Administrator

Posts: 435
From:Sydney
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 11-29-2003 04:12 AM         

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Dogs - Chewing and Destruction

A dog that is prone to chewing and destruction can cause their
owner considerable distress and many dogs will at some time be liable to
inappropriate chewing. This behavior can be due to a number of reasons,
including:

Separation anxiety

He becomes anxious when separated from you or someone within your
household.

Insecurity

He begins to get anxious and stressed when he knows that he is in the
house alone.

Fear (Sounds etc. inside the house)

Occurs when there is something that is happening inside your house that
your dog is frightened of when you go out and leave it.

Fear (Sounds etc. outside the house)

Occurs when your dog is suffering from a fear of events that are happening
(or are perceived as happening) outside the house.

Attention seeking destruction

Occurs when the owner goes out of the dog’s sight and the dog gets
annoyed at being left alone and proceeds to destroy the house.

Boredom

Sometimes if a dog is left alone and has nothing in particular to occupy
his mind, he chews on a favourite surface in order to alleviate the boredom.

Separation Anxiety

If your dog is highly stressed when left by itself and cannot
cope in your absence, the particular problem that your dog has is known
asseparation anxiety. This means that he becomes anxious when separated

from his attachment figure, which is either you or someone within your
household. Dogs that suffer from separation anxiety usually carry out a behavior
known as a displacement activity to relieve the stress that they are under when
alone and unable to reach their attachment figure. This displacement activity
often manifests itself as chewing and can sometimes be accompanied by urination,
defecation, barking and howling.
The type of dog most likely to suffer from separation anxiety is one that is
lacking in confidence, perhaps slightly nervous, over attached to one person and
one that sleeps in the bedroom at night. Dogs in rescue centres that have
already had the experience of losing one owner, are often the most likely
candidates for separation anxiety to occur.

What You Should Not Do

If you think that your dog is suffering from separation anxiety
then you should not:

1. Put it in an indoor kennel or crate when you go out and leave it. This
   will have the effect of preventing the dog from chewing your possessions
   but, due to the increase in anxiety levels that this will cause, your dog
   may well begin to chew itself (self mutilation).
   
2. Give a meal before leaving it alone. This will almost always cause a
   gastric upset and force the dog to relieve itself in your absence. There is
   also some evidence to suggest that the dog would be more likely to suffer
   from gastric torsion brought on by the stress of separation.
   
3. Punish it for being destructive when you return home. If your dog is under
   stress when it is left by itself and then even more stressed and worried by
   the prospect of you returning home, the anxiety levels will tend to
   increase, making the job of curing the problem more difficult.
   
4. Obtain another dog as company for your dog. The problem is caused by the
   dog being stressed when you or someone in your family is absent.

The Cure for Separation Anxiety

Ignore your dog as much as possible during the first three
stages of this program. For example, if he puts his head in your lap or pushes
against you to get you to stroke him, turn your back on him, or if necessary,
get up and move to a different spot. This allows your dog to develop his own
space and become a bit less dependent on you. It also helps if you can get other
people involved in your dog's life by having friends and relatives feed,
exercise and play with him as much as possible. You can still give him as much
attention as you do now but make sure that it is on your invitation. It is very
hard for most pet owners to do this, but the object of it all is to reserve all
of your praise and petting for the behavior that you want from your dog later
on in the programe.

Stage One - for around one week or so

Plan two 'blocks' of twenty minutes of 100% attention and then
immediately contrast that with twenty minutes of absolutely no attention. This
means no speaking to, looking at or touching your dog. If he whines during this
period of no attention then get up and walk away and sit somewhere else or go
into another room.

Stage Two - for the second week

Continue to carry out the ignoring procedure but after the 20
minute block of attention, separate him from you physically by either fastening
him on a lead or using a baby gate in an open doorway of the room you are in.
This is for a period of twenty minutes, after which you should free him without
making a big fuss. Just treat him as if nothing has happened. When he accepts
this (four days approx.) then slowly increase the distance that he is away from
you whilst still able to see you either in the same or an adjoining room.

