Summit Chewed A Hole In The Door Frame!

[krissy]

Hi everyone! This is sort of an emergency eeek! situation. I basically know what the issue is, but in terms of handling it I just want to see if anyone has any suggestions I may have overlooked.

 

Summit and I are in Stratford for 2 months while I'm at my externship. We're about an hour from home. We are staying with one of the "girls" from the clinic. Our bedroom is in the basement and is quite spacious. Summit is gated in there while I am out, and this is a routine he is used to as it is what I do with him at home. He gets a Kong and a radio as per usual. He gets a walk before I go, usually gets to jaunt around in the backyard when I get home from work, and either more backyard time or a walk before bed. The people we are staying with have a 6 month old BeagleX who loves Summit. They get along well, though I'm sure he often considers her a bit of a pest.

 

Yesterday I was gone far too much, but there was no helping that. I was at work from 7:45 until 5:30, went home to let him out and feed him, then had to be back at work from 6:30 to 9:00. I got home, dropped my stuff off in my room and went to take a shower. When I came back from my shower I went to let Summit out for a pee. He was sleeping in bed so I called him, removed the babygate... and discovered a HUGE chunk of the wooden doorframe destroyed and splinters all over the floor. It's the doorframe on the outside and actually below the top of the babygate... so he had his head out and over the gate to chew this. There was blood in the splinters on the floor but none in his mouth, go figure.

 

He is at work with me today in a kennel and we're driving home after work to get his crate. I realize that this was probably more of a frustration thing than full out SA since I was home when it happened. There are several things I find odd. The first is that he didn't do this while I was gone for 12 hours, that he did it in a period of about 10 minutes, and that he was completely calm when I came back from my shower! If he was anxious I would expect him to destroy the doorframe in 10 minutes... sure, but to still be panting and distressed when I walked back in 2 minutes later from my shower.

 

There were some fireworks here over the weekend as well (Monday was a holiday) and we discovered that he is really scared of them. So there was a combination of scary things and my being around for quite a bit for a few days. I had gotten him a DAP (phermone) collar on Saturday to help with the fireworks, so I further can't believe he would do this. I was in shock. He has never done anything even close to this before, and he has never shown any suggestion of SA.

 

I have considered muzzling him and leaving him gated but I'm concerned that he will rub it against walls and cause more damage. Next week when I have to work 12 hours I will be bringing him with me for the last 3 hours. I realize it isn't an ideal situation and yesterday was an extreme day that I will try to avoid happening again in future, but unfortunately this is the situation we are in. We have been here for 2.5 weeks and have another 5.5 to go. Any suggestions for dealing with this that I may have overlooked are welcome.\

 

Thanks.

[Yamaha_gurl]

Just to clairfy, he did it after you were home at 9?

 

Try the crate, see how that goes...if not good, just hand him over to me, I'd love a giant white prancing pony

[krissy]

Just to clairfy, he did it after you were home at 9?

 

Try the crate, see how that goes...if not good, just hand him over to me, I'd love a giant white prancing pony

 

I got home about 9:10. Went downstairs to drop off my back pack and went upstairs to take a shower. I often go down, drop off my stuff and then leave him for a few minutes while I grab a snack, check e-mail etc. so that he gets ignored for a few minutes before I give him attention. At home we always ignore him for 10-15 minutes after we arrive home. So I was home, albeit out of earshot.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

You really think a piece of plastic rubbing on a wall does more damage then teeth? I would muzzle and go about your business. Don't overthink the situation.

 

Chad

[krissy]

You really think a piece of plastic rubbing on a wall does more damage then teeth? I would muzzle and go about your business. Don't overthink the situation.

 

Chad

 

I wish I could, but this isn't my house. It isn't even really a place I rent. I mean, I pay them a small amount, but they also occasionally feed me, they let my dog out, they let me use their pool, they invite me to watch movies with them, etc. I feel terrible that my dog who I told them was very well behaved (which they have seen over the last 2 weeks) destroyed a piece of their house (which my boyfriend is going to have to come fix this weekend, and if he can't we'll pay them what it costs to have someone in to do it). I really can't afford the cost in terms of money or goodwill if he were to destroy anything else. Especially when it's so out of character and I'm not even entirely sure why it happened because it doesn't seem like straight SA.

[Guest eaglflyt]

We always muzzle ours when we are out for any length of time. They may pout a bit, but no damage has been done to anything. They are used to the routine now and all is fine.

[Sambuca]

Are you sure the beagle X didn't come downstairs and do it?

 

I would try either a crate, or if you want to give him some more room you can get an x-pen.

[kamsmom]

Muzzle. He'll be fine.

[krissy]

Are you sure the beagle X didn't come downstairs and do it?

