Advice sought on stopping "revengeful/destructive" behaviour

One dogs don't do revenge. It's not something they understand. Crating WILL teach him that destructive behavior is not ok. You just let him have to much freedom to fast. He's still a puppy and needs to learn that freedom is a privilege, not a right. Make the crate a happy place to be. Get some treat dispensing toys and give them to him only when he's in the crate. Also look up Positive Crate Training on Google. It will help you get an idea on how to make the crate a happy place.

Remember, he is still a puppy and will slip up. My guys (now 6 and 4) didn't get full access to the house until a year old. Make sure he has his own toys to chew on, and when you catch him IN THE ACT, redirect him to his own toys. Never punish after the fact because he truly doesn't understand why you're punishing him. Even if you bring him to the scene.

The crate is the best solution until you learn more about how to have a dog who can be trusted loose in the house.  The crate doesn't teach him anything but it is a safe place for him. Leave him in the crate with a stuffed Kong or some other long lasting, safe chew.  Take the crate with you when you're in the hotel next week.  He probably will be destructive and/or loud if left alone in the room. Unfortunately, that is what makes some places refuse to allow dogs who are well behaved.  He should have been properly acclimated to the crate so he thinks of it as a safe haven not a place of punishment.  

You are wrong about him knowing what is ok and what isn't as far as digging in the garden or tearing up your possessions when you're gone.  Get yourself a copy of Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson.  You'll learn what you need to know about how to teach your dog.  I don't know how many times I've said this to people, or how many times I've read it in good dog trainging books, but dogs don't have our values when it comes to possessions.  They don't care if you spent $20k landscaping your yard, it's just dirt and plants to them.  They don't care if the couch is an antique, it's just a big dog bed/chew toy. Kid toys are just like dog toys, to the dog.  He's not trying to be bad to make you mad, he's just being a dog.  My point is that you have to learn to speak dog or your relationship with your dog will continue to be adversarial and not much fun for either one of you. 

Will absolutely agree that dogs don't do anything to "get back at you".  Their brains just don't work that way.  And, agreed that crating is the BEST way to solve the problem, but make the crate a GREAT place to be.

 What they said!  LOL

My Willy is age 8.  I've had him less than 2 years.  He had no training other than potty training (thank goodness!) when he arrived here.  He STILL steals socks, ha haa, but it is a way for him to get attention.  We've changed it from a possessive "I'll bite you if you try to take it,"  to a "here, I am giving this to you, I get a treat now, right?"  It takes time to change bad habits.  Starting now while you have a baby on your hands it the best way.  Good Luck!

Agree with the others, he needs more confinement and needs to earn the privilege.  I don't think it's fair to the other dogs that they lose privileges if they've been good.  In my house dogs start in a large crate or pen and work their way out - first a room, then a floor of the house, then the whole house.  Other dogs who've already earned freedom don't get that revoked just because someone else is being destructive.  Right now Coke has earned the entire house, Nikon has earned a large pen or the whole basement (or he gets the whole house if I'm not gone that long) and Pan is still in a large crate.

As mentioned in the previous answer first step is to stop envisioning these things as "Revenge" ,  Dogs don't do "revenge" that is a human trait.  Breaking it down a bit for you. Decades ago the concept of housebreaking would be attempted by rubbing a dog's nose in their mess. Humans thought this would teach the dog it was not acceptable. All it taught dogs was Humans were crazy and gross! Within Moments of going potty they forget the entire action.  Dogs do not "own" their mess.  It's mess , Do you claim and own yours?  Dogs potty then walk away, the elements, nature, humans take care of it or it stays right where they did it. All the nose rubbing taught them was to be more stealthy about it. Hide it better.  They did not learn they shouldn't foul your living space. When you want to train a dog, especially a puppy, it helps tremendously if you learn to think more like the species. You mentioned well behaved older dogs.  They are a plus and at the same time, part of the reason your puppy is acting out.  They know your routine and are unaffected by it. If you aren't home they can crash where they want and nap till your return. Life is simple for them. Pup is still learning these things. To entertain himself while you are away he is finding things around the home to play with. During this part of puppy hood and adolescence you NEED to crate him.  He NEEDS to be crated. So far you have been lucky that the things the pup has chosen to play with or invstigate have not harmed him. Chewing on or swallowing socks or underwear can lead to a very expensive operation IF you are lucky enough to catch him prior to his having a life ending blockage. Our Pup was left in my bedrrom this week with a dozen favorite toys and her mother. I was speaking with a delivery man. She choose to ignore the safe things to play with and instead went through my huge purse and found a bottle of perscription muscle relaxers! I was lucky that I cam back in the room with in moments of her injesting about 16 of them. Mad at myself,  I made her throw up and then monitored her closely for a 24 hour period. Ironically , I had not 1 but 2 crates still in my room that would have protected her and prevented the entire mess! I hear daily about dogs of all ages getting into trouble because the owner wanted them to have the freedom of being loose in the home while unsupervised. Until dogs are old enough trusting them is just not smart. It differs with each breed and each dog. Our RRs are not considered grown ups until they are often over 2 and a half years old. And even then they have a rather wicked sense of humor. We teach our puppt familes a Bored Dog is a Destructive Dog. And  A Tired Puppy is a Good Puppy. No ifs, ands or buts about it. If you hate leaving the boy in his crate then put in the time and work to tire  him out.  If you can find a game the pup enjoys , chasing a ball, frisbee or even using a lunge whip with a fuzzy tied to the end to get him to chase it, you can tire him out rather quickly before you have to leave him. That will give you an hour or three ..maybe. Honestly a crate is your best friend at this age! If you give him a large enough crate, one with a bit of padding and a box of toys you can rotate for him he will happily spend his time in the crate while you work to earn his kibble and toys. My pups are fed ONLY in their crates. I have 6 Ridgebacks from 4 months to 13 years..... you would not want to know the things our pack has gotten in to before we set up a dog room and trained every dog to crate. When you have been in a breed for over 3 decades you do learn a good bit about them :0) It cost us several thousands before we got over the mistaken belief that crating them was harsh and unloving!! We bring them into Our World then expect them to live like we do. That takes training and protection until they understand the rules. If you need tips on great treats and toys for them during their crate time give a shout and we can all suggest some wonderful time killers.   

I agree with all those answers, Miss Ava is now one and still will steal a sock out of our hamper that has holes in, but not a big deal for me.  She does not chew them up only drags them around for a bit.  If I ignore her she drops it right away.  She will chew up paper every chance she gets, not newspapers, but paper hankys, paper plates, etc. so I make sure they are not available.  Good luck with your dog.  I have never crated my dog for punishment either.

Here's a step by step guide to crate training.  The link is to a vet clinic site but they are using Dr. Sophia Yin's advice and give her full credit.

http://lakemontvetclinic.com/clients/1829/documents/Training_Dogs_to_Love_Their_Crates.pdf

Whatever you do, don't give in to his howls or cries in the crate. Just steel yourself to the misery for a short time and he'll see that crying doesn't get him released.  If you let him out while he's pitching a fit, he's taught you rather than you teaching him.  The only exception to that advice is for dog's with severe anxiety issues who might hurt themselves trying to escape a crate.  The key is to make the crate a safe place that he has learned to associate with good things such as food and toys. 

Some dogs are nervous when left alone and they chew because it relieves stress.  It's not always about how much or how little exercise they get. A safe crate, with appropriate chews, is the answer.