Stage Three - for the third week

Continue with the blocks of attention but now separate him from
you visually by putting him in a room by himself and sitting just outside the
door. Just before putting him into the room place a cheese or liver pate stuffed
marrowbone into the room with him. If you hear any scratching at the door or
excessive whining tap the door with your hand without saying a word. REPEAT THE
TIMING OF FIVE MINUTES. After a period of five minutes of good behaviour, go
into the room and ignore him for the first minute or so before greeting him and
allowing him back into the room with you. Remove the marrowbone. Repeat for four
days. Now increase the time that your dog is left by himself by five minutes
every day until you reach a time of thirty minutes. When you get to this stage
you need only do this once each day. The same rules apply as for when you were
leaving him for five minutes.
Continue using the marrowbone stuffed with cheese ONLY when you leave him by
himself. Continue with ignoring attention seeking behaviors and ensure that he
still gets plenty of attention but always when YOU have invited this.

Stage Four - for the fourth week.

Twenty minutes before going out and leaving your dog on his own,
give him about five minutes of attention. Scatter some food on the lawn for him
to find and eat but keep him guessing as to how much is there, some days just a
little and some days it can be as much as one quarter of his daily food
allowance. Leave him for fifteen minutes to work for this food.
Before leaving, place a recently worn item of clothing on the other side of the
door to the room you have just left, closing it behind you. You may also need to
record the sound of your voices using normal conversations onto a tape and
switch the tape on just before you leave. When you go out, place a cheese or
liver stuffed marrowbone on the floor for him to occupy his mind. Pick up the
bone as soon as you return home and only use it when he is to be left on his own
and at no other time. Also you will need to rehearse your going out routine
without actually leaving the house, so that he becomes desensitised to your
movements. Do this as many times each day as you can.
Whilst you are going through this program, when you want to leave him by
himself, try and get him tired by playing some energetic games.

Insecurity

It is usually dogs that lack confidence and are a little too
over dependent on one particular person that tend to have this problem. We
sometimes refer to this as the alone at home syndrome. With this problem the
dog is usually all right when he knows that there is someone in the house but
begins to get anxious and stressed when he knows that he is in the house
alone. This problem is very common in dogs that have been in the house when
there has been an attempted break in.

What You Should Not Do

If you think that your dog is suffering from insecurity then
you should not:

1. Put it in an indoor kennel or crate when you go out and
   leave it. This will have the effect of preventing the dog from chewing
   your possessions but, due to the increase in anxiety levels that this will
   cause, your dog may well begin to chew itself (self mutilation).
   
2. Give a meal before leaving it alone. This will almost
   always cause a gastric upset and force the dog to relieve itself in your
   absence. There is also some evidence to suggest that the dog would be more
   likely to suffer from gastric torsion brought on by the stress of
   separation.
   
3. Punish it for being destructive, when you return home. If
   your dog is under stress when it is left by itself and then even more
   stressed and worried by the prospect of you returning home, the anxiety
   levels will tend to increase, leading to the more serious problem of
   separation anxiety.
   
4. Obtain another dog as company for your dog. The
   problem is caused by the dog being stressed when you or someone in your
   family is absent.

The Cure for Insecurity

Ignore your dog as much as possible during the first three
stages of this programme. For example, if he puts his head in your lap or
pushes against you to get you to stroke him, turn your back on him, or if
necessary, get up and move to a different spot. This allows your dog to
develop his own space and become a bit less dependent on you. It also helps if
you can get other people involved in your dog's life by having friends and
relatives feed, exercise and play with him as much as possible. You can still
give him as much attention as you do now, but make sure that it is on your
invitation.

Stage One - for around one week

Plan two 'blocks' of twenty minutes of 100% attention and then
immediately contrast that with twenty minutes of absolutely no attention with
him separated from you physically, by either fastening him on a lead or using
a baby gate in an open doorway of the room you are in. This is for a period of
twenty minutes, after which you should free him without making a big fuss.
Just treat him as if nothing has happened.

When he accepts this (four days approx.), then slowly increase the distance
that he is away from you, whilst still able to see you either in the same or
an adjoining room.

Stage Two - for the second week

Continue with the blocks of attention, but now separate him
from you visually by putting him in a room by himself for a few minutes at a
time and sitting just outside the door.

Just before putting him into the room, place a cheese or liver pate stuffed
marrowbone into the room with him. If you hear any scratching at the door or
excessive whining, tap the door with your hand without saying a word. REPEAT
THE TIMING OF FIVE MINUTES. After a period of five minutes of good behaviour,
go into the room and ignore him for the first minute or so before greeting him
and allowing him back into the room with you. Remove the marrowbone. Repeat
several times each day for four days.

