My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

Dogs destroying house need help!

21 replies

gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 12:37

We have two young dogs both just over a year old.

Had them both since 8 weeks old. Spent over £4000 taking them both to training classes, they have a dog walker that comes everyday and takes them on a 2 hour walk between 13:00 and 15:00.

They have kings filled with treats, chew bones and have been crate trained.

Every thing was perfect for the first 6 months. They picked up toilet training quickly and learnt to go in the garden. They loved their crates and would choose to go in to sleep when we were home.

The last two months have been a different story.
It's like somebody switched the dogs for someone else's.

They chew and destroy everything in the house even when we are home. If we see them we make a loud noise to distract them as advised call them away then give them one of their own toys to play with. Chew door frames, toys, walls remote controllers, their beds literally anything they can get hold of.

They have started using the house as a toilet, their bed, our bed, DC bed, carpet, upstairs downstairs again anywhere they can get to.

Nothing has changed at home, routine is the same, people here are the same. We rotate which toys they have to try and keep them more interested, i am completely out of ideas. I've tried taking them both with me to work so they aren't alone at home if I go out, tried rewarding good behaving and 'ignoring' bad but distracting with loud noises, re enforced the crate as a nice safe place, never put them in as a punishment, only to give treats and praise etc before we go to bed. Nothing seems to be working if anything they are behaving worse and worse each day🤨 they are both male and have both been castrated. Have lived together for over a year, they play fight constantly again we try distraction techniques as recommended they then howl if separated even for a second, if DC closes back door mistake for example. They do not follow any instruction anymore, down, sit, leave, all of which have been heavily charged with treats etc regularly.

I really need some help with them it's exhausting constantly replacing repairing and cleaning things they destroy!

OP posts:
Report
MaitlandGirl · 13/10/2019 12:40

Unfortunately this is what’s known as the teenage phase, made 10 times worse by the fact you have two of the same age (I presume they’re brothers).

Hopefully someone else will have some good advice but in the meantime get a decent trainer in and start exercising and training the dogs separately.

Report
Hiredandsqueak · 13/10/2019 12:45

Yes adolescent dogs are a nightmare, ten times worse than a puppy and you have two. Keep reinforcing the training and know that it will calm down in time once the homones stop raging and the work you put in as puppies will show again.

Report
gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 12:52

At what age do they normally start to behave again? I've never known any dog behave as poorly as they do at the moment

OP posts:
Report
BiteyShark · 13/10/2019 12:58

The adolescent phase can last many months and starts at various ages depending on breed (typically bigger dogs mature later than smaller dogs and the bigger dogs I know of hit the teenage phase around the age of 1).

Definitely sounds like you have hit it and have two stubborn teens to deal with.

Report
gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 13:00

They are quite small, french bulldogs, but genuinely seem to be uncontrollably annoying at the moment

OP posts:
Report
adaline · 13/10/2019 13:37

A few questions:

  • I assume they're littermates - have you ever read up on littermate syndrome before?


  • Do they get a walk in the morning, or are they expected to wait all day until 1pm before they get to go out?


  • How long do you leave them home alone for?


  • Are they crate trained?


Ultimately you have two young dogs - that's never going to be easy. Littermates should be trained, walked and fed separately (not together as you are doing) as otherwise they focus too much on each other and not on their owners and don't respond to commands. They're going through their teenage phase anyway which isn't easy in a solo dog, but littermates are more than double the work of one.

French bulldogs are known for being stubborn and hard to train. How much research did you do before deciding it would be a good idea to get two?!
Report
gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 14:28

Apologies they are taken for a 45 minute walk before we take DC to school, then the dog walker comes and then we take them out again at 7pm. They have access to the garden 24/7 via the dog door and are no longer crated during the day only at night for bed time.

They are not from the same litter we got one of them in April and then rescued the second one in the May as a friend had brought him then unexpectedly split from partner and couldn't find somewhere to rent that would accept dogs. I go out in the morning for around 45 minutes to take dc to school then in and out throughout the day, food shopping etc, if I go to work for any longer than 90 mo items I take them with me

OP posts:
Report
gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 14:33

Also they are fed separately and went to training classes separately

OP posts:
Report
adaline · 13/10/2019 14:35

If they are crate trained then surely the solution is to go back to putting them in their crates?

They're very young to be trusted with the run of your house!

Report
gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 14:38

When they were smaller they were very happy to be crated, now, regardless of re enforcement they destroy anything inside of their crate and howl consistently to the point the neighbours knocked to complain. We have tried covering part of the crate, leaving radio/tv on, feeding inside of the crate with the door open, crates me t to each other, crates away from each other.

As I said in the OP it is literally like someone swapped my two dogs for two completely different ones

OP posts:
Report
DeniseRoyal · 13/10/2019 14:41

I have heard that Frenchies can be particularly naughty! My cousin has 2 rescue ones, and they are a right pair of buggers. They display all of the same behaviour as yours, and they are older! Sorry, I have no advice OP, just thoughts and prayers 🙏😉

Report
adaline · 13/10/2019 14:42

It sounds like they've hit the teenage years and aren't happy to be left alone all day anymore.

