Drastic change in behavior/temperament

[PrincessDiana]

So Franklin recently turned two years old (on Oct. 2) and in the past week or so has had a HUGE change in behavior. Up until recently he was a well behaved dog who never chewed on anything and spent most of the day lounging with me on the couch. He gets plenty of exercise, a walk at least every other day and playtime in the backyard everyday. They also get to go to the dog park a couple of days every week.

For the past couple of days both before and after our weekend trip out of town, he has been an absolute nightmare. He has been chewing on wires and just walking aimlessly around our house being mischievous in general. Last night he started some obsession with the wall right outside our door in our backyard. Every time we let him out there he sniffs and paws at it almost obsessive-compulsively. Today I thought if I let him explore it for a little bit maybe he'd stop. Well 20 minutes later I look out there and he has been chewing, tearing and biting at the wood. The whole bottom part of the wall has been chewed up. I thought maybe he was bored so I offered him a bone to chew on. No luck. So we went on a walk. No luck. I've even offered some of his favorite toys. No luck. Currently he's walking in circles, whining and crying.

The only relief I've had from this in days is yesterday when we sent him to day care. I don't like to send him to daycare because he seems so stressed out when we pick him up. BUT he slept all evening afterwords..

He hasn't behaved like this since he was a puppy, over a year ago. I was so glad to know the destructive puppy stages were over but it looks like they're back! I don't know what could have caused such a horrible regression! I am at my wit's end with him. The only thing I can think of that has changed in the past couple of weeks is diet. We switched to raw at the beginning of the month. I know there is supposed to be an increase in energy but I can't imagine it would cause an increase in rambunctiousness?! Plus the other two dogs are behaving normally.

Somebody help me before I go crazy! I have 4 exams in the coming weeks and if I don't get some peace and quiet I might lose it.

[ARCHIE]

Wow, sorry that is happening to you. All I can is offer prayer's to
you in hopes it ends as fast as it started. Could there be small
rodents in that wall? Maybe that's why he so obsessed with digging
at it. Hope you find answeres and peace soon.

[livingdustmops]

Originally Posted by ARCHIE

Wow, sorry that is happening to you. All I can is offer prayer's to
you in hopes it ends as fast as it started. Could there be small
rodents in that wall? Maybe that's why he so obsessed with digging
at it. Hope you find answeres and peace soon.

I agree...I have a crawl space that in the cold weather cats and raccoons (not together) will crawl in there..(this house sat empty for over a year) and my crew goes insane running around the house or once outside digging on the deck to get to the crawl space...

We had a freak storm (4 in of snow yesterday) and sure enough you could see the paw prints to the crawl area (the dogs can't get to it) and when I let them out they were crazy.

[PrincessDiana]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll check to see if there is anything under there and try to block it off or something.

Aside from that though he is still acting horribly! HELP!

[BonBon]

My first thought was rodents in the wall. My second thought is maybe he's hungry. How much raw are you feeding him?

[lechy02]

If he's whining and crying walking in circles maybe he's in pain or something? Maybe a checkup with the vet could give you some answers.

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by bonbon

My first thought was rodents in the wall. My second thought is maybe he's hungry. How much raw are you feeding him?

According to PMR guidelines, you are to feed 2-3% of the dog's ideal body weight. For Franklin, that's about 4 oz. per day. We feed a little over that, with about 2 oz. for breakfast and 2.5-3 oz for dinner. I never thought about him being hungry. Lately the dogs have been on the skinny side so we have been feeding them more. When we fed kibble they only eating 1/4 c. of kibble per meal. I feel like volume-wise the raw is the same amount if not more, PLUS it takes them longer to eat raw. BUT it's an interesting thought. Could being hungry really cause him to act mischievously?

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by lechy02

If he's whining and crying walking in circles maybe he's in pain or something? Maybe a checkup with the vet could give you some answers.

