Glad to hear that the sleeping arrangements are going well. As far as the reasons for destruction, there are three common reasons.
- Boredom
- Need to chew
- Separation Anxiety
To counteract the three potential reasons:- Boredom. Make sure Buddy is getting enough physical and mental exercise. A rough rule of thumb is 60 minutes of physical exercise per day, and 15 minutes of training (mental exercise) a day. These are minimum requirements. Some dogs need much more than this.
- Need to chew. Make sure that Buddy has enough safe chew toys. I recommend never leaving rawhides, bones or other chews alone with a dog to prevent choking. I do think that Kongs stuffed with food that agrees with Buddy's system are fine.
- Separation Anxiety. See the section below.
Don't worry about the "why" behind his destruction, just puppy-proof the area better and take away anything that he can't be alone with. I recommend taking all bedding out of the crate if there is destruction. Dogs can sleep on wood floors, in front of fireplaces, etc. so don't worry about him sleeping on the empty crate floor. It is important that Buddy does not get in the habit of destroying things. Combined with the above suggestions, he won't be bored and he will have appropriate items to chew on.
As far as Separation Anxiety, you should listen to my radio show on Feb. 7th. at Noon CST. It is about Separation Anxiety in Dogs - Identification and Treatment. If you miss the live show, you can listen to the taped version here.
Preventing Separation Anxiety
Dogs are social animals that like being around other dogs or people. They can become anxious if left alone for any length of time if they are not used to it. You need to get Buddy used to being alone. Dogs can, unfortunately, quickly get Separation Anxiety if they associate being left alone with a traumatic event. If they are terrified of thunder and there is a thunderstorm while they are alone, they might associate being alone with thunderstorms. They can also get Separation Anxiety if they are used to being with a member of the family constantly and then the person’s schedule changes or they go away to college.
Strategies for Prevention
- Practice teaching Buddy to be in another room by himself when you are home and out of the house. Buddy needs to learn to be alone. Put him in his crate or other dog-proof area and leave the room for short periods of time and only come back when he is quiet. Each time you come back give him a tasty treat. You are doing this to reward quiet, and also to assess his anxiety. If he is anxious he won't take the treat.
- Make sure to do these exercises when you are in the house at first so the crate or baby gate area doesn’t always relate to you leaving for long periods of time. DO NOT come back if he is barking, whining, scratching or jumping on the side of the crate or baby gate or that will teach him that those behaviors result in you coming back.
- Start slow and build up the time until he can be left alone regularly for a few hours while you are in the home.
- Practice these sessions for 15-20 minutes at a time. Do short departures and build up time slowly. For instance, leave for 5 seconds come back - treat, leave for 10 seconds come back - treat, 30 seconds, etc. Make sure you vary the departure times. For instance, if you leave for 60 seconds, the next time leave for only 10 seconds and then 20 seconds, and then 5 seconds.
- Don’t make a big deal about departures or greetings. Ignore Buddy right before you leave and right when you get home. You don’t want the departure or greeting to be the cue for Buddy to get stressed because he is going to be left alone for long periods of time.
- Give him Kongs or other safe chew toys to give him something to do when he is in the other room.
Don't forget you can listen to my show on February 7th at Noon CST and call in with questions.