labrador 14 months destroying everything at night

[ernesttheBavarian]

Our dog is now 12 months. been with us 11 months. Since we got her she has always slept alone in the sitting room, locked in.

She chews EVERYTHING that she can. We no longer have cushions. She no longer has a bed. Countless headphones/chargers/items of clothing/books.

We obviously cleared the room but annoying kids and blind dh being what they are, stuff occasionally gets over looked. We used to have books on a shelf under our coffee table which she learnt eventually to dig out and eat.

We get really careful to clear of an evening before we go to bed. The more careful we are, the more she seems to search out previously unexplored ares that used to be safe. So now she's climbing to get stuff off high surfaces.

It was suggested we let her sleep in our or a dc room as she's doing it due to stress/boredom, but dh is absolutely and totally against it and thinks she'll just chew up the stuff in their rooms too.

So, short of having a completely empty room, how do we deal with this?

Crate training?

I would have her in the bedroom, not on the bed. My dog has slept on the floor every night his whole life - the chewing strikes me as stress, anxiety and boredom - if she was with you she'd likely learn to go to sleep quickly.

Crate at night? Our lab had a crate in the kitchen with playpen attached to save the house :) she still got the skirting boards :) She's 5 now and so much better but does still have the odd mad chewing episode!

Have you ever used a cage overnight? This is what we do with our boy, he is perfectly happy in there. I see the destruction he can cause during the day, so left unattended would be frightening.

I'm sure your OP is wrong - you seem to be suggesting that you separated your pup from its mother / litter mates at 4/5 weeks old, shut her alone in a room at night, and wonder why she has not adjusted well? That's not the case is it?

Aside from that the other posters are right - crate training along with a good, indestructible filled kong will work wonders :)

A crate not too stressful? Not too late to introduce?
I would happily have her in my room but dh 100% against. Absolutely vehemently against. So crate downstairs? What sort of size crate would I be looking at? She's about 25 kilos?

Thanks for the responses.

Luckily, she's soooooo cute. Apart from the amount of black fur she sheds all over my pale cream floors. (which we got a long time before she was even a twinkle in our eyes)

We crated our first lab at night until he was 2! Didn't need to with lab number two because she was much less trouble.

Largish crate, and chew toys in it.

na, crap maths and in a hurry. Got her from a rescue kennel. She was 12/13 weeks old. But no idea when poor little thing was separated from her mum and they couldn't tell me either. She is Hungarian but got her from rescue kennel in Munich.

Dh seems open to crate idea. So how do I train her so she's happy to spend the night in it? How do I know which size to buy and where do I put it for the best?

She was all alone in the kennels btw. I know not to separate a pup from its mum. she was a baby all alone :( We went to get an older dog from the kennels as I didn't want the hassle of a pup but we fell in love with her.

Put the crate out I. The lounge, with her bedding in it (so it smells right), and put toys in there. When she goes in, give her a treat and a bit of praise. At bedtime, put a slightly bigger treat in - we gave our lab puppy a mini bonio to start with, then a proper one when she was old enough.

OK. Have ordered one. Honestly, the cost of the crate will be saved within the fortnight I reckon. Thanks so much for the idea. I hope she's happy in it.

Is she chewing like this during the day? If not I strongly suspect the chewing is down to separation anxiety and her not coping with being locked away from the family.

I used a crate for my youngest and am not against them at all, but if her issues are down to separation then sticking her in a crate in there won't help her. It will contain her but not make her less distressed. If you go down that route you really need to crate train her slowly and put lots of treats and toys in there (stuffed Kong) to build a good association and make it a den.

Has anyone ever tried sleeping in the living room with her? You would soon see whether the chewing is separation related.

She does also chew stuff during the day, e.g. our door mat. She never barks or 'cries' in the night. It might be separation. Or boredom. Or a mixture. Maybe dh would be amenable to a crate in dc room? Doubt it though.

I have slept a couple of times in the living room with her. Can't say I noticed tbh. Obviously I think she would love to be with us, and I would love to be with her. But dh totally against and I have to also respect his wishes. I've wanted a dog for years. He was always against but recently warmed to them and loves her loads too but absolutely draws the line at her in bedroom. We have a cat too who hates the dog, so we saw it as a good solution that dog locked in living room, as cat can come in of an evening unmolested and go upstairs where dog is banned.

