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 think he needs more brain work. Can you take him to an enclosed dog field and work on his training ? Recall, stop on command , heel without a lead etc?

I did Canine Good Citizen training with my lab and we continued training classes until he was 2. Trainer also offered scent training and gundog dummy training, and we did that too.
All planned at a pace his joints could take.

If you can, take him swimming. My labs are always e haunted afte4 a trip to the river or the beach.

It does sound like he’s bored.

Oh gosh maybe we’re not giving him enough brain stimulation and exercise?

I thought that Labradors are meant to have roughly 5 minutes per month of their age as exercise time to protect their joints (until they’re fully grown) so we’ve been increasing his walk by 5 minutes each month?

And we do some playtime but pretty basic (fetch, tug of war) not anything involving agility props or that would be more mentally challenging for him.

I’ll get that pet gun dog book, thank you for the recommendation @MaterMoribund

I have found a new trainer who is coming to meet us this week and says she has lots of experience with labs around this age so hopefully she can tell us where we’re going wrong!

Tbh we bought him from a local very well respected breeder, but we just saw cute little puppies and they didn’t warn us at all that actually he’s from a working line (they also breed for gun dogs for landowners in the area), we didn’t really understand what we were getting into in terms of how much training he would need. I think for our first dog ever a working line male Labrador was probably not the best choice, but obviously now we love him and have to do the best we can for him.

Really appreciate all the advice on here thank you!

I wouldn't play fetch with him if you mean throwing a ball. Find it games would be better so as to protect his joints. When I say agility props, I don't mean he should be doing jumps or anything like that. But maybe tunnels and a low level waiting platform could help. And weaving poles. But yeah, he sounds like he needs more input but great that you are aware about not over stressing his joints given his age.

And I'm not going to say what I think about his breeder. Grrr will have to do.

Don't worry, the upside of a working line Lab is that they are incredibly receptive to training and want to please you. He just needs some input to help him do that.
Gun dog work doesn't mean thrown retrieves and impact on joints. It's about impulse control and listening to instructions, mainly. Distance waits are good - it takes a lot of concentration for a young Lab to wait in place and only break that wait on your command. Your garden will be a decent size for starting this. Everything you do at home consistently such as Wait, letting humans go through doors first, recall, Down, Find It will make his outside behaviour better. Dogs don't generalise about different environments. They don't think "I behave on beach A therefore I must behave on beach B". They take their cue from commands they already know.

You can do this! I say that as someone who got a working line chocolate Lab as a first dog

Labradors are high energy dogs, they need plenty of physical and mental exercise, if he isn’t getting that then he will be bored hence the shredding of the bedding. He’ll need to get rid of excess energy. Does he have long enough walks?

Just a word of caution if you decide to look for formal gun dog training - there are some old fashioned methods out there that are best avoided. Ear pulls, thin slip leads etc. They work, the results look impressive in the field but the basics are aversive, so don't let anyone tell you working line dogs need to be trained that way.
A couple of dogs at our training went on to 'proper' field trials and did very well, with completely non-aversive methods.

I think as I’m reading these replies and doing some googling that he is getting enough physical exercise, but that we hadn’t appreciated how much mental stimulation he needs and that’s maybe why he’s bored/stressed and shredding stuff.

Honestly we only had experience with our friends’ dogs and I can see now that they’re all either older and calmer, or just much calmer/lower energy breeds anyway.

If he's a power chewer please be wary of leaving a chew or licki-mat down unless you are present. They can be a choke hazard. We have a giant breed and with the youngsters all toys and chews are taken up at night.

we bought him from a local very well respected breeder, but we just saw cute little puppies and they didn’t warn us at all that actually he’s from a working line

Not a very good breeder tbh - bit of a lesson learnt that just because someone is ‘well respected’ it doesn’t make them any good. The first thing they should have made clear was he was working lines.

But, as you have the dog now. Training. You don’t need a trainer to help with basic training like sit, down, stay, wait, leave, recall, flying down, play dead, etc. do 4-5 10-15 min training sessions a day to tire him out. Way more useful than a Kong or lick mat will ever be.

