So disappointed - am I expecting too much?

[wnt2adpt]

Since Greta had her couch & down comforter eating episode, I have kept her in the crate every day when I'm gone. Yesterday afternoon, Austin (bf) and I went to the grocery store for about 20 minutes. I decided to give Greta a chance. I wanted to see if she could be good for just 20 minutes while we were gone. I put everything up that I thought she could get into. We began to walk out the door, I had her sit, gave her a treat & said 'be good' and left. She looked like such a little angel!

Well......when we got back, Greta had chewed on a candle and had it ALL OVER the floor. She got some plastic bags out and chewed on them as well. What the?? I thought she could be good - it was only 20 minutes!!!! She had toys around and didn't even TOUCH them. I want to get to the point where I don't keep her locked up in the crate all day, but at this rate, that's never gonna happen!!!! Am I expecting too much? How can I proceed??? I'm so disappointed - I just want to get rid of the crate but are there some dogs that just cannot handle freedom??

Just as an added bit of confusion - Greta does not do this at Austin's house. We have left her for up to 4 hours before & she hasn't chewed ANYTHING. Granted, I have a 1 br condo & Austin has a 3 br house with a bonus room. Does this have something to do with it?

Thanks,
Erin

 

[Mollie_T]

I had a similar situation with our 9 month old Maggie just this week. She spent the day at my mother's house with her Rottie Emily. She decided to rip the skirt off the couch and chew it up. I know this behavior wasn't done out of boredom since she had company. She never does anything like this at my house, only steals the occasional roll of toilet paper... I believe I'm giving her too much freedom. She had been crated while we were at work until about 1 month ago. Sadly I've gotten the crate out & she's spending her nights there again. We work nights so she has the run of the house during the day & doesn't touch a thing...

 

[EKR16]

I don't know how much time you spend at the BF's house, but sometimes when things are new, they are REALLY good b/c they are too busy sniffing everything & exploring. I took Romie to my BF's right after I got her & she was an angel, but at home she chews shoes, trash, rugs, anything she can find! Also, another time when I went to go see him, I left her with my parents for 3 days (longdistance relationships suck!)... The first two days my mom thought she was perfect & loved her, but the third day she had gotten used to being there & turned into a little devil.

Instead of letting her have free run of the WHOLE house, why not take up everything chewable & put her in the bathroom or another small area. When she can be good in there, give her access to more rooms...just break her in on it a little at a time? Good luck!

 

[KonaKoffe]

How old is Greta? It was 2 yrs before my first boxer (female) was able to be left out of her cage and have the run of the apt.
Cassius, our male was 3 yrs before he got the run of the HOUSE. We started after 2 yrs by confining him to the foyer, than the basement and foyer.

From my experience it takes a long time. And when you start, you have to take baby steps AND YOU HAVE TO STORE ANYTHING HAZARDOUS ( ie electrical cords wrapped in foil etc., choking item, chemicals) AND YOUR SPECIAL THINGS.

During the transition I lost blankets, couches, cushions, carpet at the door moulding, doors were scratched.
But they eventually got over it with time and maturity.

The first hour is when they do the most damage because of separation anxiety. Try loading a Kong toy with treats to distract her after you leave.

Austin's house is strange to her so she is less likely to do damage- is my guess. That may not last.

THIS IS ONE OF THE TIMES THAT WILL TEST YOUR PATIENCE but the payoff is worth it. lovicon

 

[wnt2adpt]

I don't know how much time you spend at the BF's house

She spends Sunday through Thursday night at my house (where she's crated during the day), and then Friday and Saturday night of every week, we're at Austin's house. He usually stays with me during the weeks (I guess we'll eventually live at the same residence, but for now, we have separate places). I'm basically the 'leader of the pack' - I just have taken the mommy role & Austin is just like a kid. He's not bad he just doesn't really discipline or tell her to stop doing anything.

Instead of letting her have free run of the WHOLE house, why not take up everything chewable & put her in the bathroom or another small area.