 

I would try either a crate, or if you want to give him some more room you can get an x-pen.

 

She was upstairs chained to the bedpost. She can and does jump the gate if she really wants to get in, so no need for her to chew the doorframe. The majority of the damage is low enough that it could conceivably have been the beagle if she'd been around, but there are marks about 4 ft up which makes it impossible since she's not even a foot tall herself.

 

He does have an x-pen at home but we've left him in it before and he flips it and sneaks out underneath. Planning on going home tonight for his crate, but I really hate to have to do that. I'd love to leave him muzzled but I worry about what will happen if he gets it off (the strap is ripped halfway already and I've been waiting for a greyhound summer event to buy a new one) or if he can't and really starts rubbing it around. He'll rub it on walls and stuff the few times I've tried it. I've never therefore dared to leave it on him while we were gone.

[TheFullHouse]

Chances are you came home and he thought you were there to stay, you immediately left and confused him. He may have been trying to follow you. Have you considered taking him to the bathroom with you? Don't laugh, you have no idea how many dogs join me when I take a bath. I would muzzle him during the day. Fixing a few scratches on the wall is a lot easier than fixing a door frame. He's just confused. He may also hear people upstairs and wonder why he's locked downstairs, if he's not used to it. If he likes his crate, go ahead and crate him. If he doesn't you'll know because he'll try and chew it while you're gone or cry. If that happens just muzzle him.

[Yamaha_gurl]

Krissy, I've got a spare muzzle you can borrow...let me know. The next summer event would be in Puslinch, June 5th fyi

[krissy]

Chances are you came home and he thought you were there to stay, you immediately left and confused him. He may have been trying to follow you. Have you considered taking him to the bathroom with you? Don't laugh, you have no idea how many dogs join me when I take a bath. I would muzzle him during the day. Fixing a few scratches on the wall is a lot easier than fixing a door frame. He's just confused. He may also hear people upstairs and wonder why he's locked downstairs, if he's not used to it. If he likes his crate, go ahead and crate him. If he doesn't you'll know because he'll try and chew it while you're gone or cry. If that happens just muzzle him.

 

He hates the bathroom. I think he's a clausterphobic dog. I had to convince him to go in there with me the first week we were here because I let him out to tear around and didn't realize how muddy it was back there. Well, I turned out a white dog and got back a browny-black one. Which is a bad combination with all the white carpets in the house. He hated that bathroom. He does follow me to the door. In retrospect I realize that my above story was slightly inaccurate. I came home at 9 PM, dropped my stuff off in the room and then called my boyfriend and talked to him for about 15-20 minutes. THEN I went upstairs to take a shower. Still, I doubt that changes anything. I should have just let him out to pee first and then just left him loose. But I was exhausted and smelled like cow (literally, was at a dairy farm) and just wanted to have my shower over and done with so I could relax and not rush the dog on his pee break. Poor decision making I suppose.

 

I've also realized that I can't carry the dog AND his crate in my car because the crate doesn't fit in the trunk, and the seats don't fold flat. I will try muzzling him tomorrow and go home at lunch to check on him... which is little consolation since lunch is about 5 hours into the day and he destroyed a door frame in 10 minutes. My bf will bring the crate on the weekend just in case, and if things don't work out as well as I'd like tomorrow I'll figure out how to drive home for the crate. He would not be pleased about being crated again. I can guarantee that.

[krissy]

Krissy, I've got a spare muzzle you can borrow...let me know. The next summer event would be in Puslinch, June 5th fyi

 

We are planning on being there unless I am on-call.

[JAJ2010]

He was probably miffed that you left again after you got home from work! My little brat Sunshine would do things like that. Not during my 9 hour work day, but if I had the audacity to leave again in the evening without taking the pups with me!

 

She once weasled a roll of quarters out from a crowded shelf (didn't disturb anything that was in front of the quarters on the shelf, that took serious talent!)Removed the roll from the plastic grocery bag, unwrapped the quarters, then strategically placed all 40 of them around the entire Apt. Yes I counted to make sure she didn't eat any. Her little naughty butt is now muzzled when we are not at home!

 

I say either crate or muzzle him and he will be fine. Although if you crate he might just chew the bars so you might be better off just muzzling. It's easy to slap a new coat of paint on the walls (although our pups don't damage anything with their muzzles, they just sleep on the bed all day)

[krissy]

Alright, well now that I've been thinking about my game plan, this begs the question... is there any point leaving him a Kong if he's muzzled? I know they can drink water and eat to some degree, but I wonder what I'm going to leave him to do while I'm gone. Is a Kong too much effort through a muzzle? I'll have my bf bring down his tricky treat ball (you know, the ones you roll and kibble pops out the hole) this weekend which should be an easy activity, but for the next two days I'm not really sure what to leave him with if anything.

