Hobbs did the same exact thing when we first started crate training him. We couldn't keep him locked up anywhere with a babygate because he chewed through the babygate and then learned to jump over it!! We settled on crate training because he too was tearing up stuff. To make him stop barking, we put a dark towel over it to make it dark and put the crate in a dark room with the TV on. Also put a recently-worn Tshirt of yours in the crate with him. At least if he does bark, the towel will muffle the sound. You could also try putting the crate in the bathroom with the fan on to muffle the sound. The only thing that is going to keep them from tearing up stuff is if you confine them when you aren't around to watch them. There is no way to cover an x-pen with anything to muffle the sound bc it is just too big. My advice would be a crate. Just make sure that you DO NOT let him out when he does bark bc this will only teach him that barking will get him out of there, then he will never stop barking. Crate training requires a lot of patience, but I believe that it's the only way to control an out-of-control, barking dog like Hobbs. It only took a couple of weeks for Hobbs to learn to love his crate. Now he is very peaceful to live with. |