How To Stop Her Destruction?

[Guest Tuxi]

We adopted an 8 month old greyhound cross from a rescue about 3 months ago. We don't know a lot about her background except that her and her 3 brothers were dumped and then found and sent to a rescue centre where they stayed for a number of months before being adopted out. So she had never been house trained or lived with any kind of rules as such.

When we first got her she was very much into chewing EVERYTHING and took a while to fully house train. However after perseverance and a few Kongs her chewing stopped and she is now fully housetrained.

 

However in the last 2-3 days out of nowhere she has become so destructive that I don't know what to do.

She is jumping up ONTO the counters when we are not around and taking things. She has learnt how to open the recycle bin as of yesterday and is taking everything out and tearing it up all over the place.

When I got up this morning the kitchen was a mess and she had pulled the curtains down off the pole and shredded them.

I went up for a shower, was gone a max 20mins, came back and she has dug a huge hole in the stones out the back. She had dragged a whole full bag of peat moss across the garden, torn it open and spread it everywhere and she had pulled the washing off the line.

 

She is walked twice a day every day, morning and evening. She is left alone for a max of 4 hours. She has the company of our other 3year old dog. There are loads of toys around of all different shapes/sizes and materials but she shows no interest in them. She doesn't know how to play, I have tried so many times to teach her but she just shows zero interest. She no longer is interested in her kongs.

She is THE most laid back dog I have ever met. She will happily lie on the couch all day when there is someone there and shows no interest in playing or following us around the house but when our backs are turned all she does is play - with the wrong things.

She doesn't have separation anxiety, she is way too laid back for that.

She does her own thing an awful lot and although she is extremely affectionate, she doesn't have much loyalties and if left to her own devices would run away without a 2nd thought.

 

I really need help with her because I have never had a dog like this or with her temperament - even though I have had dogs all my life and have always went onto to do training and agility etc - she baffles me so much and if she carries on with this destruction we will have no choice but to to give her back to the rescue - and that's the last thing I want.

[Roo]

It sounds (to me) like she's lacking mental stimulation, so she's filling in the blanks. She's bored. She's a puppy! How long are her daily walks, and how intense are they? Are they strolls, or are they walks?

 

I'd recommend training. Fun training, not just potty training and "don't chew that!" training. Sit, shake, down, touch, come, etc. Things to engage her brain and make her think.

 

Have you tried food or treat puzzles? I found this and wanted to try it for Daisy but she's not super motivated for anything so I haven't made one yet

 

Also, if you can crate train her, that would help reduce the destruction while you're working on figuring her out. Make the crate a fun, comfortable, safe place (not for punishment) where she gets a special treat (that ONLY happens in her crate). Any time you can't watch her, crate her. If crating isn't an option, babygate her into a room that you've puppy-proofed.

 

Others will probably have better suggestions for you, but these are what came to mind for me

[teri_d]

Sounds like a typical greyhound puppy to me they don't call them land sharks for nothing. We have never had the energy for a greyhound puppy, but our son got a 'toddler' -- 2 favorite stories -- he said one day someone's alarm on their car in his townhouse addition was going off - it was really irritating him so he finally went outside to find the culprit - shocked that it was his car -- goes in to look for the fob and it's not in its place - finds it, not chewed up, just in carlinda's mouth and she is very innocently looking at him - lol!!! Story 2 - he leaves her for the weekend with a lady friend to babysit - comes home and said friend is quite mad that she has demolished the paperback from her bed table all over in tiny pieces -- our son replied 'sorry - forgot to tell you she's a reader!" Gotta love it. She is now four and a little less wild - still cute as a bug tho!

[Guest Tuxi]

I do training and tricks with her every morning before I got to work. she knows sit, lie down, paw, stay, leave it. Any other ideas of tricks I could try?

Her walk in the morning is 15 mins off the leash and her walk in the evening is 45mins off leash in a huge park where she can run in and around through bushes, chase rabbits and birds, play with my other dog etc.

I do think its boredom and maybe lack of stimulation but im just out of ideas of what more I can do.

 

That snuffle thing is a great idea, my other dog would love that however I think Lexi would have more fun just tearing it apart. She is very food motivated but only when it suits her - so she likes to jump up on top of the counters if she thinks there is food up there but if I give her a treat, she could take it or leave it.

 

I don't want to crate her as our other dog isn't crated and I think she would go hysterical if he is out roaming around and she's locked in a crate.

 

She is a bit of a nightmare. Her personality resembles that of a cat. Very independent, do what she wants and that's it. No real loyalties etc.

[TXRedbo]

Someone (thanks sobesmom!) on this board gave me the very wise advice of "This is not a retired racer looking for a couch. This is a young greyhound with his breeding coursing though his veins. Give him work. Give him a purpose. He'll love you for it. And then, he'll mellow out in time" when I posted about my dog being moody and crazy. I think this definitely applies in your situation.

