Dog Community

he destoys everything in his crate!

Posted : 7/21/2006 3:00:42 PM

Hi,
I am new here. I have a 1 yr old lab, Vinnie, who is very adorable and rambunctious. He is a still a very heavy chewer, he destroys (eats/chews) anything that is not made of metal. I have had him since he was 8 wks and he hasnt gotten over this chewing phase. I have always crated him while I am at work and when it is time to sleep. He never goes potty in his crate and always voluntarily enters the crate when its time & I ask him.
However, when left in there while I'm at work, he will destroy anything and everything possible. At first, he was fine and just chewed on his toys, but as he got his adult teeth, things got worse. First (probably at about 6 mos.), he started eating the edges of the plastic tray liner or completely pushing it out of the cage, so eventually i just took it out of the crate entirely. I asked my vet if there was anything he could lay on instead of this and she only had suggestions for things i know he would completely destroy and/or ingest. I have tried sturdy carpet tiles and when i get home, it looks like "jaws" had attacked those things. I have given up on trying to find something to lay on so he just lays on the wires. There are a few problems with this: 1st: he occasionally rips/digs/chews? out the carpet underneath the wires all the way to the concrete (thank goodness I plan on renovating my basement). 2nd: he must be uncomfortable with this, he has red sores on his elbows, although he doesnt express any discomfort and doesnt ever lick them.
He is probably bored, since I work full time and he spends quite a bit of time in there. I try putting sturdy rubber chew toys in there, but it doesn't deter this behavior. I even tried putting a kong ball with treats in there, and he chewed out part of the rubber so the treats fall right out (that just takes the challenge out of it). I leave the tv on for him during the day (does this over-stimulate him?). Should i turn off the lights, and turn off the tv. I considered hiring someone to come in at lunch to play and take him potty for a 1/2 hr, but my boyfriend wont consider letting someone into the house when we arent there (and he is cheap- he doesnt want to pay). What should i do? Any suggestions? Sorry this is so long!

ashland

Posted : 7/21/2006 3:11:54 PM

Hi! Welcome to I-Dog!

Are you exercising him enough? My parents neighbor has a lab puppy and I quickly started reading up on them with her. From what I know, and I'm sure someone else will come along, these are very active dogs. Are you exercising your dog before he/she is crated? If so, for how long and to what degree?

Bridget Kline

Posted : 7/21/2006 4:17:10 PM

He probably doesn't get enough exercise in the morning before i go to work, which is my fault (i am not a morning person, i try and milk my mornings for all the sleep i can get) My boyfriend leaves for work probably 1/2 hr before I wake up and takes him potty and feeds him, but then he leaves right away. I then wake up 45 mins. before i need to leave and get dressed,etc. Vinnie, in the meantime, uses this time eat and play with toys or just chill. I then take him outside and he goes potty and then i put him in his crate. I then go to work.
I should probably wake up earlier and play with him. The problem i foresee (b/c this happens other times w/ Vinnie) is that when we play outside and i am done playing with him, Vinnie will not go inside with me. He wants to keep on playing and then we end up having a standoff where he stands outside the garage door and I am in the garage. It is one of those things that is a pain in the butt that I can predict will often make me late for work. I usually have to lure him with a treat or go in the house for a minute (acting like I dont care if he comes inside) and typically one of the two will do the trick-However i think he is on to me & my tricks lately. I suppose i can keep him on a leash and run around the yard with him, but playing fetch with him is his main exercise since he enjoys it so much. Also, me running around in a skirt presents it own problems. I know, I know, they are all excuses... I need to get my butt out of bed earlier.
But back the the chewing in the crate, should I get a metal tray liner to put in the crate (at least it is a smooth surface). Do anyone know where I could find such an item to retrofit the wire crate with? I really would love to get him padding/bedding to put in it, but i know they would be toast in a NY minute w/ Vinnie around, so why waste my money. thanks.

ashland

Posted : 7/21/2006 4:48:12 PM

I can totally relate to the whole not being a morning person thing. Before Ash, I would wake up on my days off well past noon! That seems as insane to me now as it seemed to my mother back then. On my work days, it is like the utmost torture to get me out of bed before I absolutely need too. I have about 5 different alarms go off before I literally roll out of bed.

However, once I realized that Ash was seriously suffering because of my laziness, I had no choice but to get my butt out of bed. It was painful to do, yes, but I had too. It started with just a short walk in the morning, usually with Ash bouncing along while I yawned and yearned for the comfort of my bed. All I could think was, "I could still be sleeping right now." But believe me, it has to be done. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference it will make in both you and your dogs life.

Your dog NEEDS to be exercised consistently. ESPECIALLY before you put him in the crate. That dog has more energy than you a million times over and he has no outlet for it but you. If you don't provide him with some kind of release you will only end up seeing this get worse and more behavioral problems in the future.

Your dog is bored and restless. Walk him in the morning. Walk him when you get home or before you go to sleep. Take him to a dog park where you can just let him exhaust himself while you sit there. Bike ride or rollerblade. Play fetch. Do SOMETHING though. I guarantee you that your dog is going out of his mind just sitting there with all that pent up energy. Especially a Lab.

