Hello!
We adopted a puppy a little while ago. He was found in a bucket with his brother riddled with worms and malnourished around 6/7weeks old. Really sad.
We fell in love when we saw him, and although we weren't really planning on getting another dog (we have a 2.5yr old jack russell cross), we decided that he was just too adorable to not adopt! (We obviously spoke about it etc).
Our cross was an amazing puppy. Yes, he took a little while to toilet outside like lots of puppies. But apart from that he was easy. We could be happy when he was old enough to leave him to pop into town etc and he'd just sleep. We did crate train him although he's not in a crate now. But yes, he's a perfect dog in our eyes, in regards to behaviour! No chewing etc etc when he was a puppy nor now.
So fast forward; we've adopted Oliver, he's a lurcher but not sure 100%! We took him to a 8 week puppy course- as we knew he'd need a little bit extra. We even paid for him to see a dog behaviourist as from an early age he really showed separation anxiety.
He's now about 8 months old- and we just cannot leave him at home for ten minutes. And when we do we just have anxiety as we know we will come back to carnage.
We tried crate training but he absolutely hated it- the dog behaviourist said it might be because he was found in a bucket with a lid on... but unsure.
He's a big dog too. But the thing we are finding difficult the most is the destruction! He will get hold of anything and he will destroy it- we understand that perhaps this is due to him worrying?? As he doesn't chew anything he's not meant to when we are home.
My partner luckily works from home so he really is hardly ever left alone. We tried to do the whole; ten minutes alone, fifteen alone.... so forth. We didn't just leave him for an hour and wish for the best.
So far he's chewed the bottom of the stairs, the bottom of the door, ANYTHING from the sides of we have forgotten to move it. Remote controls, the sofa....
We have tried to leave meaty bones but surely we can't do that every time we leave?? It'll get v expensive? Unsure...?
We also walk him before we go out anywhere- but sometimes this is a pain if you just want to pop to Sainsbury's quickly!
Our jack cross is so easy, I know all dogs are different, I get that. And I wasn't so naive to think our lurcher would be the same! But we
Just don't know what to do? Any tips would be much appreciated.
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
Please help us with our rescue!!!
littlepeaegg · 16/05/2019 20:13
When I went to puppy training, one of the helpers who had labradors, mentioned that in her house, the "crate" took up most of the kitchen ie it was ginormous, like a entire room for the dog, except protected. Might that be a solution instead of your standard, small crate. She still put a table cloth over it I think, so it had a den like feeling. My 7 month old has gone off his crate, and I think now need a separate room as his crate, with low lighting, familiar soft furnishings (tatty ones). He seems perfectly calm when I put him in there, because he associates it with sleep not play. Might your dog feel a bit overwhelmed by all the space he has to himself when you are out?
My dog hates medium wire crates, I think some association with his early life as a puppy but he liked large soft cloth ones, the travel kind, although he has now learnt to undo the zip...
and certainly seems more settled in a familiar enclosed room sized space with low lighting. Too much light is too distracting for him to settle.
My DSis has a rescue labrador who has taken quite a while to cope with being left, but now she likes to be left the run of the house (small house) downstairs, and to be able to look out the window and wait for the return of her loved ones..That is a different approach. What worked for my sister was to include her in everything and not use a crate at all, ever or even shut doors much, and make comings and goings so random that the dog didn't have time to get tense or anticipate being left. That dog is now 6 though....needed a lot of tlc to be settled, there wasnt really any solution that to accept she needed to be left only for short periods. Once a week my sister uses doggy daycare where dog is never left.
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