dog chewing stuff

[happy_face]

my 6 year old staffie who has never been a problem with leaving home alone has all of a sudden taken to chewing stuff. Mr happy has been out of work for 8 months and the dog seems to have gotten used to it because if Mr Happy goes out in the afternoon for a couple of hours he can come home to a slipper etc chewed up. We exercise him a lot and always play with him so he should be worn out but is obviously bored. This has never been an issue before and we want to stop it before it gets too serious. I have to catch him in the act to tell him off and I can't do that as we're not at home. Has anyone got any advice. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks

[kate1976]

Hi
I think your dog may be starting to suffer from seperation anxiety which hopefully you can nip in the bud!

My dog suffers with it but is starting to settle down after using a DAP diffuser I get mine from ebay! You could also maybe buy it a Kong toy and stuff it with his favourite treats so he can chew on that whilst you're out!

I had to move everything I didn't want to risk getting chewed out of the room the dog was in but I realise that sometimes that isn't always possible!

I recommend looking through search engines for sepration anxiety tips and also if you can afford it maybe get a behaviourist or vet to advise but that isn't cheap!

It will take a while as I've had my dog for 6 months and I still have a long way to go but it gets better although you do have the odd off day!!

I wish you lots of luck with it.

[kate1976]

Hi again

You could also look on this site http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ccp51/cc/dog-behaviour/c hewing.shtml that gives a few tips on chewing and other unwanted behaviour!

Good luck with it!

[drgnrdr]

Sep. anxiety may be the issue, they get destructive when they have their "panic" attack. Check out: http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/sep-anxiety.pdf to see if this can be helpful, if there is a long vacation period this can cause the Sep.Anx. Out of work would qualify.

Good luck..

[happy_face]

Thank you so much for your help. have had a look at both links and has been able to nod in agreement with a lot of the statements about separation anxiety and I thought the second link about the change in work situation was very enlightening.
I now know what to do and I will definitely also be buying a Kong toy.

Excellent advice from both you who have now helped me understand my poor pooch and we can do something about it ;-)

[Snappy]

http://www.doggydayscreche.co.uk