Chew things when left alone for long period of time

[simba1]

I have a 1 yr old male yorkie named "Simba". When we are not home is able to room the living room and the kitchen. He is very well potty trained, so giving him the freedom to walk around the house has never been a problem until recently. Simba's is the type of dog that constantly wants attention or to play, and most of time he gets that attention because somebody is usually home with him. However, he does get left at home for usually 3-5 hrs and when we get home the house is just the way we left it. But now with our work and school schedule he has been staying home alone a lot more frequently and longer. So, now he decides he will start chewing up things. When I get home and see the house torn apart I spank him and make him laydown for a while. We've gone through this for a couple of month's now (constantly whipping him when he tears stuff up) but it seems to only be a problem when he gets left at home for a long period of time (5-7hrs). If we're only gone for a couple of hours or so he is a perfect angel and doesn't tear anything up. So, my question to you is why do you think he is doing this and what can we do to stop it? It seems like he gets mad at us or something for leaving him home for such a long period of time. Is that possible for him to have anxiety or something? I would love to find a solution that will work instead of us having to put him in a cage. Like I said he is an angel when your only gone for a few hours, but longer than that he turns into the "Tazmainan Devil"

Thanks for your help

[d4nimal]

i think he's just bored. yoshi didn't start ripping up some stuff until i had to leave him for amounts of time.

i think that you'll find that everyone here is totally against the spanking of your dog. relatedly, if its a certain period of time after he has done something wrong he probably doesn't even know what he's done when you punish him. he might just start relating seeing you with being hit.

again, i really dont think he's doing it to be spiteful. he just has run out of things to do.

[livingdustmops]

Originally Posted by simba1

When I get home and see the house torn apart I spank him and make him laydown for a while. We've gone through this for a couple of month's now (constantly whipping him when he tears stuff up) but it seems to only be a problem when he gets left at home for a long period of time (5-7hrs). If we're only gone for a couple of hours or so he is a perfect angel and doesn't tear anything up. So, my question to you is why do you think he is doing this and what can we do to stop it? It seems like he gets mad at us or something for leaving him home for such a long period of time. Is that possible for him to have anxiety or something? I would love to find a solution that will work instead of us having to put him in a cage. Like I said he is an angel when your only gone for a few hours, but longer than that he turns into the "Tazmainan Devil"

Thanks for your help

I am sorry but we do not condone whipping an animal. Your little one is bored. You need to pick up some puppy training books so you understand their needs.

[Ladylavender]

Originally Posted by d4nimal

i think he's just bored. yoshi didn't start ripping up some stuff until i had to leave him for amounts of time.

i think that you'll find that everyone here is totally against the spanking of your dog. relatedly, if its a certain period of time after he has done something wrong he probably doesn't even know what he's done when you punish him. he might just start relating seeing you with being hit.

again, i really dont think he's doing it to be spiteful. he just has run out of things to do.

I absolutely agree with this. By the time you are spanking him (or displining or punishing) the deed is done and already forgotten. The only thing you are reinforcing is the association that the event of you coming home means he gets spanked. And this in itself can be stressful. So you are not accomplishing what you think you are. Your dog is not learning the correct behavior.

Your dog is bored and has not learned how to pre-occupy himself in a constructive manner. So you don't have to necessarily cage him, but you will have to confine him in an area where there is very little to get him in trouble and all his toys are in close proximity, so he has no choice but to sleep or play with his toys. Make sure there are chew toys available too.

Once you have made this a "no fail" situation for your dog, the home coming will be more pleasant and you both will benefit from it!

[FirstYorkie]

Whipping him obviously isn't working for you so, hopefully, you're ready to give it up.

I think that we humans make a big mistake when we try to ascribe human emotions to a dog. For instance, if you think he is doing it because he's mad at you, then you are more likely to want to get even with him. Nobody wins when that happens.

Instead of worrying about why he's doing it, focus on the behavior and try to figure out how to manage it.

Okay, he's chewing destructively when he's left at home alone for longer periods. Are there specific items that he's chewing or is it anything that he can get hold of? If it's specific items, you might try using the bitter apple spray on them or, my personal favorite, clear deodorant (it's a great deterrent!).

Can you contain him in a smaller room with off-limit items removed? Give him lots of chew toys and a filled Kong to entertain himself.

Can you have someone come in during the day to walk him?

The only time that punishing him might be effective would be when you catch him in the act. Even then, a loud "NO" and removing him from the situation should be adequate. He has no idea why you are punishing him when you get home.

Does this make sense?

[simba1]

I'd like to thank you all for your input. I feel terribly bad because I think I explained myself incorrectly about spanking my dog. I did not mean the literal translation of "spanking" like you do a child of yours. There are sometimes he’ll get a little whip on the back, but never a true “spanking”. Trust me he gets treated like a KING. With that regard, past experience with dogs have shown me that form of punishment does not solve repeated bad behavior. You are absolutely right that by the time we get home he probably has no clue what he did wrong. But the times we do get home and he has torn something up we immediately know before we even walk through the door because he has his tail down. When he has not torn anything up he is as excited to see you as ever. So, he absolutely knows when he has done something wrong and that is the part we are having trouble with. Even though he knows it just doesn't stop him when were gone for awhile. Curiosity, Curiosity is the only thing that can explain it. After all, male dogs are very curious animals!!

Thanks