There is nothing better in terms of mental stimulation than training your dog in increasingly difficult situations. I’m on holiday atm, and my youngest Golden is just over a year, and I’ve taken her out solo every day into increasingly busy/exciting areas to work on basic training with her. Even just sitting on a bench and getting her to focus on me every time someone comes to pay her is way more tiring for her than a Kong would be (plus it serves a purpose).

@LabradorLadbradoo With his walks, are you able to get him off lead more?
If not, how about using a harness and longline rather than a lead?

I've got one that shreds bedding and beds regardless of if they're in the crate or not.
Not destructive with anything else.
He's young (just turned 1)
I just use vet bed now.
They have raised mesh meds with fluffy covers (similar to vet bed) out of the crate and just vet bed in the crate.
The other dog has a proper bed in the crate and he doesn't ruin it
He will probably stop eventually but it's probably just fun!

Our lurcher shredded beds in his crate. I got so fed u I just took the crate away and he slept with no trouble from that point forwards.

I've also had labs that just seem to need to chew, so caution was needed when they were left.

Oh god @TheHungryHungryLandsharks really 4-5 ten minute training sessions a day? On top of the walks? Plus he needs grooming time, and petting/cuddling time and meals etc.

So he actually needs 2-3 hours of my undivided time every day? I just don’t have that available - we both work full time, and we have primary age kids. I’ve been walking him on lunch breaks and he sits beside me or plays in the garden while I work (I work from a garden office). But I honestly don’t think I can give him an hour of training time as well without ignoring my kids. Both kids have SEN and one has a physical disability, they need a lot of support/involvement to get through homework, daily physiotherapy, dinner, bath time, bed etc and I’m usually logged on to finish work once they’re in bed.

I am panicking now a bit about how to actually give him what he needs.

I know we’ve been naive - this breeder has great reviews, we have a friend whose a vet who said she sees a lot of their dogs and said they’re all healthy and happy, so we thought we were doing the right thing. But we just didn’t appreciate what he would need and they didn’t warn us at all.

He needs that time and far more @LabradorLadbradoo ! Particularly if he's from working lines.
Did the "well-respected" breeder do a home check or ask you to fill in a lifestyle questionnaire and provide references? Because it doesn't sound as if you went into this knowing what to expect at all and I really feel for you...

@CoubousAndTourmaIet no, we had never had a dog before and it’s only been since I started walking the dog, chatting to other dog owners etc that I have realised how much was wrong with the breeder we used.

We visited with our kids, they showed us cute puppies, they gave us their advice about the first few months (potty training etc), and then we paid them and brought the puppy home at 8 weeks. They knew we had kids and a house with a garden but they didn’t know anything else about us at all, we didn’t answer any questions about our lifestyle or experience with dogs or anything.

I’m right now rethinking everything in terms of how much work we do, how much household help we have etc.

Realistically how much time should I have available for the dog over the next year? Like assuming I want a happy healthy well trained adult dog, how much time a day should I have available for him over the next year? Because it scares me that you said he needs more than 2-3 hours a day!

I'll say what others and possibly you must be thinking, OP.
It might be best to rehome him.
I'd be wary of returning him to his breeder with what we know about her and no guarantee she'd take him but you could contact some Lab rescues, see what they say.

Another option is a dog walker once, twice a day but that would work out expensive.

You've got a dog that is not suitable for your home and a home that is not suitable for your dog sadly.

I'm not anti - crate. Two of my dogs loved them and saw them as their safe space. I was going to recommend vet bed too.

I think your dog sounds a bit bored, to be honest.

I read the 5 minute a month advice had been updated. It's now thought to be the type of exercise that is bad for joints, rather than the amount. Eg, ball throwing and pavement pounding.
I followed the 5 minutes of walking + five minutes of sniffing per month advice. So at three months old, my spaniel went for slow half hour, mooching walks in the woods, two or three times a day. By 6 months of age, we had built up to two, hour long walks a day. All off lead, so she could go at her own pace.
If you don't have time to do a second walk yourself, can you afford to pay a dog walker to take him out? Is there a reason his walks are on lead? A young labrador really needs to be given the opportunity to run. As pp suggested, you could use a long line attached to a harness if he has no recall.