I don't think he's in pain -- I mean I'm not for sure but I feel instinctively that the whining is out of boredom/frustration. It's not constant and he doesn't whine when we go on walks or he's sleeping by me.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by PrincessDiana

According to PMR guidelines, you are to feed 2-3% of the dog's ideal body weight. For Franklin, that's about 4 oz. per day. We feed a little over that, with about 2 oz. for breakfast and 2.5-3.5oz for dinner. I never thought about him being hungry. Lately the dogs have been on the skinny side so we have been feeding them more. When we fed kibble they only eating 1/4 c. of kibble per meal. I feel like volume-wise the raw is the same amount if not more, PLUS it takes them longer to eat raw. BUT it's an interesting thought. Could being hungry really cause him to act mischievously?

I really don't know. Mine have done some pretty bizarre things on the rare occasions they let me forget to feed them. I feed a combination of pre-made raw & kibble, so I don't know much about the PMR guidelines. You certainly sounds like you do, though. I wonder if you could feed him a little extra, just for a meal or two, and see if that helps any?

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by bonbon

I really don't know. Mine have done some pretty bizarre things on the rare occasions they let me forget to feed them. I feed a combination of pre-made raw & kibble, so I don't know much about the PMR guidelines. You certainly sounds like you do, though. I wonder if you could feed him a little extra, just for a meal or two, and see if that helps any?

I just gave them each a couple spoonfuls (probably about 1 oz) of raw ground chicken and how he's whining even more. I will try to feed them an extra meal to see if that helps. They need to put on a little bit of weight anyway.

I must admit, all of this is making me question the change to raw feeding. I'm a rational person and not normally silly enough to think that a diet could cause such drastic behavioral problems but since that is the only change I can think of, I'm left feeling a little irrational. I would absolutely HATE to go back to kibble because I fully believe in the benefits and importance of feeding a biologically appropriate diet.

My boyfriend and I have also speculated that maybe the physical stimulation of eating raw meaty bones has spurred an interest in exercising his jaw muscles (hence the reappearance of destructive chewing)? Haha we are just full of crazy ideas because we are running out of options!

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by PrincessDiana

I just gave them each a couple spoonfuls (probably about 1 oz) of raw ground chicken and how he's whining even more. I will try to feed them an extra meal to see if that helps. They need to put on a little bit of weight anyway.

I must admit, all of this is making me question the change to raw feeding. I'm a rational person and not normally silly enough to think that a diet could cause such drastic behavioral problems but since that is the only change I can think of, I'm left feeling a little irrational. I would absolutely HATE to go back to kibble because I fully believe in the benefits and importance of feeding a biologically appropriate diet.

My boyfriend and I have also speculated that maybe the physical stimulation of eating raw meaty bones has spurred an interest in exercising his jaw muscles (hence the reappearance of destructive chewing)? Haha we are just full of crazy ideas because we are running out of options!

I understand!! I just don't know if the diet change would make this kind of difference. Especially since your others aren't behaving differently. And he's whining more after giving him a little extra? Well, I will be so curious to see what happens after you feed him again. I sure hope something helps him soon!

[Patti]

Roxie just turned 2 and she has her moments where I can just see her getting bored. SHe starts looking for trouble. My other 2 are older and not as playful. The other day she was sitting in back of Pixie, who was sleeping and I watched her keep lightly tapping Pixie on the back with her paw, just like a little kid trying to bug a sibling. Hopefully Franklin will settle back down.

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by Patti

Roxie just turned 2 and she has her moments where I can just see her getting bored. SHe starts looking for trouble. My other 2 are older and not as playful. The other day she was sitting in back of Pixie, who was sleeping and I watched her keep lightly tapping Pixie on the back with her paw, just like a little kid trying to bug a sibling. Hopefully Franklin will settle back down.

Thank you, Patti. I was so hopeful that he had finally settled down for good but maybe this is his last round of maturing?

[megansmomma]

I am leaning toward the mouse in the house theory. Pebbles was obsessed last winter and I am positive we had a mouse. She would pace around and stand in the corner of our laundry room and I just could not get her to stop. It is that time of year.

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

I am leaning toward the mouse in the house theory. Pebbles was obsessed last winter and I am positive we had a mouse. She would pace around and stand in the corner of our laundry room and I just could not get her to stop. It is that time of year.

Thanks! We will check for rodents and put out some dog-safe traps but it unfortunately still does not address the issue of restlessness and chewing.