Well, all she had was the living room & kitchen. I have a pretty small place, and I shut the bathroom door & my bedroom door. At Austin's house, it's pretty large & open, so I'm thinking she doesn't get bored as easily.

How old is Greta?

She's around 3 years old (vet's guess). We got her in March from a local Boxer rescue and they had no idea how old she was.

Try loading a Kong toy with treats to distract her after you leave.

She makes a HUGE mess if I leave her a Kong. I've had huge peanut butter stains on the carpet & that's just not something I want to leave out. I just put a towel down inside the crate & it's fine. I tried training her to only chew her Kong & rawhide on a specific area, but she just didn't make the connection. She just wants to eat it where SHE wants to eat it!

Austin's house is strange to her so she is less likely to do damage- is my guess. That may not last.

I'd say so, but we are there every single weekend. I don't think that she considers it strange, but since we're only there on the weekends, that may be the case.

I own my condo, so I'm not as worried as I would be if I were renting, but I don't want the place torn to shambles. I just don't want to have to keep replacing everything she's destroyed. She's only been with us for a few months, and I've lost a couch cushion, a down comforter, 5 candles, a pillow, an entire angel food cake , a loaf of bread, several towels, a blanket, and a set of sheets. I know dogs will naturally mess things up, but when it gets excessive, the crate looks like the only alternative.

 

[kitikarial2]

I still cant leave Lucy alone and she has her brother to hang with when we are gone. I keep trying to leave her out and yesterday she chewed up my flip flops that were on the kitchen table in a bag. Go figure, she chews books alot, and ALWAYS finds something. then one day she will be good, i get excited and leave her again and she chews something else. At least (knock on wood) she doesnt chew furniture. I just hope she will get better soon. I keep trying. but for long periods alone its to the crate with her LOL

 

[gmacleod]

Part of the key to leaving dogs loose in the house is to keep things you don't want the dog to touch well out of easy reach, and to be very very clear about what is and isn't a dog toy on a full time basis.

For leaving her unattended, if you have an incident like that, you just have to take a step backward on how much freedom you give and work back up to previous levels gradually.

And they're only dogs - to some extent you've got to accept that and take the route of keeping things out of temptation's way. LOL - if it makes things seem any better at all right now, today Henri ate my mail - and he's been crate-free without incident since he was 6 months old (he's now 2.5 years). Granted, it gets delivered straight through the door onto the floor, which puts it squarely within his "zone", but I'm sure hoping he doesn't make a habit of it LOL

 

[wnt2adpt]

Part of the key to leaving dogs loose in the house is to keep things you don't want the dog to touch well out of easy reach, and to be very very clear about what is and isn't a dog toy on a full time basis.

I didn't think a candle would be so tempting! I have honestly never seen her chew on ANYTHING except her toys when I am around. It is only when I leave & she is out of her crate that the destruction occurs!

So do I start again immediately, or do I give her a little time? Do I start back with something as small as a minute or 5 minutes? How should I react if I come inside & she's done something bad? When I came in yesterday, she knew she had been bad the moment I walked in the door, and she cowered & then tried to bolt for the door. I told her she was a 'bad girl' and she began to shake so pitifully. I felt so bad - what's the best way to handle this?

 

[gmacleod]

I'd start with short periods - five or ten minutes ought to be enough, and several times a day. No fuss when leaving or returning

Very likely it was just boredom, or the candle suddenly just looked really interesting. LOL - sometimes a dog that never tries to touch anything that isn't hers can be a drawback since you don't get a whole lot of opportunities to remind her of what's hers and what isn't. Best thing though, is to keep objects like that out of temptation's way - so that she really has to make a definitive effort to get hold of something she shouldn't.

 

[wnt2adpt]

Heheh!! I guess it felt good on her teeth & gums.

What's the best way to react when she's torn something up? Do I just completely ignore it & act like it never happened? I gave her time out in the crate, but she loves it (her crate) so much, it's hardly punishment.