Sadly, @redboxer321 may be right. You could do it, if you have the time, energy and inclination. But at 10 months, your dog is going to be hitting adolescence and things could get harder for a while, until he matures. A less energetic dog, not from working lines, might be more suitable for your family. It's a shame your vet friend didn't point that out, to be honest. There is more to choosing a dog than it coming from healthy stock.

I could take him for more off lead walks, there’s places I can take him to do that. It’s really a time problem - I’ve been taking him for an hour long walk in our area so he gets the full hour of my lunch break (I work from home).

But we both work full time, we have primary age kids, and one kid had an injury and a surgery so can’t do the walks at the moment but is too young to stay home alone. So at the moment I’m doing lunchtime walks while they’re in school, and then DH and the other kid do weekend walks together. The summer was really hard, we paid a neighbour’s teen to take him out every day as I couldn’t leave the kids, but obviously they’re not a trainer and the dog picked up some bad habits on those walks (lots of pulling and sudden lunges forward).

I just don’t know how we can give him the amount of time and attention that I’m realising now he seems to need.

Adolescent working line dogs are the biggest dickheads out there (ask me how I know). They do however grow up and Labs tend to grow up quite nicely. Remember that some family out there got a pointer, rather than a lab, and will suffer for an extra couple of years. DON'T PANIC this phase will pass.

Get some vet mat for the crate. Maybe another bit for outside the bathroom door so that he can be a lifeguard.

Those 5 min training sessions can be fitted into your day. While the kettle is boiling teach him to walk round a kitchen stool on command, clockwise and anti-clockwise. Teach him to go find the DC by name. Get the DC to help get him learn how to play to play dead. Can your partner give the dog a 5 min round the block walk of an evening? Can you get him to retrieve your slippers?

Most trainers offer teenage dog training, these courses tend to have a lot of working type dogs in for a reason. Dog like yours think training is love and play, get everyone involved.

I'm not especially clued up on working gundogs @LabradorLadbradoo so I'll leave others to advise on the training needed for a Lab, but even my comparatively low energy giants need a massive amount of input during the adolescent phase. It never really switches off.

You have to be consistent - dogs thrive on routine, and really, the more time you can put into your dog early on, the more you will get out of it later. I know that sounds stupidly obvious but it's a fact. I agree with @MrsPernicious , involve him in as much as you can within the home, because training also involves teaching good manners around the house.

You've really been let down by the breeder in this case, as well as by your doggy friends who made it all sound far too easy. Because it's a lot of work to rear a large energetic puppy within a busy family.

@MrsPernicious thank you yes I can see how I could be adding little training breaks into the day, I suppose I’m just panicking because at the moment while the kettle is boiling I’m making breakfast for the kids, and packing school bags, and quizzing one of them on times tables while the other tries to explain Minecraft to me. Life already feels very busy.

I have thought about rehoming, but the kids would be devastated, so I’m trying to figure out whether I can realistically do what we need to do while he grows up and calms down a bit.

(And for anybody wondering - dog is with the dogsitter today while I’m on a long train journey, that’s why I’m sitting here on mumsnet instead of getting on with my busy life!)

Dear lord why on earth did you get a dog.
Thank goodness someone else has already suggested rehoming him.

Poor dog.

@OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon thats not very nice or helpful.

I’ve acknowledged that we made a mistake and we’re doing our best to make it work.

We hadn’t had a dog before, consulted friends, read books about looking after puppies, I had various threads on here to learn more about what puppies need, we went to a reputable breeder. Nobody ever warned us about the teenage phase. If they had, we wouldn’t have gone ahead.

But we are where we are, and I’m trying to fix the problem.

Mine are all sleeping, whilst waiting for me to get off MN. 😂

I would pay a dog walker to take dog out for a second walk and do some training sessions throughout the day My trainer friend says do 2 minute bursts. There are lots of little things you could teach - sit, down, stay, wait, paw, high 5, spin left, spin right, crawl, roll etc.

Get a dummy and do some gundog training with him. Start with simple retrieves. Build up to making him sit and wait whilst you throw it and then send him out to fetch it. Teach direction - go left, go right and go back.
Could the children help out with doing bits of training?

Even something as simple as throwing a handful of kibble on the lawn for him to sniff out will occupy his mind for a few minutes and get him to work his nose.

If things don't improve, then consider rehoming. Good luck.