destroys bed in crate

[otakupunk]

Loki is 11 months old...not wanting him to sleep on a hard plastic crate lining i got a dog pillow/bed thing for him to sleep on. it seemed really strong but turned out not to be when i returned home from work..i have now been through 4 dog beds in the past 4 months (and 3 blankets). He is fine with the bed over night when i am home but if i leave and crate him, wether it be for an hour or 4 (which is the most i leave him in the crate for when at work) I always come home to find it all wripped up and stuffing all over the place.

I understand this is probably a form of seperation anxiety. I cant yell at him when i get home because i didn't catch him in the act. I also dont make a big deal of my comings and goings and leave him in the crate for a few minutes before i leave and after i come home because I have read that those things can help lessen seperation anxiety.

I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem or problems like it and how they over came it. Right now I am forced to just leave him without the cushion when i leave the house so he doesn't destroy it. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

[jaimie]

I had the same problem with my dogs. I just had to get rid of blankets and dog beds.

Jaimie

 

[Jan]

It's fairly typical for boxers puppies to destroy their bedding. He may just have to go bedless until he grows up a bit.

 

[Andi20]

Xena is bedless right now also. I usually have a doormat in her crate that takes a bit longer to destroy than a regular bed but those too start to get ugly after a while :rolleyes:

 

[froggie]

We too went through multiple dog beds, it seems spenser will tear up anything with stuffing. Finally we got some fleece blankets that didn't have any stuffing and while he chewed on the edges a bit, he pretty much left them alone. Now if he still tears the heck out of that, then I would have to agree with everyone else, don't put anything in there, save him from himself. We are going through a similair thing with our 14 month old. We have started to let him out of his crate at night and for a few hours during the day. During the night he's fine, but during the day he will tear up little bits of paper if they are accidently left on the floor (strangely he only goes for paper) So we have just gotten into the habit of picking up any little thing that falls on the floor and he is saved from himself.

 

[bustermom]

It could also be that he's bored. What else is in his crate that he can chew on instead?

Some things which have worked for us:
- a "holey roller" toy with a biscuit forced into the middle (one of their favorites and guaranteed to keep them busy for at least 20 minutes - you can find them at PetSmart or online)
- the classic peanut butter stuffed frozen kong
- a tightly scrunched up brown paper bag (lunchbag size) with a few kibbles or treats inside it (thanks, Tulsa-Dan!). Your dog gets to shred the bag to get the treats
- another classic is a hefty raw meaty marrow bone
- using polarfleece type blankets as they're very durable and they have a high "cushion" factor so they're comfortable
- either a TV (left on at a low volume) or a window for him to watch while crated

Having one (or more!) of these sorts of things in his crate may help distract him from his bedding.

You can do a search here for other long lasting treats - good luck!