Help! Cowboy is destroying
 

my bathroom. He chewed on the baseboard last month.
This morning he chewed and clawed a hole in the wall.
I am going to be in so much trouble. I don't know what to
do with him. He is 8 mo today. He is neutered. I take him
outside to play alot during the day. He is doing pretty good
on potty training. But he sometimes still goes in the
bathroom floor. Any suggestions about the walls or potty,
will be appreciated. Thanks

Is someone home with him and not supervising him or is he (dare I say it?) HOME ALONE? :eek:

Is he getting enough attention and play time?

Is he gated so that he can only be in certain rooms?

I suppose there are lots of questions, because without a whole picture no one can say exactly what the problem is here.

YIKES!!! Clear deoderant works on things you don't want him to chew on, but that DIGGING AND DESTROYING is harder to control. They should come out with a nasty "scratch and sniff" product. Boy, I should do that, I'd probably become rich!!!!! I'd suggest crate training him. I remember putting my teeny tiny yorkie pup in my bedroom, making sure everything was SAFE, and leaving him for the first time. MAN OH MAN!!!!!!!! He tore up all the carpet under and around the door as he tried to dig his way out! We had just bought our house too. All I can think of is crate training. That is what I do and I am very comfortable while gone because I know they are safe.

No, he is not alone. I am at home with him most of the time.
I do Sub @ School some days but he is only alone 3-4 hrs at a
time on those days. I always go home at lunch and on my break. I
take him out to play while I am there.

Yes, I feel that he is getting enough attention. We all play with him and take him outside to potty and play with my other 2 dogs. He goes out every 3-4 hrs to potty. I let him play 10 -15 min each time. If I have time, I stay out longer. When the kids take him out to play they sometimes stay for an hour or so. I only keep him in a gated bathroom when I cannot watch him. This is the bathroom that he is destroying. He has lots of toys and quite a bit of room to play. I also have an indoor kitty his age that he plays with alot.

I have tried the deo. when I was using potty pads, because he would shred them but it didnt really help. I have been putting it on the baseboard where he chewed. He hasn't chewed there anymore. I don't know what was wrong with him the morning. I always try to keep the same routine. I take him out at 7:30am and then put him in the gated bathroom while I get some things done. Then at 9:30 I take him outside to potty and then let him run around in the house till around noon. Then back to the bathroom for a nap, etc....
This seemed to be working great until this morning. Any Suggestions???????

Is he destroying the bathroom when he is gated in it? If so it sounds like he doesn't like to be locked up at all! Maybe you should get a crate. I got Pita the big dog crate so she would have a lot of room, and she doesn't mind it all. At least he wouldn't be able to hurt anything in there.

Thank you for your suggestions. I tried the clear deo. and it seems to be
working on the baseboard. He is crate trained. He sleeps in his crate every
night from 10:00pm until 7:30AM beside my bed. How long do you leave yours
in the crate? When not in the crate does he just run around the house? Do you leave water in the crate? Also how old is you pup? Cowboy is 8mo today. He has been doing great beside's these 2 incidents. Thanks

Yes, he did do those things while being gated in the bathroom. I have a small crate. You said you have big crate, like what size? Is it closed in or metal?
Do you put her bed and stuff in there. I thought about getting a large metal dog crate that his small crate would fit in because he always sleeps in his small crate and I hate to take that away. Also if you had to leave them for 3-4 hours in the crate is that too long? I used to put him in the playpen when
I first got him but I started putting him in the gated bathroom so that he
would have more room. Also I have a kitten that always jumps the gate and
plays and sleeps with him. I just hate for him to be isolated if I have to leave
him for 3-4 hours. Any suggestions?

I bought the biggest crate they had or almost the biggest, it is metal bars. she has her bed in there and there's room for a pee pad too, just in case. I know they are not sposed to go in the crate and she doesn't but I put it in there anyhow. I also bought the bowls that screw onto the sides so she can't dump her water or food. I don't leave her alone very often but when I do I put it next to a window so she can see outside . It's kind of bulky but I know she's safe in there and she doesn't seem to mind it. She goes in there and sleeps sometimes on her own.

I was going to add that I usually only leave mine for about 4 hours if I need to go somewhere. That is not too long to leave them in the crate. I put mine in the crate for naps during the day also when I am home. It is not a punishment. I do leave water in there for them. Also toys that are 100% safe, nothing that makes me hesitant in any way goes in there. I never leave the house and have a pup on the loose. Tiah is an adult and can be trusted....I do let her out sometimes when I'm not home....not always though. It just gives me peace of mind to know that they are safe while I have to be gone.

It sounds like he is rebelling against being shut up. That's too bad. I can understand it. Have you tried bitter apple spray? I suppose taje has the best idea. I have never had to shut mine up like that because someone is there and I know it has to be hard to do it. I'm sorry I can't suggest anything else. Is there a room where you could put him that isn't carpeted that has windows? Looking out seems to be their favorite pastime. At least, that is my experience. :D

Thank you for the info. I will try to keep him in the crate when I can't watch him and see how that goes. I don't know what else to do. I appreciate your help. Thanks

No unfortunately, I do not have a room with windows that I can gate him in.
I will have to just get a large crate that is see thru and put it in my living room.
It has lots of windows. Yes, I tried the bitter apple but he still chews on stuff. Thanks for the info.

Well, good luck and let us know how it goes. I know it's hard, because we all want to let them run around and have fun, but not at the expense of our furniture and carpets or them getting hurt! :)

Unfortunately, these beasties are chewers and always want to be where they aren't. I LOVE the Xpen when I need to keep mine safe. If I am gonna be away for several hours, I use 2 together and all 7 of my younguns are safe and relatively happy. I have "dental" moulding too. But, the deodorant does work. I have seen spray deodorant-actually, it is at the GNC store in the same area where you can buy the crystal deodorant for humans. It is about 6+ dollars but worth every penny. You can spay it on and it does not show..

At 8 months of age, one would expect this cutie to be better controlled. I wonder if he is trying to get to the other pets? Are they within hearing distance, like right outside the door? Are you sure the kitty is just playing with him and not encouraging some bad behavior? Usually when mine get destructive, now that they are young adults, over a year old, they get into trouble when they are either bored or unhappy, needing attention. If you could create a situation using the crate (smaller) for time out and reward with more room, etc. by being good, it might work. I spend most of my time with my two but the other day Lacey decided I wasn't giving her enough attention and I heard this "different" noise. I imagine I was on this website at the time. Sure enough, she was tearing up my wallpaper in the hallway, just having a ball, ripping it to shreds. Sometimes mine also need to know I am the boss, not them. I use scolding and timeout when this happens.