DAPHNE THE DESTROYER
I have a 7 month old sheepie (she may be a mix) who has been on a warpath for past few months. We have kept on of our living rooms off limits, but we can restrain them any more. we have two living rooms and she still can get to other one. Today I wasn't gone more than an hour an came home to find our artificial xmas tree destroyed (there were no ornaments left on it, just the lights. she even chewed up the light bulbs. neither one of my sheepies even touched the thing all during xmas. why now? over the past few weeks she has also destroyed 3 pairs of my flip flops, and chewed on the windowsills. I've tried the chewstop spray and that doesn't work, it never used to be this bad. is this the time for teething? my other sheepie was never like this. and these two have the same mother! I'm thinking of keeping her in a crate while I'm gone from now, but I kind of feel bad, but I can't afford to have more stuff destroyed! any other odeas? |
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| Have you considered crate training? There is tons of info on it throughout the forum. It is not only unpleasant to have your home destroyed, but dangerous for the dogs to be eating those kinds of things. I would suggest crating when you can't watch them. It may be teething, a little late maybe, but still might be. A puppy is a puppy though, and they tend to get into stuff. Maybe the dog is bored and needs more exercise? Or maybe is hungry? It could be any number of things, separation anxiety, stress, boredom, who knows....
Good luck  |
| I would definately recommend crate training. When we put Sasha in the crate I give her a chew toy and tell her good girl so she doesn't think it's a bad thing.Try not to feel bad, although it may be hard at the start, stick with it and you will find you and your sheepie are happier when there isn't a whole house to clean of chewed bits...
Good luck ~Twyla |
| Is she spayed, yet? Could be some hormonal stuff kicking in, as she may be due for her first heat. |
| she is spayed and I bought a crate this afternoon. so I'm gonna stick with that. But we can't do this her whole life, how do we know when our house is safe again and I don't have to keep her in her crate anymore? |
Quote: But we can't do this her whole life, how do we know when our house is safe again and I don't have to keep her in her crate anymore?
Why can't you use the crate as a permanent dog bed? We do and our dogs even go in their crates when they don't have to. Our dogs know their crate is their 'bed' and when they are in their 'beds' no one will bother them. |
| My parents' sheepie LOVES her crate. She'll go in there if she's scared--she takes her stolen treats to hide and eat in there--she'll go in there if she's not feeling well...And when we leave, she'll automatically go to 'her box' so she loves it. Of course she cried the first few days when we introduced her to the crate, but she got used to it and loves it.
It is a great way to keep both your pet and your house safe. And, if you've ever come home during the day unexpectedly, pretty much all sheepies do is sleep while we're gone, so whether it's in the crate or on the kitchen floor--it is the same activity. Also, my parents' sheepie is 8 and they finally trusted her to roam their house about a year ago! We're all sure that she would have been fine on her own (she's not a particularly sneaky or mischievous dog) but it was mostly habit from our part that she was confined. And, like I said earlier, she still goes to her box even if she doesn't have to. |
| Daphne sounds like my Max!! Max is 1 year old, and although he's gotten easier in some ways, there is no way I could leave him unattended in the house!! I still keep him on a leash when he is inside, he is only allowed in one area where his dog bed is. For a while I felt bad, but I realize that eventually they aren't puppies anymore. He has been crate trained from the beginning and the crate is where he goes when I can't watch him or if I'm gone. He also sleeps in it at night, it's part of his routine now. I do look forward to the day when he can just mill around on his own without trying to destroy everything in his path, but until then this is the way it is!! GOod luck,
Sharon |
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