[Guest june]

A kong and muzzle might be a bit difficult. Try hiding little bits of treat (that will fit through the muzzle) around the room for him to find. That works great with one of my girls. The only draw back is that now she drives me nuts when she starts looking for any she might have missed when I was gone.

june

[kamsmom]

They can still use a kong with a muzzle. Just takes a little longer.

[GeorgeofNE]

I don't quite understand why he's confined to the basement in the first place? I get that it's a finished basement ROOM, but dogs don't dig being seperated from the rest of the household. Obviously your friends are dog lovers if they have one, although hearing that they keep their own dog tied up in the house makes me wonder...

 

If their dog is a puppy, and being crated, perhaps if the two dogs were crated together (side by side, not "together"!) that would work?

 

If I had to be away for 12 hours, I wouldn't be comfortable crating my dog for that long. I understand it's temporary and unavoidable.

 

Is there by any chance another Greyhound home in the area that might be willing to be a day care provider, so to speak??? There may be another single hound out there who would love the company during the day for a few weeks. Just a thought.

[krissy]

I don't quite understand why he's confined to the basement in the first place? I get that it's a finished basement ROOM, but dogs don't dig being seperated from the rest of the household. Obviously your friends are dog lovers if they have one, although hearing that they keep their own dog tied up in the house makes me wonder...

 

If their dog is a puppy, and being crated, perhaps if the two dogs were crated together (side by side, not "together"!) that would work?

 

If I had to be away for 12 hours, I wouldn't be comfortable crating my dog for that long. I understand it's temporary and unavoidable.

 

Is there by any chance another Greyhound home in the area that might be willing to be a day care provider, so to speak??? There may be another single hound out there who would love the company during the day for a few weeks. Just a thought.

 

It's a bigger room than he has at home and I know all he does is sleep on the bed all day anyway. He's gated down there because that's what happens at home anyway and what will continue to happen at home for at least the next year until we can move to a place that is more our own and more easy going about dogs. The puppy is crated or at doggy daycare anyway. The grandmother is home about 2 hours earlier to look after the little girl after school, and they are allowed to let him out for a pee but I'm not comfortable with Summit being loose when I'm not home. For starters the little girl pesters him. She means well and she doesn't pull his tail or ears or anything, but she runs up to him and hugs him and holds onto his collar so he can't walk away. I want him to be able to just sleep because I know that's what he wants to do. The other thing is that they leave their front door open with just the screened door shut, which is fine but sometimes it doesn't latch and then it can be pushed open by one of the dogs. There's also little kids in and out of the house fairly regularly. Most of the kids are afraid of Summit because he's so big, and I'm concerned that he'll slip out the front door. It's safest to me if he stays downstairs and waits for me to come home. I am not gone for 12 hours most days. It's only on Tuesdays. Most other days are 9-10 hours and I can get home at lunch if I really want to.

 

As to another greyhound, we don't know of any here yet. As much as it would be nice, I also don't want him getting used to having another grey around, because he won't once the summer is over. There are some greys at our next stop in Ohio.

 

He's got his muzzle on today and couldn't have cared less when I put it on him which was surprising because he usually starts rubbing at it immediately. I'm going home at lunch to check in on him and make sure it's still on and he's not causing any trouble with it.

[kamsmom]

My dogs have worn muzzles for 4 years now and they still occasionally come up and rub their faces and muzzle on me or the couch or even the corner of the kitchen table. It's not that they "don't like it", it's just itchy sometimes He'll be fine.

[Guest katethegreyt]

Just another muzzle chime in here:

 

I had my girl in one for awhile after I first got her because she seemed good with the cats, but I wanted a little extra security while I let them roam together.

 

She acted like it was the absolute end of the world when I'd put it on and when I'd come back. She'd rub it all over you and on things, and I was freaked she was going to do it indefinitely while I was gone, but I figured it was better than being crated all day or having a kitty snack = ) So I stuck with it.

 

I think as soon as I left and she knew she was stuck, she forgot about it and went to sleep. Seriously. I think most are that way, they act all pathetic while you are around with those handy thumbs to take them off and then they resign themselves to their fate and go back to bed like good little greys, haha.

[NeylasMom]

I'm kind of shocked I'm the first person suggesting this - how about more exercise or mental stimulation? After all of that time away, you came home and then immediately went upstairs to shower leaving him alone a third time? I would have given him a nice walk before I went to shower at the very least, or done some training with him, something after all of that time alone.