It's fine to have a downstairs dog but if it is separation related then you can start with a crate in a bedroom and then gradually move it further away. e.g. out onto landing, bottom of stairs, into living room. I do understand him not wanting her in the bedroom but surely he'd rather do this in the short term than have long term decimation of the living room!

Does she get enough exercise and mental stimulation during the day as well?

One thing he's concerned about is if we allow her in a bedroom there will be no going back. So our dc would love her in with them. But what about when they are not there is sleep in till noon?

I really want a happy husband and a happy dog. What is the best way to achieve this?

Most days she has 4 doting kids who play with her a lot. I take her out 3 or 4 times. I work 3 days a week. On my long day she goes to a dog minder and spend the day frolicking with several other dogs. On the other 2 days she is alone till lunch time. But that's is only twice a week. And due to the summer holidays she hasn't been alone now for 6 weeks.

So in summary she only has 2 mornings alone and has lots of walks, play, attention dun and love. Also ' down time' too of coursw. Right now she's snoring at my feet but I'll take her for a mini wèe/poo walk before I go up.

We were advised to start crate training as STD advises, but you also need to shut the door during the day to get her used to the idea. She will howl! The thing to do is wait until she is quite then reward her with lots of treats and let her out. Repeat until you can shut her in and she doesn't make a sound. This can take a few days. If you wait until night to try crating her for the first time noone will get any sleep in your house.

I have to second what the other posters say above, your dog sounds incredibly anxious when left alone. I really wouldn't lock her in a crate on her own at first. Have the crate in your room for a week (surely your dp could stand it for a week) then move the crate out to the landing, then the bottom of the stairs, then back to the room where you want her.

(It took us a month to move the crate from our room to the living room)

It isn't having her in the room as a quick fix, it's having her in to train and desensitise her to being separated. With that much activity during the day she should not be bored at night, she should be able to sleep through, so I doubt that is the issue.

We are crating our rescue staffy and he has adapted really well. He gets put in for just about everything but it is helping his behaviours. He goed in ehrn we are eating otherwise he sits in the kitchen watching you while you eat. He goes in when we have visitors so he calms down and doesnt jump as much. He goes iN Of his own accord and sleeps sometimes. We have had to use it so we can leave him for a few hours while we go to shops etc. We use kk gs and filled bones which amuse him for ages and he also gets 3 quite big walks every day so he ends up sleeping most of the day.

We have dog in our room which i didnt like but now it doesnt bother me. Least he isnt chewing or peeing everywhere.

I feel guilty about the crate but it really is a great thing. Dobt fall for the pupptdog eyes. Its a trick haha. Plenty or rewards and praise for usong the crate and make a game out of throwing in the toys get the dog to retrieve make them thinkbits a good place to go. And obv home comforts ie bedding/toys etc.

Good luck

how old is your staffy?

Any fur/moulting tips? I brush my dog regularly and also have a 'fulminator' but it is a nightmare. Honestly, I'm not exaggerating at all when I say if I hoover a room, even by the time I get back to the start point it already looks like I haven't done it Even upstairs and downstairs where she's not allowed are covered in dog hairs. How do people manage. I'm shamefully far from fussy but even by my slatternly standards the amount of dog hair on our floor is outrageously unacceptable. I think I need to get a bag less hoover for a start. I have a map sweep thingy but I guess the static or whatever her hair still just coats a lll my floors

It's lucky she is otherwise so lovely.

We reckon our staff is about 2. He constantly sheds. Im forever sweeping up after him. Par for the course i guess. Xx

Always - how did you start with the crating/ how long for?

crate arrived yesterday. Lots of treats in it and praise, toys, treats, praise etc etc etc. She was unsure of the rattling and the plastic bottom seems to bother her but she went in loads of times.

Today, she will not go in it for love nor money. I have put her breakfast in it, treats toys, encouraged everything. Nothing. Nothing will induce her to go in it today. So, what now?

you have got a bed/crate liner in there haven't you? I don't think dpup would like his without one ...

it will take time ..

dpup now dives in there at night and at dinner time as he associates the crate with nice things but it will take a while to build up those positive associations