Young Labrador keeps shredding crate bedding overnight, any suggestions?

[LabradorLadbradoo]

We have a male Labrador now 10 months old who keeps destroying his mattress in his crate!

We have always used the crate for overnights and if he has to be left alone in the day (never for more than a couple of hours in the day).

He goes into the crate perfectly happily, in fact when he’s tired he chooses to go lie down in there and if the door happens to be shut he’ll whine or nose at it until I open it and then he’ll go in.

So I don’t think he finds the crate itself stressful.

But in the last month he has completely destroyed three of the big comfy crate cushions by clawing/biting them - I come downstairs in the morning to find it shredded with stuffing all around.

Any ideas or suggestions? Is this some kind of digging/shredding impulse that we could try to channel other ways? Do we need to rethink using the crate?

I probably wouldn't give him stuffing filled beds maybe blankets instead, do you give him things to shred during the day ?

You might need to let him sleep outside the crate have you tried it ?

Pop a block of anko root in the crate for him to chew on. Ddog took to chewing door frames at this age and stopped as soon as we gave him a big anko block. If the crate is in a room that can be shut off can he have the crate door open and access to the room.

Something to stimulate him
He is bored while trapped in a cage
I would never put a dog in a crate overnight tho...well i hate them
Use a baby gate to limit the dogs area instead.

I agree with @Maisymouse2 Stop crating him. Crating isn't healthy for the emotional development of larger dogs. It is also really bad for their joints and muscles. Use dog gates to confine him to a safe area.

The dog crate thing is interesting, I know it’s a debate. From our point of view we travel a lot within the UK, and obviously the places we go aren’t all dog proofed so we thought it would help if he is used to sleeping in a crate, plus it means he always has his own space that he’s used to. He voluntarily goes into it (even when we don’t prompt him to). The dog trainer we used was very pro using crates as it’s like a secure den for them.

It would be very hard to dog proof any larger area, but maybe if I moved some stuff out of the utility room I could manage it - his crate is really big though (he can fully stretch out, turn around, sit up comfortably) so I’m not sure how having a bigger space would help?

Not heard of Anko blocks, I’ll look for those!

I could give him blankets instead of a cushion I suppose - he does try to rip and shred those as well. He shreds and rips any toys we give him (even the kongs), I’m not sure how else to give h opportunities to rip and shred?

It sounds like he is destructive regardless of his bed situation. Have you spoken to your trainer about it ? Although he is coming into adolescence so they are wired differently like a teenager really. We also take our dog with us to different places and his crate is his bed. I know they are a decisive though.

On the shredding opportunities we give him cardboard or packaging paper at a specific time every other day so.it is a routine he still can't have soft toys though because they are destroyed in minutes.

We had training when he was smaller but yes as we’re heading into the teenage dog stage I think we could use some more sessions, I should organise that.

Have you tried the greenback vetbed in his crate? It's pretty tough stuff. If you travel a lot I can understand the crate; our next puppy will be crated in the car but not at home, but his "bed" and the lining of the car crate will be a large piece of the greenback vetbed to start with.

I have a shredder. She is no longer given anything containing stuffing, because I got tired of coming home to an unexpected foam party. Instead, she has blankets, some of which are like cheesecloth, and they get replaced every so often. I suspect that it might be some kind of separation anxiety, perhaps, because she's fine with DDog1's foam beds when I'm downstairs at home- often taking a toy and lying in them- but if I'm upstairs for a long period of time (like overnight) or out, DDog2 would shred them.

I wouldn’t put him in a crate. Poor boy

Interesting - I do give him cardboard to shred sometimes but I could be more structured about it so he knows to expect it.

Thank you, not tried that before and have just ordered some to try.

I have explained why we use a crate. Bottom line is he will have to sleep in crates when we travel, so it makes sense for him to be used to that. He gives no sign at all of being distressed by the crate and is generally destructive anyway, it’s just that I don’t mind so much replacing his toys (which are a lot cheaper than giant crate cushions!).