What about daycare? You could perhaps alternate between that and a walker each day?

My dog is 20 months and I wouldn't leave him unattended all day like that. He's fine for a few hours but more than that and he'd find his own entertainment which probably would involve him eating my sofa!

Report
gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 14:51

They aren't left at hone all day? In fact the complete opposite?

OP posts:
Report
adaline · 13/10/2019 15:06

It didn't read like that in your OP when you mentioned leaving them in crates and dog walkers coming in to take them out - apologies.

It sounds like you have two young dogs that are pushing boundaries and getting away with it. Frenchies are notoriously stubborn and hard to house train, as well as being extremely energetic as young dogs. Multiply that by two and it sounds like more than double trouble, especially two young males.

Can you get a behaviourist into your home to observe them and see if it helps?

Report
ThisIsNotAIBUPeople · 13/10/2019 15:57

As a first time dog owner of a rescue dog, I've had loads of good advice and support from the Facebook group Dog Training Advice and Support. They have lots of units with advice and you can ask for help with your specific issues too.

Report
timeforachange123 · 13/10/2019 16:51

If the dogs are being walked as often as you're saying ( which to me sounds ever such a lot for one year old frenchies, mine only had an hour a day maximum) I actually find it really surprising that they're pooing in the house. I did have a bit of a problem with a Frenchie pooing indoors once at around six months but found she wasn't being walked as often as the dog walker was stating.
I've had dogs all my life and found that frenchies were the most needy of human company. Mine wasn't the slightest bit interested in other dogs but almost needed me to be around most of the time

Report
gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 17:16

I take them personally twice a day and an hone more often than not at pick up and drop off time with the dog walker.

There's no pattern to when they do it, can be overnight, when we are home or when we out, as I said earlier aswell they also have a dog door they can access the garden through.

I'm literally at the end of my tether with them.

Other than over night when we are upstairs the longest any of us are out of the house for his 90minutes to 2hours maximum

OP posts:
Report
gigglesandshits · 13/10/2019 17:17

I take them personally twice a day and an hone more often than not at pick up and drop off time with the dog walker.

There's no pattern to when they do it, can be overnight, when we are home or when we out, as I said earlier aswell they also have a dog door they can access the garden through.

I'm literally at the end of my tether with them.

Other than over night when we are upstairs the longest any of us are out of the house for his 90minutes to 2hours maximum

They are walked a lot to try and tire them out and try to prevent the destruction of the house

OP posts:
Report
timeforachange123 · 13/10/2019 17:21

I'm sorry I've no advise then OP and really sympathise. The dogs are clearing getting enough exercise and company. I don't suppose there's anywhere in the house that's further away from neighbours where you could contain them in one room when you're out? Also, just a thought but you don't think they're fighting do you?

Report
Jouska · 13/10/2019 17:33

Loads of things you can do. The best would be to call in a positive trainer and let them see the situation in real life.

You can blame this on adolescence but it still needs training and the dogs still need to be shown the correct behaviour.

If they are having the opportunity to wreck the house then they are being unsupervised for too long a period. This may at the minute be only 5 mins.

You need to control and manage the behaviour so:-

Do not let them have the run of the house - then they can not destroy if or wee/poo all over it.
Keep them in one room and supervise a lot
You need to teach a calm and settle. If they are having all the exercise you say then they should be sleeping a large amount of the day (I would also look at the type and quality of the exercise)

Are they having kongs as meals or extras? If extras this could be adding to the poo problem.

Get a trainer in to help you - If you have spent £4000.00 already I would get a different trainer.


when are they chewing and destroying the house? what are the other house members doing at this time.

Report
missbattenburg · 13/10/2019 17:42

To me, at least part of this sounds like they are influencing each other.

I think if these were mine I would be...

  • Making sure both are healthy with a vet check
  • Making sure both are getting a high quality food (no additives etc)


Then...

  • Looking at ways to strengthen my individual relationship with each dog whilst weakening thier reliance and influence on each other. Realistically, this means daily walks with each dog in turn, training sessions with each one in turn, perhaps finding some fun activity (such as agility) for each one in turn. Lots of hard work.
  • That said, I might be tempted to give them less walks overall.
  • For the time being, I'd be tempted to split them up with the walker as well. Perhaps one go one day and you use those 2 hours for training/play with the other. Then flip it aorund the next day.
  • Go back to toilet basics. Every hour into the garden, praise of they go, clean up all indoor mess with enzyme cleaner, do all this seperately wth each dog (rather than together).
  • Stop free access to the garden until they are clean in the house again
  • When indoors and not interacting, keep both seperated - this bit to see if one messes in the house more than the other when both are not together, i.e. rule out the possibility one is messing and the other is just following suit


Try and remain calm, patient, consistent with rules as teenage dogs can be a bloody nightmare at the best of times, and most come through it and become sweet adults again.
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.