 

If don't already do this, try the training and agility with your puppy! Any puppy is kind of crazy, and greyhounds (lurchers too) are extra crazy sometimes. So much pent-up energy in their little bodies. For us, it was as easy as taking him to the dog park twice a week in the early hours so that he could run circles by himself. 30 minutes of park time twice a week was enough to get out any energy he had. Note: if you go to the park, it might be better to go when no one is there so that your pup has uninterrupted running or training time. If we went when there were people at the park, the other dog(s) would distract Redbo, and he wouldn't get the same benefit.

[Guest Tuxi]

^{Thanks Redbo, that is good advice and I have to keep reminding myself of this. However when she is in the hosue all she wants to do is laze about, she has no interest in playing or chasing ball or anything. She would much rather lie there and watch the world go by. Its like she doesn't realise how much energy she has until we leave her and she has nobody to tell her what she can and cant do - so she just goes wild. I have never caught her in any of these acts so I havnt even seen how mischievous she can be - she is an angel when we are with her. She just leaves a path of destruction behind her haha}

Edited June 7, 2016 by Tuxi

[Roo]

^{Thanks Redbo, that is good advice and I have to keep reminding myself of this. However when she is in the hosue all she wants to do is laze about, she has no interest in playing or chasing ball or anything. She would much rather lie there and watch the world go by. Its like she doesn't realise how much energy she has until we leave her and she has nobody to tell her what she can and cant do - so she just goes wild. I have never caught her in any of these acts so I havnt even seen how mischievous she can be - she is an angel when we are with her. She just leaves a path of destruction behind her haha}

 

If it only happens when she can't see you and she doesn't get destructive if you're in the room (but not paying attention to her) it could very well be separation anxiety. If you don't want to crate her, can you use an x-pen to keep her (and your other dog) in once space that you've thoroughly puppy-proofed?

[Houndtime]

She is a puppy! Has nothing to do with being a greyhound. Some puppies are more active than others and need stimulation and activity. She is playing. She needs to be monitored when you are not around; a crate, a baby gate or x-pen.

 

She need obedience training and maybe some activities scheduled. That is why I won't adopt a dog under three years old. I have two 4 years right now and got them when they were three. Still an eye opener for me after my 13 and 11 years old passed.

 

Good luck and seriously look into obedience training. My daughter adopted an American Bull Dog puppy and started with puppy training right away. Still, she has chewed the front door mat as well as a leather ottoman.

[locket]

I have no real experience, but I just want to throw out a few idea.

We dogsit some hounds and they can go for 20 km off-leashed (I know *sigh*) walks and come back home just fine, not at all tired. However, a 30 minutes walk on leash with us and it exhausted them. Because they had to go at our pace.

A DAP collar? I don't know if it mellows the dog, but it certainly helped with Jack's SA. Like you (mind you, he was 3) he was always sleeping (exhausted) when we were home, but barking his head off for hours on end as soon as we left.

The snuffle mat yes, why not!

Giving her her food NOT in a bowl (slow feeder, frozen in 2-3 kongs, scattered on the floor as a search and found activity....)

Training yes, and a class, why not!

I also found out that "new" places are often more exhausting. Why not go for a coffee and take her along? Or walk a different path or drive 5 mins to a new neighborhood?

Again just throwing out ideas Good luck

[GeorgeofNE]

Yeah, I agree. This is a mixed breed puppy. This behavior is typical of any puppy who is bored and making her own fun.

 

She needs more than a 15 minute walk. If you can shift so that the bulk of her exercise is in the morning, versus the PM, it should help!

 

Good luck, and remember, this too shall pass!

[krissy]

I can't even imagine letting an 8 month old have free reign of the house. I know some pups that can handle it, but I can picture the trouble Kili would have gotten into if left unsupervised. She's 3.5 now and still crated when we leave the house for prolonged periods. I no longer crate her to take a shower, or if I take another dog out for a short walk, and I've also started occasionally leaving her gated in one room if I'm leaving for a medium amount of time (an hour or 2), but full days are crate days.

 

Kenna is only 13 weeks old right now, but with her personality right now I can't see her being unsupervised any time in the next few years either.

 

I agree there is probably some boredom going on. If she's not busy while you're home and destructive while you're gone though... I'd at least consider the possibility of separation anxiety. It may not be, but that is something that is better dealt with sooner than later so it is worth consideration before ruling out. As far as boredom goes, lots of good ideas. I love puzzle/food toys. I also have my puppies in some sort of class for about the first year of their lives (and really it's indefinite since they move on to agility and that never ends).

[Guest Amber]

She sounds fun and sweet in a crazy sort of way! Do you know what she is crossed with ? Saluki, bull , collie?

 

Agree it may be better to try to restrict her whereabouts in the house to just one room, using gates (though she may figure out how to get over them..!)

