help!!! destructive staffie

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shellely

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can anyone give me any advice i have a 3 and a half year old staffie and over the past 6 months he has become very destructive when he is left alone this is getting worse and he is now hurting himself, he is digging holes in the walls and chewing up doors and skirting bords,when we arive home he is panting and very stresed, he is left with another dog who he has been with since a pup.
we have tried the ignore for 30 mins before going out and we ignore him when we come home even if he has been good and he is never told off (we found this did not work either)
we do not know what else to try has anyone got any tips or advice they can offer as not sure what else to try.
thanks shell
 
Has anything changed in the last six months? Is he left for longer periods than he used to be? Seems unusual for a 3 year old to suddenly turn destructive for no obvious reason.
 
the only thing that has been diffrant for him is that we took him camping with us in the summer it started about 3 weeks after that just started with him chewing the bottom of the door.
 
Did anything happen to him whilst you were camping that might have upset him? How was he kept then - in the tent with you or elsewhere? It would obviously help to find out was has suddenly triggered the problem.

There is some good advice on this link about dealing with destructive behaviour:

http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ccp51/cc/dog-behaviour/chewing.shtml

If you do decide to use a crate or playpen with him then you need to introduce it gradually and make it a nice place for him to be. Don't only put him in there when you are about to go out as then he will associate the crate with the stress of you leaving. Instead, put him in there for a couple of minutes at a time and give him a tasty treat for doing so.
 
no nothing happened to him he was fine he was in the tent with us, we have tried the cage but he bent the bars and got out he loves it when we are home he sleeps in it but distroys it when we are out and just hurts himself. we have got to take him to the vet today as he has chiped a tooth and got all blisters on his paws from distroying the wall and door yesterday.
 
Blimey - he does sound very distressed. Have you thought of contacting a dog behaviour expert to try and get to the bottom of his problems? Perhaps your vet could suggest someone when you take him in?
 
yes we spoke to a behaviour expert thay said that it was seperation anxity and to ignore him befor we left the house and when we came home and it was working we had 3 weeks with no chewing but he started again on friday and we have not changed anything or been treating him any diffrant
 
Have you tried a DAP diffuser at all? This sort of thing:

http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/erol.ht...K%257CcountryGB

Never used one myself, but have heard several people have success with them.

Don't really know what else to suggest - you can try spraying doors and skirtings with bitter spray to stop the chewing, but you are not really getting to the bottom of the insecurity problem.

Only consolation I can offer is that we used to have a destructive dog and he did grow out of it in time.
 
Dogs can develop separation anxiety at any age. My friend's dachshund was three and developed it, precipitated by my friend changing her work hours and being home at different times of the day. It got so bad that she had to put him on the equivalent of dog valium for a while, after he repeatedly bashed himself against the crate and cut his head open.

How much exercise are you giving him? Have you done any training with him? If you're gone a long time, is there a friend/professional walker you could get in to take him for a good walk part way through the day?

(Crates can work for this condition, but I would make sure your dog is exhausted before putting him in it.)
 
I would try spraying liquid cribox on what you dont want him to distroy, leaving him with his own selection of toys.

I know it stinks and indoors its worse, however I would prefer a nasty smell for a few days than to replace furniture and a kitchen.
 
I would stick to the cage, this is the only solution to keeping him safe whilst he is unsupervised, my friend rescues dogs and she keeps them in cages when she leaves the house to prevent fight or destructive behaviour, THE STAFFI types always initially bend the bars around the door to escape, however she clips the door shut with the metal clips from the end of old dog leads to prevent the bars from being bent when the dog tries to chew.
These dogs have stronger jaws and so can cause more damage to the most vunerable part of the cage........ However after about a week they soon learn to stop when they are gettin nowhere!!!!!!!
As the previous post suggests u need to use the cage positivley, give him, long lasting treats and kongs filled with food and aleays give him his meals in the cage.
Also place a sheet over the cage to stop him seeing out.
Also even though it sounds harsh you need to keep the attention u give him to a minimum..... AND WHEN U COME HOME LET HIM STRAIGHT OUT INTO THE GARDEN WITHOUT GREETING HIM......like its no big deal u r home.
Also leave the radio on loud when u go out so he cant hear to leaving or coming home. IT TAKES A LITTLE TIME AND PATIENCE TO CAGE TRAIN, BUT ITS WORTH IT IN THE LONG RUN.
 
What a naughty staffie!! I have 3 staffs but none have shown tendencies like yours! Although i can't keep my male staff in anywhere! Can you not take him with you where ever it is you go? My male comes everywhere with me and spends hours in the car but is as good as gold as he knows i'll be back! Have you had him from a pup? How long is he left?
 
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Wouldn't it be better to find out why it is like this though?

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It is a form of seperation anxiety, the dog probably enjoys a lot of love and attention whilst the owner is home and therefor rebels to being left without his usual attention!!!!!
When the owner is at home she needs to pay less attention and make coming back home NO BIG DEAL as the dogs is missing this when the owner leaves him, These dogs are very loving attention seeking dogs in most cases and so everything needs to calm and less excitable.
As he matures the problem should subside but to stop him destroying the house and harming himself (CHEWING THROUGH ELECTRIC WIRES) the cage is the quickest solution whilst his training commences.
 
Also if you are going to leave the radio on, make sure you have it on when you are in the house and not just when you go out as this can trigger the stress if he knows that when the radio goes on it means you are going out, same as giving bones and treats, give them at different intervals so they dont associate it with being left.
 
been to the vets with him and he has given him some tablets like what humans have to treat o.c.d he thinks that these should help to calm him so he stops hurting himself.
we are going to try the cage again but we are going to renforce it with more clips as we dont want him to try and get out and hurt himself more.
when we leave him it can be all day or just 20min yesterday i left him for a hour and he trashed the house but the day before we left him all day and he did nothing so the time he is left makes no diffrance.
 
how on earth could he bend the bars on a crate? they go in both directions in a square pattern......he wouldve had to have broken them to get out
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how on earth could he bend the bars on a crate? they go in both directions in a square pattern......he wouldve had to have broken them to get out
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Not all of them. JR's cage at the farm just has bars.
 
GOOD LUCK!! He will probably YACKLE on like a typical staffi, at first but will eventually subside, might be best to introduce him back to the cage in the day time when neighbours r out LOL.....
 
just a update we have now managed to get baily to use the cage he loves it he has all his bones,toys in there and he even goes in it when we are homeand we have taken him off all his tablets now,it is great 3 weeks and no chewed doors or walls heven!
thanks for all your tips and advice it all helped and to anyone with the same problem there is always light at the end of the tunnel!
 
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