Stage Three - for the third week

Now increase the time that your dog is left by himself by five
minutes every day until you reach a time of thirty minutes. When you get to
this stage, you need only do this once each day. The same rules apply as for
when you were leaving him for five minutes. Continue using the marrowbone
stuffed with cheese ONLY when you leave him by himself.

Continue with ignoring attention seeking behaviors and ensure that he still
gets plenty of attention, but always when YOU have invited this. Twenty
minutes before going out and leaving your dog on his own, give him about five
minutes of attention. Scatter some food on the lawn for him to find and eat,
but keep him guessing as to how much is there, some days just a little and
some days it can be as much as one quarter of his daily food allowance. Leave
him for fifteen minutes to work for this food.

Before leaving, place a recently worn item of clothing in or near to any area
where he likes to lie. It also helps to place a second item on the other side
of the door to the room you have just left, closing it behind you. You may
also need to record the sound of your voices using normal conversations onto a
tape and switch the tape on just before you leave. When you go out, place a
cheese or liver stuffed marrowbone on the floor for him to occupy his mind.
Pick up the bone as soon as you return home and only use it when he is to be
left on his own and at no other time.

Also, you will need to rehearse your going out routine without actually
leaving the house so that he becomes desensitised to your movements. Do this
as many times each day as you can.

Whilst you are going through this programe, when you want to leave him by
himself, try and get him tired by playing some energetic games. Sometimes
leaving the dog in your bedroom will help to increase his feeling of security
and decrease the chances of him being destructive when left.

Fear (Sounds Inside the House)

This occurs when there is something that is happening inside
your house that your dog is frightened of when you go out and leave it.
Typical sound fears are gas central heating boilers switching on,
thunderstorms (where the dog perceives the sound as coming from either
upstairs or in the roof space), or even smoke detector low battery warning
bleeps!

This problem is very common amongst dogs that are sound sensitive, even though
they may not be of a generally nervous disposition. The main symptom is that,
when the owner returns home, although the dog is happy to greet the owner, it
rushes out of the house and is reluctant to follow the owner back inside.

What You Should Not Do

1. Punishment applied in an attempt to control a fear based
   problem almost always makes the problem worse.
   
2. Confine it to one room of the house as this tends to
   remove any control that the dog has over his exposure to fears.

Desensitising Programme

Week 1

Try and isolate what is causing your dog to be frightened.
Sometimes, leaving a tape recorder on and recording when you go out will help
you in this respect. Listen to the tape if you return home and there has been
some destruction and try to identify the trigger for the behavior that caused
it to happen. Make a tape recording of any noises that seem to upset your dog
and then play this sound effects tape as often as possible each day, setting
the volume at an acceptable level for your dog. It is important that the level
is set so that he notices the sound but is not disturbed by it. Do not change
the sound level for one week.

Remove all toys that your dog has access to by himself and keep them in a
drawer or cupboard. Have several 'play' sessions with the toys each day but
put them away afterwards.

Reduce all attention and affection that he gets whilst in the house (try not
to speak to, look at or touch him), reserve your attention and affection for
when you take him out for a walk. Feed him twice each day for the first week
but allow him only ten minutes to eat his food. Remove all food that remains
after that time and allow no more food until the next meal is due.

Week 2

Each day on a daily basis, increase the volume of the tape.
When you do this, you must link the sound on the tape to exciting events such
as feeding, playing with your dog or to the arrival of someone he knows.
Switch on the tape before the enjoyable event and let it run all the time the
event is taking place. Switch off when the exciting event is over.

By the end of the second week he should begin to show signs of excitement when
you play the tape, even at a high volume, as he should anticipate something
exciting about to happen.

Week 3

You will then need to teach him to be in a room by himself
with the tape playing in the background at first and then with an increasing
volume until the desensitisation is complete. Leaving him with a cheese or
liver pate stuffed marrowbone only when he is in this environment and the tape
is playing, will help him to lose any fear he may have had.

Notes:

1. If he shows signs of being stressed when hearing any noise
   outside of your control whilst going through this programme, simply ignore
   his behavior.
   
2. Try and mentally detach yourselves from the apparent stress
   that your dog goes through when he is frightened by something. If you
   adopt a couldn't care less attitude, then he is more likely to recover
   quicker.

