Destructive Dog - Help Please?
So my 8 month old English Bull Terrier has always been a bit destructive. Especially during the night when there is no supervision of him. He used to chew on little unimportant or inexpensive things, like a sprinkler, plastic water bowls (we had to buy metal), etc. But just in the past two weeks he completely destroyed a Christmas ornament that fell from the roof due to winds, ripped apart an expensive water hose, broke the tap water purifier, shredded his deluxe doggy bed, and cut through the CableTV Cable.
This sums up to more than $250+ in damages, and while my parents have not mentioned it, I’m getting the feeling that they are going to want him to go soon.
He does get about 40 minutes of exercise (jogs+walk) 4 to 5 times a week, has too many toys at his reach, we feed him treats every now and then plus his two full meals, and he is getting neutered this Tuesday(completely unrelated to the destructiveness).
Any Suggestions? I’d really **** to see him go =(
Thanks!
1) Is a crate = Doggy House? Because he has one and that is where he sleeps. I actually had to ***** the bedding to he wouldn’t take it out or tear it apart. If a crate is a like a closed cage, I don’t go well with that idea.
2) He is not unsupervised durring the day. Apart from the outside exercise he has attention by me, my brother, mom and dad every moment, and we play, and give him treats, and groom him, etc.
3) He actually is very obedient when we are around. Voice commands, tricks, where to go to the bathroom, etc. Problem is those moments when we are not there. All owners must have those.
@Wishnuwelltoo
How can a dog remain supervised during the night when the owner is asleep? Get real.
Isaias
January 12, 2009 - 10:20 PM
seppe
January 14, 2009 | 7:24 PMwell, getting him gone seems the best way to me, i know its hard, i had to do my dog away to and my other one died.. easy to say for me but, get a other one.
sorry to tell you this.
Perdie
January 17, 2009 | 12:30 PMHe should probably be having 40mins of exercise twice a day at least, not to metion mental interaction with you in the form of play&training. The poor thing is distressed&bored thats why he’s destorying everything.
twhrider
January 19, 2009 | 2:02 AMA crate can be your best friend. Secure the dog in an area where he can’t do damage and provide him with safe toys to work out some of his energy on. Somehow this doesn’t suprise me…my vet wanted a bull terrier, and so I investigated the breed for her. The breed club sent me a very informative flyer describing what they were like to live with, and these three words were repeated over and over again throughtout the flyer….”destructive”, and “high energy”. He’s still a baby, find a safe spot for him to be when he can’t be directly supervised, and enroll him in training classes, both for your benefit, and his. Perhaps a professional can give you suggestions to better help you deal with his situation. Ahhhh…..gotta love those terriers (or is it terrorists???)…
rockdove_8
January 21, 2009 | 4:56 AMAt night, put him in a safe dog cage so he feels secure and will fall asleep instead of getting bored in the night and destroying things. We have a German shepherd and we had to put a cage around the x-mas tree because she would eat through the presents. Try to scold him when he does something wrong, so as he does it more he will realize that if he keeps doing that he will get in trouble try spraying him with water, yelling, etc. Good luck i hope this helped.
wishnuwelltoo
January 21, 2009 | 2:30 PMI wouldn’t think he is getting enough exercise. I am concerned that an 8-month-old puppy is so unsupervised. If you are having trouble with house training, he shouldn’t be unsupervised. He should have limited space, and when he can behave in that space, he can graduate to more space. He needs more exercise, training, take training classes with him, so you will know how to train him. Supervise more until he can behave.
Megan L
January 23, 2009 | 10:43 PMMy dog did this too.
She bit on the rails on our porch and would tear apart furniture.
The solution if you go to Pet-smart or a place like that there is a spray. It is sour apple and if you put it in there mouth right after they do something it will stop very soon.
if you find that they chewed on it late at night while you were asleep put the dogs nose into the furniture and then spray the stuff in there mouth.
I know its hard to have this kind of pressure, but this stuff works.
The other thing you could use is candy spray sour apple flavored that also works. Trust me.
Good Luck, I hope this works for you.
casinowyo
January 25, 2009 | 11:46 PMCheck out “the Dog Whisper” . He is great. Also I think the neutering thing will help out somewhat. Good Luck
Mainoki
January 26, 2009 | 12:13 PMTake him for walks everyday towards dusk. That way he’s too tired to chew anything
AUSSIEMOM
January 28, 2009 | 12:04 PMhe need mental and physical exercise
40 minutes isn’t a whole lot
CRATE him at night and when you have to leave him home alone..
Sandra
January 28, 2009 | 7:43 PMYelling and spraying him with water is not a good idea, as another poster suggested. He needs a crate ! He will feel safe and secure in there at night, and he won’t be able to ruin your house. Make sure he can stand up and turn around in it , and make sure he has a few safe toys , and water. Make sure not to crate him as punishment . Getting rid of him is not the answer. He needs training and attention and love:)
Hunter M
January 31, 2009 | 6:23 PMMaybe you can make the things out of reach or block areas. Also if it is alone all day maybe try to keep it busy like maybe some toys bones etc…. I tried to get a cage but it does not work so i would recommenced Keeping Things Out of reach,keep it busy and lots of outdoor time. Also I have a jack russel that we adopted and it used to chew things at night when its free like you said and also she chews during the day. At Night i would try to keep the dog confined or with you and keep things out of reach. And try getting a gate at pets-mart,pet-co etc… for the day. I hope it works and sorry my advice wasn’t’ to great.
science chick
February 4, 2009 | 2:12 AMFirst, he should be crated when you cannot supervise him. THat completely prevents the chewing. Read up on it a bit, make sure never to you never use it as a punishment and don’t overuse it.
But he does need more exercise! He needs it every single day, not just 4 or 5 days a week. Also get him into obedience training.
ADD: Yes, a crate is closed. It is not cruel, it is the only safe way you can contain this dog. Done right, it is a safe haven for him. Don’t anthropomorphize here, it is a dog, this is common, and it is BETTER for the dog.
Training isn’t just a “sometimes” thing, you continue to work on it. If he freaks when you aren’t around
And if you spend about 5 mintues researching this breed, you will find out they are smart and enegentic, needing strong control and a bunch of exercise. Try and step up, if you get rid of him realize that is is likey he will be put down. There are tons of dogs in need of homes and les sepople taking them in due to the economy, a troubled dog is incredibly difficult to place right now. If he sin’t doing well with you it will likely get wore with the stress of a new house. Just crate him, it really is for his own good.
kdixiedallas
February 4, 2009 | 9:00 AMFirst off, you have a Bull Terrier. What did you expect? Shame on whoever sold you this dog to make sure it was not being properly housed when unsupervised. This is a breed that wants to be with you. At this age this dog should be sleeping in a crate inside the house. When no one is home this dog should be out in a run. Welded wire, not chain link because anyone that knows bullies knows they can chew trough cain link in less than 30 min. Don’t tell me you think that crates are mean because when this dog dies from a blocked bowel after eating something he shouldn’t have whose fault will that be? Dogs that are crate trained LOVE their crates they are not bad things when used properly. Obviously you need to find a trainer that is very familiar with this breed because you are going to be in for some rude awakenings in the next year or so.