No one enjoys arriving home from a long day of work or \a quick trip to the store to discover that the dog has demolished everything he could sink his teeth into. A destructive dog can cause irreparable damage to your home and belongings. He may also injure himself or cause a serious health crisis by ingesting something that is not safe for canine consumption.
Understanding Destructive Behavior
Its is normal for a dog, especially a puppy, to chew on pretty much everything he can get his mouth around. Your dog may behave in a destructive manner because he is playing, because he is bored, because he has too much energy or is simply curious about things and exploring. Some dogs behave destructively if they are afraid of something or if they experience separation anxiety. You will need to try to figure out what is causing your dog's destructive behavior before you can fully gain control over the problem.
Preventing Destructive Behavior
You can eliminate a significant amount of destructive behavior even if you are not sure why your dog is behaving in a destructive manner. Keeping your dog kenneled when you are not home will prevent unsupervised destruction of your belongings. Providing your dog with sturdy, hard-to-destroy toys and food dishes can help cut down on destruction within the kennel. Assess your dog's environment and take steps to remove from his living space any items he could destroy. For example, if your dog is tearing up the lawn furniture when he is out in the yard, move the lawn furniture into the garage until you can deal with the behavior appropriate manner.
Get Help Training Your Dog
Enroll your destructive dog in obedience school. Talk to the dog trainer about your dog's behavior and have him professionally assess your dog to determine why your dog is behaving destructively. Maybe your high-energy dog needs more exercise or doggy daycare to occupy his time during the day while you are at work. Follow your dog trainer's advice for correcting destructive behavior.
Make Success Easy
Adjust your dog's lifestyle to eliminate opportunities for destructive behavior. Enroll your dog in a daycare program where he will have activity and interaction during the day. Pay a dog walker to walk your dog several times during the day while you are at work. Remove items your dog can destroy from his environment, replacing with suitable toys. Use discretion. If you know your dog eats pillows, lock him out of your bedroom.
References
Writer Bio
Jen Davis has been writing since 2004. She has served as a newspaper reporter and her freelance articles have appeared in magazines such as "Horses Incorporated," "The Paisley Pony" and "Alabama Living." Davis earned her Bachelor of Arts in communication with a concentration in journalism from Berry College in Rome, Ga.