Destructive Behavior

[Guest jvandover]

Our newer Grey, Chad, has been exhibiting destructive behavior. Recently he has been tearing up and chewing anything he can get, sometimes a toilet paper roll or a newspaper but most recently he actually took a bag that had food (dried pasta) off of the dining room table and tore up a pasta packet, eating much of the contents.

 

For the most part he seems a very happy-go-lucky dog, so happy in fact that most "punishments" don't phase him. Telling him "No" or "ah-ah" don't seem to bother him, neither has squirting him with water. For the most part he just started this recently, he has started grabbing stuff off of shelves that has been there undisturbed since we got him (in March, btw).

 

Also, he is never alone as we have another Grey. He seems to do this MORE often when we are home. Sometimes we can be away briefly and hes fine, other times hes not. But today I was gone all day, and the Greys were together by themselves and got into no trouble at all. I came home, walked them, played for a bit, then came downstairs, 25 min later I go upstairs to a mess.

 

Sorry, I know this post is completely scattered and I can probably provide better background at a later time I am just a little out of it at the moment.

[Batmom]

Dogproof dogproof dogproof.

 

He's either looking for something to do, or he's looking for attention. Joseph tends to do things like this when he wants his supper, he wants to go out for potty, he wants somebody or somedog to play with him, he has excess unused energy .......

[TheFullHouse]

I agree with Batmom. With some you can't leave anything laying around. He may need more exercise than the others. A tired dog is a good dog.

[Guest Swifthounds]

What Batmom said.

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

Yep, agree with the above. When he starts acting kooky, show him how you want him to play. I think that's what he's doing, he sounds bored so he's causing trouble! When I got Jesse he was two years old, and boy did he have a LOT more energy than the girls. He needed more mental stimutlation too. So when he started winding himself up, someone went and played with him. Ten minutes of throw the stuffie around the house and he was fine again. I also bought him a lure pole to play with and a jolly ball for the yard. He's the only one of my four dogs that really plays with either of those things. And he loves them both!

 

I've also seen some mental stimulation toys on here that people have bought for their dogs, not sure what they were or if they stood the test of time for a greyhound's interest, but maybe someone with experience here will chime in. I think they are the basic hide the treat in the toy and figure out how to get it out. Not just a kong, but a plastic toy that the dog has to slide around to get the toy out. Or maybe a kong??

Edited May 29, 2010 by 4dogscrazy

[Guest jvandover]

Yeah, he plays with toys a lot (A lot of other Grey owners I know were surprised by this). He has a ball you have to roll around to get the treats out, but he is too silly to bother to figure it out .

 

I guess the thing that confuses me, is the inconsistency of it all. I can't figure out a pattern to it so I can try to correct it. Maybe he just needs more playtime.

[jenn8]

For the time being, you'll need to keep everything out of reach so he doesn't continue to reinforce bad habits. Over time, he should be less interested but I'm not sure you can ever trust a dog alone with a bag of noodles.

 

Every time I walk out my front door, I check the kitchen first. It just becomes habit.

 

Jenn

Edited May 29, 2010 by jenn8

[Guest SusanP]

For what it's worth, our hounds who stole things or stole and chewed things early on eventually settled down and stopped doing it for the most part (though Spinner still steals shoes and collars and hauls them to his bed-no chewing). Spinner at one time stole dirty dishes out of the dishwater in the sink, gallon jugs of vinegar, curios, purses, soap, you name it, and chewed some of them.

 

It's interesting that in ours this behavior also emerged a little while after the initial adjustment to adoption occurred--probably 3-4 weeks in our dogs.

 

In the meantime, No food on tables or counters (Top of fridge works well) and a very loud, booming NO when you catch him in the act. Be sure to remove precious things or things that could injure or poison your dog so that there are no tragedies.

 

Lots of positive attention, time outside, walks, etc... can keep his mind and body busy so he has less time for naughtiness. He may be doing it as a way to get your attention and/or out of boredom.

Edited May 29, 2010 by SusanP

[Guest jharr]

Boris steals some things, but we noticed early on that he has an affinity for cardboard and was stealing boxes out of the recycling container. We then got a recycling container with a lid and we make sure that we give him the boxes before they go in there so he has first right of refusal. He steals toilet paper so we keep the bathroom doors closed. He can't have raw hide so he steals pine cones out of the kindle box and chews on those. So far nothing valuable has fallen prey to the pointy tooth [fingers crossed]. I guess our approach is like the one we took when squirrels were raiding the bird feeder. We got a bowl and filled it with sunflower seeds and nuts for the squirrels. Give 'em what they want that's cheap and easy and they will leave your valuables alone. Good luck with this.