 

Try to puppy-proof the room she is left it, eg not leave things lying about that are chew-able but leave things for her to do? Like a destruction box? wrapping up a treat or toy in a lot of newspaper and a sealed up box for her to legitimately destroy...Ok a bit of mess to clear up but not your stuff . How about playing hide and seek, scent driven games with her, hiding treats around the house and garden for her to seek out?

 

Is she food motivated?

[Hubcitypam]

Sometimes you have to dogproof yourself...when I had all the 12-15 month old "beauty school dropouts" from the Oklahoma farms I had the busiest microwave, cold oven and top of the fridge in town but one did manage to clear it.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Hubcitypam

[Guest Tuxi]

 

If it only happens when she can't see you and she doesn't get destructive if you're in the room (but not paying attention to her) it could very well be separation anxiety. If you don't want to crate her, can you use an x-pen to keep her (and your other dog) in once space that you've thoroughly puppy-proofed?

 

She definitely doesn't have separation anxiety. I have had dogs with this before and have seen it in friends dogs also. Lexi could not care less about anything. Its purely just boldness. I actually caught her digging this morning and told her 'no' and she stopped straight away - but if I wasn't there she would have kept going. And I have walked into the kitchen and found her up on the counter on one occasion - while I was in the house.

She is kept in the hall and kitchen as it is and if we are only popping out for a short while I will leave the back door open for them as our other dog is an excellent guard dog. I don't think an x-pen would keep her in tbh, im pretty sure she would jump it easily and the restriction would annoy the hell out of her.

 

She sounds fun and sweet in a crazy sort of way! Do you know what she is crossed with ? Saluki, bull , collie?

 

Agree it may be better to try to restrict her whereabouts in the house to just one room, using gates (though she may figure out how to get over them..!)

 

Try to puppy-proof the room she is left it, eg not leave things lying about that are chew-able but leave things for her to do? Like a destruction box? wrapping up a treat or toy in a lot of newspaper and a sealed up box for her to legitimately destroy...Ok a bit of mess to clear up but not your stuff . How about playing hide and seek, scent driven games with her, hiding treats around the house and garden for her to seek out?

 

Is she food motivated?

 

She is very sweet and has such a unique personality - which is why I have completely fallen in love with her. I havnt a clue what she is mixed with. The rescue centre said it could be boxer - which would obviously be a recipe for disaster in the energy department. il try upload a picture of her if I can??

She is very food motivated when it suits her - but other times she couldn't be bothered.

 

She isn't a very hyper-active dog. I cant get her fizzy or excited over anything, she is always laid back and chilled. But then she has this streak to her that's just purely destructive. Im starting to think maybe her intelligence is just higher than any dog I have owned before and she just needs super stimulation. Im going to look up ideas of things can do with her that will keep her brain working as I hate to waste that intelligence. She will be a challenege for me to say the least.

[Guest Tuxi]

[Hubcitypam]

What a cutie. I can maybe see some boxer in the first picture and Fritz my boxer neighbor is more than a handful at about 4 years old.

I've successfully used an ex pen (thank you Carronstar) anchored with cup hooks and bungee cords to enclose the hall and bath. Maybe a buster ball or Kong Wobbler might help? Fritz gets a potion of his kibble in his and it keeps him occupied.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Hubcitypam

[Guest Tuxi]

My other dog is a border collie x boxer and we had him since a young pup - he went through a destructive phase too but nothing like her. He is very well trained now and has the best manners ever and is also super intelligent but he just doesn't have her bold streak so im blaming the greyhound blood for that .

[GeorgeofNE]

She is adorable, but I don't know where they got the idea that she's a greyhound mix!

 

And in this area, any pit bull mix is labelled "boxer mix" to make it more adoptable. So she's probably a pit bull mixed with a mixed breed--maybe some sort of lab mix? Very cute. Reminds me of MY pit bull mix, Kramer. Smartest dog I've ever met!

[Guest Tuxi]

She is adorable, but I don't know where they got the idea that she's a greyhound mix!

 

And in this area, any pit bull mix is labelled "boxer mix" to make it more adoptable. So she's probably a pit bull mixed with a mixed breed--maybe some sort of lab mix? Very cute. Reminds me of MY pit bull mix, Kramer. Smartest dog I've ever met!

I can see greyhound in her for sure. Her body shape and ears are definite sighthound. Also her prey drive is really high.

I had to pop out this morning for an hour and came home to absolute destruction again so I have just went out and bought a crate - always said I wouldn't use one and I didn't like them but desperate times need desperate measures.

Starting from this evening I am going to start with the crate training and she may learn!!

 

Any tips on how to make this a positive experience? treats and toys, kongs etc when she is in there? What if she eats her bed? I obviously cant go getting her a new bed every week so il have to just leave her with all the fluff etc until there is nothing left for her to ruin.

