it's a safety hazard, but I'd really like to train him out of it.

 

Thanks for the ideas!

[Pawz4me]

now that I think about it I know that when we were on vacation in April and he was at a friend's house, the friend came home from work and the dog had chewed up the pad in his crate. Also, that was the first time he'd been alone for that many hours (a full work day) because I work from home. I think maybe that could have been the start of all of this.

 

I bet you're right. Being crated for significantly longer than normal can be enough to trigger SA in a susceptible young dog. Add that to being in a strange house, away from his people . . . that could very well have been the trigger.

[Twinmom]

If you really believe it is separation anxiety, you might also look into a "Thundershirt" or some herbal Rescue Remedy when you need to be gone. Combine that with a chew toy in the crate and you may have a winning combination! It works beautifully for my neighbor's dog, the sweet little neurotic power-chewer that he is! :)