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The doghouse

Adolescent lab

4 replies

werideatdawn · 20/05/2019 21:30

Our Labrador is nearly one, she has been an absolute dream to be honest which has probably lulled us into a false sense of security!
We had the puppy chewing phase when we first got her and we lot a few shoes through that but we found buffalo horns and antlers really kept her happy and fulfilled that chewing need and she quickly stopped chewing anything else.
HOWEVER
in the last week she has started gnawing the wallpaper off if we go out! I am a stay at home parent so I'm with her a lot, I would say 80%+ of her life she has human company. If I need to leave her it's for about 1.5 hours. She is walked twice a day, has games of fetch on top of that which she loves. I try to give a variety of other "entertainment" she loves scent work, flirt pole, scavenging for food amongst boxes etc. In short, I genuinely feel like I do all I can to make sure she has a happy fulfilled life so I'm struggling to explain this destructive behaviour and feeling really dejected.

Is this a normal lab phase we need to ride out? Am I doing something wrong? I adore the dog, probably too much, and I really want to fix this!

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DaisyD0Little · 20/05/2019 23:03

Consider crate training her and then popping her in there when you go out. Maybe with chews or a kong. It'll ensure she won't destroy anything!

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Girlintheframe · 21/05/2019 03:34

Our lab was like this. Perfect until the age of one then became a bit of a hooligan. He used to be quite destructive when left alone.
Looking back I think it was a combination of him being a teenager and perhaps a bit of separation anxiety/bored.
I personally would use a camera to monitor how he is when alone. I would also use a crate and lots of kongs, lick mats etc.
Ours did grow out of it but it was an expensive time.

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adaline · 21/05/2019 06:54

Always take them for a good walk before leaving them for any length of time, and leave them in a room they can't destroy! Not you don't need to crate - we leave ours in the living room and just lock doors/use baby gates so he can't get to other parts of the house.

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werideatdawn · 21/05/2019 07:48

Thank you everyone! She was crated for the first few months but once she was house trained we let it slide because we trusted her a bit more. Maybe we did that too soon!
Its reassuring to know others have experienced the same.