Fear (Sounds Outside the House)

This occurs when your dog is suffering from a fear of events
that are happening (or are perceived as happening) outside the house. When you
go out and the dog hears (or sometimes sees or smells) something that it is
frightened of, destruction often results as the dog builds itself a 'Security
blanket' to retreat into.

This problem is very common amongst dogs that are sound sensitive, even though
they may not be of a generally nervous disposition. The main symptom is that,
when the owner returns home, the area in the centre of the destruction is
still warm where the dog has been lying.

What You Should Not Do:

1. Punishment applied in an attempt to control a fear based
   problem almost always makes the problem worse.
   
2. Give it free run of the house as this increases the
   feeling of being alone and vulnerable.

Desensitising Programme

Week 1

Try and isolate what is causing your dog to be frightened.
Sometimes leaving a tape recorder on and recording when you go out will help
you in this respect. Listen to the tape if you return home and there has been
some destruction and try to identify the trigger for the behavior that caused
it to happen. Make a tape recording of any noises that seem to upset your dog
and then play this sound effects tape as often as possible each day, setting
the volume at an acceptable level for your dog. It is important that the level
is set so that he notices the sound but is not disturbed by it. Do not change
the sound level for one week. Remove all toys that your dog has access to by
himself and keep them in a drawer or cupboard. Have several 'play' sessions
with the toys each day but put them away afterwards.

Reduce all attention and affection that he gets whilst in the house (try not
to speak to, look at or touch him). Reserve your attention and affection for
when you take him out for a walk. Feed him twice each day for the first week
but allow him only ten minutes to eat his food. Remove all food that remains
after that time and allow no more food until the next meal is due.

Week 2

Each day on a daily basis, increase the volume of the tape.
When you do this, you must link the sound on the tape to exciting events such
as feeding, playing with your dog or to the arrival of someone he knows.
Switch on the tape before the enjoyable event and let it run all the time the
event is taking place. Switch off when the exciting event is over. By the end
of the second week he should begin to show signs of excitement when you play
the tape, even at a high volume, as he should anticipate something exciting
about to happen.

Week 3

You will then need to teach him to be in a room by himself
with the tape playing in the background at first and then with an increasing
volume until the desensitisation is complete. Make him a secure area or den
that he can retreat into if he wants to. This can be an open indoor kennel
with a blanket covering it, an open cupboard under the stairs or simply a
chair covered with a blanket. Leaving him with a cheese or liver pate stuffed
marrowbone only when he is in this area and the tape is playing will help him
to lose any fear he may have had.

Notes:

1. If he shows signs of being stressed when hearing any noise
   outside of your control whilst going through this programme, simply ignore
   his behavior.
   
2. Try and mentally detach yourselves from the apparent stress
   that your dog goes through when he is frightened by something. If you
   adopt a couldn't care less attitude, then he is more likely to recover
   quicker.

 

Attention seeking destruction

The most common form of destruction behavior when left alone,
is that of attention seeking destruction. This occurs when the owner goes out
of the dog's sight and the dog gets annoyed at being left and proceeds to
destroy the house. This destructive behavior is reinforced (rewarded) by the
owner on their return, as they usually take the dog and show it what has
brought them back into the house - the destruction. The type of dog most
likely to suffer from attention seeking destruction is one that is very
confident, manipulative, pushy and possibly dominant. One of the main symptoms
is in the type of things that the dog destroys (mass destruction) and the fact
that, on the owners return, the dog could not care less about being punished.

What You Should Not Do:

1. Take him and show him the destruction that he thinks has
   brought you back home.
   
2. Give him lots of fuss and attention 'on demand' when you
   are in the house with him.
   
3. leave him lots of toys to play with in your absence.
   He knows that playing with his toys never gets him any attention, although
   chewing them when the owner is present sometimes does. d) Clear up the
   destruction in front of him as this only serves to reinforce (reward) the
   destructive behavior.

The Cure for Attention Seeking Destruction

Stage One - for one week

Plan two 'blocks' of twenty minutes of 100% attention and then
immediately contrast that with thirty minutes of absolutely no attention. This
means no speaking to, looking at or touching your dog. If he whines during
this period of no attention, then get up and walk out of the room, leaving him
on his own for anything from ten to thirty seconds.

