# Maisy started chewing...



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I think too much freedom if she can't understand not to take those things in your absence. What happens when you are there? Do you have to tell her to leave those items? If you really want her loose in the house then you have to up your neatness with table tops.

Javelin is younger, but basically house broken. However when I go to work tomorrow he will be confined in the kitchen because I know he doesn't understand not to chew things that I care about. My kitchen is old, so I don't care if the corners of cabinets get a bit frayed.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I think it's too soon for her to have the run of most of the house. I still confine Buck to my kitchen and hall because it's SPOO-proofed. He's a fiend for paper and at 9 months discovered the art books and a stack of New Yorkers on a low coffee table. He decided to do some shredding and fortunately I caught him before he destroyed the books. For me it's a safety thing. He's been solid on the house training since he was very young, but I have never forgotten one PF member's dog that chewed a plastic CD case. Everything's a chew toy for quite a while.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

She's not rebelling in a cognitive way. She's bored. That's all. She needs an ex pen or safe room for a while longer...not ready yet for all that unsupervised freedom. My two toy Poodles only recently can be trusted in the house for hours while I'm gone on errands. And they're 2 years old!!! They were late bloomers in a few ways. But even my Dobe when he was a pup couldn't be trusted until he turned 17 months old. So it varies. My Poodles are partners in crime and even now, I drive into my garage and think...gosh, I hope they were good. And so far, so good. But I half expect some little disaster one of these times, like a chewed magazine or something. Actually, I put magazines up high because that is one thing they might just go for. I usually take them for a good, hard walk before I leave so they'll nap. But not always....Your dog is still _very_ much a puppy and puppies do the darndest things.


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## Shellie (Jun 3, 2015)

lily cd re said:


> What happens when you are there? Do you have to tell her to leave those items?


She doesn't touch anything she isn't supposed to while we are with her. She plays with her toys, we give her attention, we play fetch, she naps, we go on walks, etc...



Poodlebeguiled said:


> She's not rebelling in a cognitive way. She's bored. That's all. She needs an ex pen or safe room for a while longer...not ready yet for all that unsupervised freedom.


Will she get to the point where she can keep herself entertained without being destructive? Meaning will she be "bored" forever and continue to be destructive when she roams while we're gone, or will she grow out of this as she gets older?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Dogs that have matured into adulthood are better at impulse control. Even so I would suggest that you should consider leaving special chewies when you leave her as a way to help her understand how to entertain herself constructively, now and in the future once she has really earned more freedom. I give Lily and Peeves special puzzle toys stuffed with a durable chew plus some healthy cookies on the days when i have long class days. Javelin will get a puppy version of this every day when I leave for classes starting tomorrow (first day of fall semester) I think she is just showing normal adolescent behavior.


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## peccan (Aug 26, 2014)

Some things to consider (apart from confinement to a safe area):
- excitement and energy level prior to your leaving -- is she getting all wound up and ready to have fun and left with no one to play with when you leave?
- overall energy level -- is she getting too much intense exercise -- is she a super athlete left with nothing to do?


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Shellie said:


> She doesn't touch anything she isn't supposed to while we are with her. She plays with her toys, we give her attention, we play fetch, she naps, we go on walks, etc...
> 
> 
> 
> Will she get to the point where she can keep herself entertained without being destructive? Meaning will she be "bored" forever and continue to be destructive when she roams while we're gone, or will she grow out of this as she gets older?



I dunno...sooner or later, they just settle down. They can handle being bored better maybe. Or those kinds of destructive things don't float their boat any longer, once they get to a certain stage. It all varies between dogs. You'll know. Later, you can give little tries for just a short time and see how she does. I'd definitely keep her under lock and key for a few months and try again. I think behavior just plain gets better in a general way, in all kinds of ways when they have plenty of brain and physical exercise. So, obedience work every day, a good run, some tricks to learn...some focus or self control games that can find online (Lat training, Kikopup leave it) stuff like that can help them mature nicely. But puppies are puppies and mischief makers...just like you wouldn't leave a 5 year old home alone but you might a 13 year old. (Or maybe the opposite would be safer) LOL. Anyhow, a growing up process is going on and it looks like your little gal isn't quite ready to be left alone unsupervised with free run of the house. 

She is better behaved when you're with her, yes. That's natural. When alone, dogs can become bored and even anxious and their behavior won't be the same necessarily. Give a bit more time and I'm sure she'll settle down. If my brats can do it, your dog can too. lol.


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

i made the mistake of leaving for a few hours when she was around 8 months. She chewed the corners of my wood columns which really can't be replaced unless stripped down.Some other not so bad tales as well.

Now at 1 1/2 she can be trusted and I no longer crate her when gone.
Wish I knew that at 6-8 months.


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## Shellie (Jun 3, 2015)

Thanks, everyone, for all of the awesome advise! I think the general consensus is that Maisy is just a bit too young to roam the house, so we will continue to keep her in our entry way, which is a safe and puppy-proof area that she enjoys spending time in even when we are home.

I do work with her every day with basic commands (sit, stay, come, etc) so that she continues to get better at them, and we are now doing them outside when it's nice and that has been pretty fun to see her improve. We also take a walk each afternoon and do plenty of fetch-sessions outside. She gets let out mid-day and either walked or played with for about 30-45 minutes. We do not rile her up before we leave for work... sometimes she is so tired that we have to pick her up from sleeping to go potty before we leave (LOL).

*Poodlebeguiled*... Your last post was very informative and absolutely hilarious :lol:


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## StormeeK (Aug 3, 2015)

I too thought Dewey was ready for an expansion of his confinement when he was about 9 months. Really stupid of me! I came home to a chewed up antique couch (see pic). Luckily I hated the couch anyway and now with duct tape and a strategically placed blanket you can't tell. I did find that the couch had horsehair as stuffing! Now though at 18 months he is trustworthy in a larger area for a long period of time. 

Worse though is that Rex ( GSD) pulled the hose attached to the pool cleaner completely out of the water and destroyed the entire thing at 10 months. Approximately $500 to replace. Then a few weeks later chewed the bumper on our new SUV! $650 to fix. Our fence surrounds the entire house and 5 acres but I never thought to be concerned when he was let out. He never bothered anything at all inside the house. Now at 2 years I can trust him anywhere.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Oh wow! That was some expensive stuff. And they look so innocent in that picture. Hahahahaa....sorry, not funny, huh. Well, I guess it's one more price we pay for these adoring creatures.


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## Shellie (Jun 3, 2015)

Wow! Those are some pretty expensive things to replace! Luckily Maisy only got to a couple of magazines that had already been read, chewed down a couple of times on a flash drive but didn't damage it, destroyed a cheap ink pen and our TV remote. Ironically though we were having cable installed the day she chewed up the TV remote, so we got a new one anyways  It could have been so much worse!


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

StormeeK said:


> .
> 
> Worse though is that Rex ( GSD) pulled the hose attached to the pool cleaner completely out of the water and destroyed the entire thing at 10 months. Approximately $500 to replace. Then a few weeks later chewed the bumper on our new SUV! $650 to fix. Our fence surrounds the entire house and 5 acres but I never thought to be .


Oh wow! Rex was very industrious, wasn't he? Ouch!

Stormeek, that is a great photo of Dewey and Rex in your signature. 

I think the worst destruction we have had is when our spoo girl Maggie chewed up a wooden windowsill.


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