 

Don't you typically do a lot of agility work together? It sounds like with your externship, your time is limited. Less exercise, more time alone, less training, new environment, pesky beagle upstairs, people upstairs he can't get to...I'm surprised that's all he did. A muzzle is a bandaid - saves you from having to do more repair work and from him hurting himself, but doesn't address the underlying issue. I know this is for a limited time and there's probably a limit to what you can do, but you may need to find a petsitter like someone else suggested, or a dog walker if you can't make extra time yourself.

 

As an aside re: the woodchewing itself, I think some dogs find it soothing, which would explain that being the only thing he did. Zuri has mild SA, which manifests as barking and occasionally as peeing in his crate on really bad days. But every now and then he will chew on the edge of a toy basket, not when he's alone and exhibiting SA, but when I'm around. I've even seen him a few times laying on the couch and he'll lift his head up a bit and start chewing on the edge of the coffee table. I just redirect him and he leaves it alone, I can probably count on one hand the number of times he's done it and who knows why those particular days, there's just something about it that he likes.

[krissy]

I'm kind of shocked I'm the first person suggesting this - how about more exercise or mental stimulation? After all of that time away, you came home and then immediately went upstairs to shower leaving him alone a third time? I would have given him a nice walk before I went to shower at the very least, or done some training with him, something after all of that time alone.

 

Don't you typically do a lot of agility work together? It sounds like with your externship, your time is limited. Less exercise, more time alone, less training, new environment, pesky beagle upstairs, people upstairs he can't get to...I'm surprised that's all he did. A muzzle is a bandaid - saves you from having to do more repair work and from him hurting himself, but doesn't address the underlying issue. I know this is for a limited time and there's probably a limit to what you can do, but you may need to find a petsitter like someone else suggested, or a dog walker if you can't make extra time yourself.

 

As an aside re: the woodchewing itself, I think some dogs find it soothing, which would explain that being the only thing he did. Zuri has mild SA, which manifests as barking and occasionally as peeing in his crate on really bad days. But every now and then he will chew on the edge of a toy basket, not when he's alone and exhibiting SA, but when I'm around. I've even seen him a few times laying on the couch and he'll lift his head up a bit and start chewing on the edge of the coffee table. I just redirect him and he leaves it alone, I can probably count on one hand the number of times he's done it and who knows why those particular days, there's just something about it that he likes.

 

We're an hour away from home and I'm on call almost constantly. Going home for agility or obedience is completely out of the question. I've looked at a few places here but I can't really take him if I'm on call. Even taking him for a long walk when I'm on call is taking a huge risk. If my boss calls me he expects me to be at the clinic in about 6 minutes, which requires doing nothing more than throwing on shoes and then driving about 20 km over the speed limit. If I'm 20 minutes from home with the dog... well, you see how that's kind of a big problem. He gets a half hour walk in the morning just like he always does. And even though I'm gone more and can't take him for long walks I'd say he actually gets more exercise here than back home because there's a fenced yard where he can tear around every day if he wants which is not a luxury he has at home.

 

He gets a Kong and I hid treats around the room, but to be honest he doesn't even look for them. I've left them in blatantly obvious places to get him started with the game, but I'll find maybe one or two missing when I come home and the rest are still there. It's not like they're too hard to find because when I come home he gets down and goes and finds them and eats them. I think he just never really gets off the bed and therefore never ends up searching.

 

Also, after a 12 hour day at the farm and the clinic, on top of the fact that I've been sick for a week and a half, I didn't really have the energy to take him for a really long walk. I just started being able to eat again after about 4 or 5 days of not eating, until the last day or two I've been on the verge of passing out just doing my job, never mind trying to walk the dog for more than 15 minutes. I took him for a brisk 30 minute walk tonight when I came back, but I'm really just getting back on my feet again. Unfortunately considering the fact that I have no income this summer because I'm at this externship, and I'm paying 2 rents because I have to live here, there's no money to pay someone to look after him. It's a limited time so he's going to have to just learn to deal. It sucks but that's just the way it is right now.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Krissy, dont get all worked up over it. This is a temporary thing and your hound will be just fine with a muzzle. Is it the absolute best thing you could possibly do if you only needed 30 minutes of sleep every day, no, but so what. You do what you need to do to provide for your family and hound. Dont feel judged, people dont know you until they walk in your shoes, so you do what you need to do.

[kamsmom]

Don't get in a tiff. You asked for advice and all Jen was doing was giving another piece of advice that hadn't been mentioned. Only you know what you can and cannot do. My parents owned an obedience training school and the motto was "If you don't train 'em, don't blame 'em". Pretty much sums up everything and anything people get annoyed with about their dogs. Jen just stated the obvious that the rest of us just didn't think about yet. The dog was alone for a very long time and got bored. She offered a few suggestions. I don't see anything that she posted that was derogatory at all. Good luck with the rest of the externship.