How will this teach her not to wreck our furniture when she is out of it then? I still don't quite understand the concept of crates.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Tuxi

[Roo]

Definitely a Kong! Frozen peanut butter Kongs are usually a hit. You can also use chews as special in-crate treats. We always fed breakfast and dinner in the crate (door open) so that the crate became the Awesome Food Place. Make it comfortable, but I wouldn't use beds or blankets with stuffing until you know whether or not she'll shred them. Try getting fleece blankets somewhere (a Goodwill or second hand shop is great for these) and using those until you can trust her.

[Guest Tuxi]

Definitely a Kong! Frozen peanut butter Kongs are usually a hit. You can also use chews as special in-crate treats. We always fed breakfast and dinner in the crate (door open) so that the crate became the Awesome Food Place. Make it comfortable, but I wouldn't use beds or blankets with stuffing until you know whether or not she'll shred them. Try getting fleece blankets somewhere (a Goodwill or second hand shop is great for these) and using those until you can trust her.

 

Yeh I have 2 kongs and my other dog isn't that pushed on them so I will put some of her brekkie into them and put peanut butter over the top and freeze them.

Good tip on the fleece blankets instead of beds. I have bought her 2 beds now and she destroyed both within a matter of hours so blankets are what she has now, they have holes in them but they will do for now.

Also good idea to feed her dinner and breakfast in the crate.

I cant imagine her having a problem going into it in the first place but its getting her to relax in there when I leave for work. It will only be a max of 4 hours but that's still a long time. I really pray this works.

My OH wants rid of her at this stage and hates the thoughts of a big ugly crate in the house

[Roo]

Glad you already have some blankets on hand! It can also be a good idea to practice crating at random times, not just when you're leaving. We tell adopters that if they're going to crate when they're not home, they should also crate occasionally throughout the day so that the dog doesn't start thinking "Crate = mommy leaving" and start refusing to go in. You can crate her when you shower, when you're going to be busy in another room, if you're going to be busy in that room and don't want her to wander off...The crate should be a comfy place where she's put to hang out and nap and chew on a treat sometimes, not that place she's put whenever you leave. Just a thought

[Banjoman]

Maybe you can fit a large cardboard box in the crate to act as a bed 'space' then if she wants to get antsy with anything she can tear that apart rather than the blankets. All my puppies have had cardboard box beds until they had finished teething and reliably settled down nicely on a 'proper' bed.

 

Is there anybody who could come in and take her for a walk during the daytime? just two walks, one at either end of the day doesn't seem to give a puppy enough exercise time in my experience with whippet puppies. My ?three year old newly adopted lurcher has an hour long walk most mornings and still comes home and wants to race around my small garden. Although it sounds as though your morning walk should tire her out, she is kept occupied by watching what is going on while you are in the house. Once she is left there is nothing to keep her interest so she is making her own entertainment. My whippet puppies have demolished umpteen things they shouldn't and at her age she is still going to be destructive. Even my retired racing greyhound has been known to chew up large Lego components, who knows why?

[Guest Amber]

Wow she is gorgeous! Looks like some bull breed or boxer / mastiff type in there. Is she very big?

 

Is she old enough to start agility or maybe some other sport like tracking? Might keep her busy!

[Guest Tuxi]

Wow she is gorgeous! Looks like some bull breed or boxer / mastiff type in there. Is she very big?

 

Is she old enough to start agility or maybe some other sport like tracking? Might keep her busy!

 

Im really not sure what she is mixed with. I was tempted to get one of those DNA breed test things done but I think it might be a bit gimmicky and not all that accurate?! I saw 2 of her other brothers when we were adopting her and they looked even more boxer-ish, especially one, he was completely white with just a brown patch around his eye and her other brother was brindle and white.

Lexi is about 23" tall and weighs 17.4kgs. So not that big really.

 

She is 10 months old and I just finished her puppy obedience class last night and the lady is starting an agility class for pups in 2 weeks time - all dogs over 9 months are welcome, wont be anything too strenuous so am really looking forward to that. I done agility with my other dog for a few months last year but stopped when my dad fell ill, keep meaning to start back with him because he is brilliant at it. I think once I get her up to his standard il go back to doing it every week and just swap dogs each week . Not sure how motivated she will be though, she is completely fearless and will be great in that sense but her lack of enthusiasm for anything will definitely hold us back - time will tell.

 

She had her first night in her crate last night - dog trainer told me to try her for the night while we were in the house so we would know for today if she would be ok for a few hours - she was absolutely fine. Didn't give a sh*t, honestly, most laid back dog ever. She just slept the whole night long and wasn't phased. I put her in again this morning when I left for work (after her walk and play etc) and will be back at about 12.30 and she will be out for the rest of the day then when I can keep an eye on her. Please god this works and she will end up actually loving the crate.