Your dog should now be fed each day AFTER the family have eaten. This is done
in the following way: Prepare his food around the same time as you are
preparing a family meal. Place your dog's food on a work surface out of his
reach and then have your own meal with your dog in attendance. Ignore any
disruptive behavior, fastening him on the lead if he becomes a nuisance. When
the family have finished eating and cleared the table your dog can then be
given his food. Pick up the bowl and any remaining food after 15 minutes and
do not add any other food to his normal daily diet.

Stage Two - for the second week

Maintain the twenty minutes of good attention, but now put him
into another room by himself for five minutes. Just before putting him into
the room, place a cheese or liver pate stuffed marrowbone into the room with
him.

If you hear any scratching at the door or excessive whining, strike the door
hard with your hand without saying a word. REPEAT THE TIMING OF FIVE MINUTES.
After a period of five minutes of good behavior, go into the room and ignore
him for the first minute or so before greeting him and allowing him back into
the room with you. Repeat as many times as possible each day and then slowly
increase the time up to thirty minutes. After a period of thirty minutes, go
into the room and ignore him for the first minute or so before greeting him
and allowing him back into the room with you. Remove the marrowbone after
drawing his attention to the fact that he has chewed it! Remove all toys from
where your dog has access to them by himself. Play as often as you want and
allow him access to the toys as often as you want, but play only for as long
as you want to and call a 'time out' if he gets over excited. You MUST play at
least once each day.

About half an hour before going out and leaving him on his own, scatter around
half of his daily food allowance on your lawn or other area and allow him to
find and eat it out there. Having to work for a short period of time and
eating a meal will reduce the likelihood of your dog being destructive when
left, as he will be feeling full and tired. Also, ignore him for at least half
an hour before you go out. This is to reduce the contrast between you being
there and not being there. Before leaving, place a recently worn item of
clothing on the other side of the door to the room you have just left, closing
it behind you. When you go out, place a cheese or liver stuffed marrowbone on
the floor for him to occupy his mind. Pick up the bone as soon as you return
home using the words "whose done this" before putting it back into
the refrigerator. The marrowbone is only to be left out when you go out and at
no other time.

You will also need to rehearse your going out routine without actually leaving
the house, so that he becomes desensitized to your movements. Do this as many
times each day as you can.

Confining an attention seeking chewer to an indoor kennel, providing he has
something to chew and providing it is not for more than a couple of hours at a
time would also resolve the problem of chewing, although he may then start
barking for attention. If leaving the dog for an extended period of time, the
services of a friend or neighbor to walk the dog should be sought. Taste
deterrent, available from your vet should also discourage your dog from
chewing inappropriate items.

 

Boredom Chewing

Your dog may be suffering from boredom if sometimes when he is
left and has nothing in particular to occupy his mind, he chews on a favorite
surface in order to alleviate the boredom. It tends to be dogs that are very
confident and outgoing and is often seen in most of the working breeds, where
there is little stimulation in their lives.

What You Should Not Do:

1. Take him and show him the destruction that he thinks has
   brought you back home as this tends to lead to the classic "he knows
   that he has done wrong" avoidance behaviors.
   
2. Confine him for long periods without first giving him some
   strenuous physical and mental exercise.
   
3. Allow him access to any surface that may prove
   dangerous when chewed: electrical cables and wood seem to be the most
   common targets for boredom chewing.

The Cure for Boredom Chewing

Giving your dog much more physical and mental stimulation
prior to leaving him will quickly reduce the possibility of him being
destructive when left on his own. This can easily be achieved by playing lots
of hide and seek games in the garden and around the house, hiding toys and
food treats. If you are short on time then you could use all of your dogs
daily food allowance scattered on the lawn or other enclosed area and allow
him to work to find and eat it all. This is a natural way of feeding and uses
up reserves of both

physical and mental energy.

Leaving a cheese stuffed marrowbone, or better still hiding it for him to
find, often helps. Confining a boredom chewer to an indoor kennel, providing
he has something to chew and providing it is not for more than a couple of
hours at a time would also resolve the problem. If leaving the dog for an
extended period of time, the services of a friend or neighbour to walk the dog
should be sought. Taste deterrent, available from your vet should also
discourage your dog from chewing inappropriate items. This is the only
category of destructive behaviour where the addition of another dog into the
household should be considered.

[This message has been edited by Auspetian (edited 11-29-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Auspetian (edited 11-29-2003).]

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