Help needed with puppy. Crate and chewing

[BlueGreenRedOrange]

Pup is 7 months old. Boston terrier.

Here's the dilemma.

We have 2 older dogs. Very chill. Bedtime rolls around and they sleep on the couch. Literally will not move after being tucked in till morning.

Boston is a chewy loon. No matter if you move everything from floor level she WILL find something to chew.

Came down this morning to a shredded sun hate and destroyed headphones. Both of which were high up on a bookshelf.

She is like a mountain goat. I have no idea how she does it.

With toilet training she is 80% there, still. Some over night accidents.

She was crate trained for over night originally but she just used it as a toilet!!!

She would walk in there in the day and piss.

If we crated her over night it was guaranteed that in the morning she would have shit in there and trampled through it.

So we got rid of the crate, but now she is destroying everything in sight.

She ALWAYS finds something to ruin.

I really don't want to get the crate out again as I feel it will take her toileting backwards as she thought it was a portable loo 😬

Any ideas? Suggestions?

I thought about putting her in the kitchen but I think she would chew the doors and it seems sad to lock her in there alone.

A sun hat that should read.

Obligatory photo ❤️

Her toileting became much better once the crate was gone from the room. I think it was harbouring smells that made her want to wee inside?

What about trying a play pen for overnight? Still in the room with other dogs or where she sleeps now but an enclosed area where she can't get to anything to chew?

That's a good idea but the room is really tiny, I don't think I would have room for one, another reason we got rid of the crate is because it was so in the way and that was much smaller than a pen.

If you can’t dog proof the room I think a crate is your only option

Phew, there's a lot to unravel here!

The fact that she was toileting in her crate says to me that she's either anxious about being shut in there, or she's being left in there too long overnight without being taken out to the toilet. Many dog still need a wee break in the night up until 12 months old so it could be that she's waking and as you're upstairs, you can't hear her, so she just messes in her bed.

I would buy a brand new pen/crate (just to avoid any lingering smells!) and put it in your bedroom for now. That means you can crate train her properly, and that she can wake you when she needs the toilet too. Once she starts sleeping through the night reliably and happily, you can work on moving the crate downstairs so she's with your other dogs.

The chewing when left alone/unsupervised is pretty normal for a puppy so I would just make sure she has lots of access to chews during the day (supervised, obviously) to try and satisfy that urge to chew. I would also make sure you're getting the right balance of mental/physical stimulation and sleep through the day so she's not over-tired and silly at night.

My son stays up till about 2am and does toileting before bed and I get up at 7am. So she was only in there a few hours each night. Also she went and got in her crate herself when she was tired and often slept in there in the day.

Not once did she ever cry in her crate of try to scratch/get out. She was so chill in there

So I really, honestly can't see anxiety or being left in there too long as the reasons. I really can't.

Not once did she ever cry in her crate of try to scratch/get out. She was so chill in there. So I really, honestly can't see anxiety or being left in there too long as the reasons. I really can't.

Inappropriate toileting and chewing are both huge signs of anxiety, though, and your puppy is doing both.

If you can't puppy-proof her space, she needs to be crated for her own safety which means you need to work on stopping her from toileting in there. It's either due to poor training (not being let out enough) or anxiety, unless there's an underlying health issue that's not been explored, but as she chooses to go in the crate to toilet, I would say the anxiety is surrounding the crate and being crated.

I mean, my own puppy struggled to go five hours without needing a wee at that age - so even if your son is letting her out at 2am, it could be that someone needs to get up at 5-6am and let her out to prevent her waking and having an accident.

Right

What about leaving her things she's allowed to chew overnight? Like cardboard boxes or huge chews (that she is safe to chew on her own)