I hope I'm not sounding harsh because I don't mean to come off that way at all, but I have a high-energy dog as well and I know how important it is. Think about how bored and restless your dog is IN ADDITION to the stress of being left alone. I know this next comment may sound mean, but it was true of me so I'm just gonna say it, but not getting up early to exercise your dog is selfish. You have to think about your dog. You are responsible for it's well-being. He depends on you.

Really, I promise you it will help. Does he get any exercise when you get home?

Bridget Kline

Posted : 7/21/2006 5:10:09 PM

yes, we

lay catch with him when we get home. he can literally play for hours! Sometimes my boyfriend throws the ball in some remote place in the yard (we have 2.5 acres) and Vinnie runs all over the yard until he finds it/sniffs it out.
The thing about Vinnie is that he always has to have something in his mouth, whether we are around or not. He loves depleting our wood pile and runs around with big logs in his mouth (the bigger the better). In the house we either have to close all the doors and have nothing accessible that he can destroy/eat or we leash him to us and reward him with cheerios when he is good. Otherwise he will grab your shoes/sock/undies and try to play a game of keep away with you, (and trying to bribe him with a treat doesnt work, he'd rather eat the shoe). he is one high energy puppy, I wonder if he has separation anxiety when we leave, but he tends to be destructive when we are there and give him attention. I dont know. He is so sweet, though. Sorry to get off topic. He's just a chronic chewer. Will he grow out of this?- he isnt teething anymore.

tiffy

Posted : 7/21/2006 5:37:36 PM

Labs are notorious chewers and slow to mature.

malnmutt

Posted : 7/21/2006 6:17:46 PM

I usually tell people who adopt labs from my shelter to expect puppy craziness until they're about 3.

For coming in the house, I would offer him some really super ultra awesome treat -- like some chicken or some chhhheeeessseee. And maybe work on him coming in and then let him go right back out so he learns that going inside doesn't always mean that he gets put in a crate and coupled with the super awesome treats, I bet he'll be willing to come in in no time!

I have seen some crates with metal liners. Maybe check out free-cycles and yard sales to see if you can come up with one.You could probably find a metal replacement pan on the internet. Also *maybe* a restraunt supply store will have a shallow pan large enough, but I doubt it.

Maybe you could try a Nyla-bone for him to chew on in this crate. They make one version called the "Galileo" bone and it's a MONSTER of a chew toy. I'd be surprised if he could destroy it.

Bridget Kline

Posted : 7/21/2006 6:39:19 PM

I just had to lure him in the house with a french fry, yesterday my boyfriend lured him in with a piece of pork. Sometimes I think Vinnie is just holding out for a good treat!

ashland

Posted : 7/21/2006 6:43:18 PM

ORIGINAL: MyVinnie

I just had to lure him in the house with a french fry, yesterday my boyfriend lured him in with a piece of pork. Sometimes I think Vinnie is just holding out for a good treat!

too funny! I often think the same thing of Ash sometimes. She's smart so I wouldn't doubt it at all.

schleide

Posted : 7/21/2006 6:58:03 PM

I don't know what you might line the crate with - but I sure hope you find something - I feel bad for your poor pup because of the sores!!

I have to agree that at least one MAJOR factor here is almost definitely exercise... I am NOT a morning person, but if I left Wes in his room in the morning without exercising him for an hour or more, he would destroy the room out of boredom. Now, I wake up, take him out for a walk and a romp in the park, bring him home, feed him and let him hang out while I get ready for work, and most days, before I am ready to go, he is already sleeping in him room!! My walker tells me that he is fast asleep when she gets there to take him out mid-day, and he is sleeping again when I come home in the evening, I almost always wake him up when I walk in (I can see through the blinds and he still looks all sleepy and does his streches and stuff). Wes is a year and a half old, and is a lab x border collie - so I hear you about high energy dogs!! Try it for a couple of weeks, I really think you will see a difference with your pup - and you might even like the extra time in the morning... it is growing on me [

]!

Justine Freeman

Posted : 7/26/2006 12:31:35 AM

I have a lab too! I feel for you! Marley had a plastic crate...so it wasn't so bad having nothing in it! We started with old towels. If he destroyed them...oh well! When he was about 10 months old I bought him one of these...

http://www.cushionguy.com/

It is still in his crate...he tried to chew it, but couldn't. I did wait to get him this though until he was a little older and lost all of his sharp little baby teeth.

Frozen carrots work well for the chewing!

Oh, and we walk him 2x a day. He also takes agility classes to tire him out!

jones

Posted : 7/26/2006 4:12:24 PM

There is just no getting around the problem of an underexercised year old Lab. This dog needs LOTS of exercise, period. Also, something a lot of new dog owners don't realize is that after a puppy gets his adult teeth there is a MAJOR chewing period for the next 6 mo to a year. You have a high energy breed, also a mouthy breed (because their job of course is to retrieve birds with their mouths) smack in the middle of a major chewing stage. I've heard of dogs in this phase eating window frames, doors, walls down to the studs, and all manner of household appliances... so I really don't think there's anything you can put in the crate that won't get chewed, all you can do is wear him out in the morning so he will go to sleep.