I have a Labrador, he’s 7 now. When he was young he would shred any beds or toys with stuffing. He was fine with anything else, so maybe try blankets. We used a pen to contain him when needed which worked very well but appreciate this takes more room. Our dog grew out of shredding beds and toys eventually.

Leave the door open. He sounds stressed. Is he getting enough off lead exercise a day? I got rid of my crate at 10 months. Kitchen looked better for it too.

No more foam-filled beds. Get a piece of vet bed instead and use rug tape to stick it to the bottom of the crate. Give him things to entertain himself in the crate before he falls asleep (licky mat, filled kong toy, etc).

Does he sound stressed or is this just normal at this age? He has free access to our garden (about half an acre) and always gets a 45 minute to an hour walk, but the walk is on lead for almost all of it.

And he usually goes into the bed by himself when he’s ready to sleep - he must be waking up in the night and getting bored I guess, so I could leave a licky mat or something for him. Last time we tried a licky mat he chewed and destroyed it.

Definitely couldn’t leave the crate door open, he can reach the worktops and shelves and destroys stuff.

I might be able to dog proof and secure the utility room so he has a bit more space, but his crate is already big enough to stand, turn, stretch etc so I’m not sure how much that helps?

Does he have any structured training outside of garden time and walk? Not necessarily trainer-led, but with you, working his brain as well as his body. Scent games, Find It etc. There’s a book called ‘The Pet Gun Dog’ by Pippa Mattinson which is good. Our current Lab had 18 months of lessons with a trainer using force free pet gun dog methods and it did wonders for her impulsiveness and tired her out. We carried on with the exercises when we stopped the training.

I’m not For or Anti crate. Current Lab hated being crated right from being a puppy so we ditched it fairly quickly. She is excellent at Settle wherever we put her bed mat, however and is not a chewer. Previous Lab chewed anything she could get her gob round, despite all the brain games, ‘indestructible’ toys we provided, so the crate had to come with us when we went away so we weren’t banned from every holiday cottage in the UK She was happy to go in it, it was her den.

Your dog may well grow out of the ragging toys and blankets but the more tired mentally he is the less likely he will be to need the stimulation of redecorating his surroundings.

I have a cockapoo that was crate trained as a puppy. He shredded all the beds. One day he went in when his bed wasn't in there and still happily went to sleep. So he sleeps on the metal tray. In winter I put a heat mat under it so it's warm but he sleeps in there even without it on. And it's deffo his preference as I don't shut the door and his bed is outside the crate but he still chooses the crate at night. Maybe try yours without a bed and see how they get on.

I guess you are trying to not over walk him while he is still young? I don't how much physical exercise is appropriate for a 10month lab but if it is about 1 hour then you'd be better splitting it into two 30min walks.
But as pp mentions, it sounds like he needs more brain work too.
And training. Just simple everyday stuff and build from there.
You've got a big garden so that would be an ideal place to practice training. You might want to buy or make some agility type props to help you.

It is not uncommon for some dogs to be chewers or destroy their beds.

Labs especially. Be cautious about having free area as if he is a chewer he may just change from chewing blankets to chew furniture etc.

As he is crated and goes into it happily can you try getting him up earlier. It is probably in the morning when he is stirring that he is chewing. So getting him out of his crate earlier may prevent this.

I would not be allowing shredding of cardboard as i swallowed can cause loads of issues.

He really does need more than 45 min exercise so could this be increased and some brain games eg sniffing added to his day?

Agree putting in a chew root in the crate is a good idea.

our lab slept in a crate when he was little, and like yours he absolutely loved it. But it was around this age (9-10 months) that he was starting to show signs that he was getting too old for it and he transitioned to a dog bed in the living room. Perhaps try letting him sleep outside the crate, not that you were wrong to use it, just see it like a toddler moving from a cot to a single bed.