If you have ever been a dog owner at some point in your life, or maybe you still own one today, you may have experienced a time when you came home and saw that the carpet was urinated on, a part of your couch armrest ripped open, and even your left shoe went missing.
Dismayed owners who find themselves in this situation often don’t know what to do, much less know why it happened. This is not a cause for too much worry though, apart from any real damage your doggo may have inadvertently done, this problem is fairly solvable. Let’s look into the necessary details as to why and what we can do when our beloved pet or pets are acting up.
Why Does My Dog Destroy Things when I’m Out?
Since this guide is based on an event that may already have happened, naturally, the first step would be to know the possible reasons why your dog just decided to go nuts and eat your couch. In this scenario, being able to know and understand the possible cause of the unwanted behavior is already half the problem solved.
Here are some of the possible causes that we will discuss in more detail as we go along with the guide:
- Your dog might be hungry
- Your puppy is exploring with his mouth
- Marking their territory
- Not enough exercise
- Your dog might be bored
- Your dog might be stressed out due to loud noises
- Your pet may have separation anxiety
- Your dog might have generalized anxiety
- Your dog might be sick
- Your dog is having “too much freedom” and no structure at home
It is important to know at the least why your dog is being destructive before trying to modify his behavior. This is so that you will be able to avoid wasted time and effort (and even additional expenses) trying to solve a problem that could have been simple enough to solve in the first place.
This will also help you not to panic and not to be overly critical of yourself in the way you take care of your dog. You are responsible, but not solely responsible. There is still that “dog factor” that you will have to work with to be able to achieve that harmonious pet-owner relationship with your dog.
Why Is It Important to Be Able to Stop Your Dog from Being Destructive?
Aside from the obvious reasons that your dog must behave properly in a way that he or she shouldn’t cause you any added unnecessary stress and wasted money, we all would agree that a pet with some reasonable amount of social skills and doggie manners will always be a better companion at home.
This is in comparison to an unruly animal which later could become an accident or incident waiting to happen. Just like any other behavior that is not appraised or checked, aggression could only get progressively worse. So, it’s up to you the foster mum or dad to put a little bit of structure to make things easier for you and your dog.
How to stop your dog’s destructive behaviors
Step 1: Set Your Dog Up for Success (Control His Environment)
The following suggestions are universal and are applicable even before the problem happens. So, you may also treat these solutions as proactive or even as prevention methods. Do these initial steps as you would normally prepare for a new life with a four-legged friend.
- Give Your Dog a Quiet Environment: To say the least, you can give your dog a place where he can relax and self-soothe such as a quiet room somewhere at the back of the house.
- Try No to Overcrowd Your Dog: Placing your dog in an all too confined space where he can barely sit or stand up, or maybe in a cramped space along with other dogs can cause some unwanted behaviors to arise. This happens especially with male dogs who are cramped together and may end up fighting for territory.
- Properly Fence Your Dog: If your dog is still a puppy, put up fences for him so that he gets to stay in a place where he won’t have the chance to chew on his favorite pair of your slip-ons. If he is already a juvenile, you may fence him out of certain rooms where he might try to go for the furniture and other fixtures. In essence, you will be setting up limits for your dog in and outside the house.
- Crate Train Your Dog: Get your dog a good-sized kennel or better yet a crate to function as his “den” or safe space where he can rest. Remember to train yourself and your dog first on how to go about crate-train him. You can learn the steps here.
Step 2: Exercise Your Dog
Giving your dog his much-needed walk to the park or just even a few blocks down the road is a solution that could probably solve the problem of his couch aggression. Although it’s not a guaranteed fix, it would at least expend most of his energy wherein your dog would end up eventually just wanting to get some rest when he gets home.
If you are busy, you may opt to offer your neighbor some money to watch your dog for a while. Or if you can afford it, get a dog sitter instead. Invest as it will save you the headache of having to spend for repairs on your favorite sofa or even the thought of having to buy another one.
Taking your dog for a walk is also a chance for you to have a little fun and spend some quality time with your dog. This will reduce his tendencies to act out and become destructive. Play a game of fetch or if you have time to spare, a game of frisbee.
Step 3: Train Your Dog to Do the Basics
If you haven’t yet, teach your dog basic commands like “sit”, “stay”, “lie down”, or “come”. These are just a few of the basics that you can teach your dog to instill good social behavior. If you manage to make him obedient and sociable, the less chance of him acting out and having aggressive tendencies.
Again, if you don’t have the time, you can enroll in a reputable obedience school in your area. Or have a trainer train him a home. The long-term benefits will be worth the investment.
Read also: How to Train Your Dog to Stop Barking When Left Alone
Step 4: Identify and Apply the Correct Remedy to the Cause of Your Dog’s Unwanted Behavior
Possible Cause #1: Your Dog May Be Hungry
When a dog is hungry, it will eat and chew at anything to satisfy those hunger pangs. This sometimes happens when owners try to put an overweight dog on a diet hoping to reduce their weight. All in all, those intentions are good and should be good for your dog too. The problem happens when the diet plan is drastic, strict, and without warning.
Your dog becomes desperate and becomes destructive in the process.
What You Can Do
- Have a diet plan that gradually tapers down the amount of food your dog is eating. Though it won’t eliminate it, it will at the least reduce the hunger factor.
- Take your dog for a walk to distract him when he becomes fidgety because of hunger.
- Give a puzzle toy with low-calorie treats inside it for him to chew on. Toys like these can stimulate your dog’s mental and even physical senses enough to keep him distracted from temporal hunger.
- Feed him in controlled timed sessions when you are around, feed him enough before going out of the house and leaving him.
Possible Cause #2: Your Dog is Stressed Out
Everyday stress may also affect your dog in a way that sometimes we humans experience too. But if you live in a busy area, where construction is going on and the streets are busy. There is always noise going on outside 24/7, your dog might become overwhelmed with sights, sounds, and smells and become anxious, jumpy, and eventually aggressive.
You will have to understand that your dog’s hearing ability is 4 times more acute than that of us humans. And his smell ability is estimated to be 100,000 times stronger than that of ours. So, there has got to be some tipping point for them too.
What You Can Do
- Crate train your dog so that he has a refuge where he can self-soothe and calm himself down.
- When you are at home and not working, try to keep you both company to each other more often than usual.
- In this scenario, a Kong will also be appropriate, or you can give him a bone to chew on (Give your dog a raw bone not cooked since cooked bone may splinter and your dog might choke on it)
- Take him for walks, and play games. Dogs are generally active animals they’d rather be moving around and doing something rather than being cooped up all day long.
Possible Cause/s #3: Your Puppy Might Just Exploring with Her Mouth and or He or She Might Just Be Marking His Territory
Your puppy could just be acting his instincts of looking to see how far it can go with its mouth and teeth, and they don’t mean to be destructive. The same goes with a dog that seemingly pees whenever and wherever he wants.
What You Can Do
- Give your puppy a chew toy that he can play with. And train him for the crate, and or fence him in to set limitations to where he can go
- The same goes for your dog who urinates, provide him with a crate, and if need be, retrain him for housebreaking by using the crate. If for some reason he just keeps on repeating it despite the retraining, you may assume that your dog is just fishing for more attention. On that note, go ahead and give him exactly what he wants, more attention. But this time, you only give it to him if he is behaving properly. If not, he won’t get even a second of your time. Do this consistently, otherwise, your dog might think it’s just a game and start peeing on your shoe again.
Possible Cause/s #4: Boredom or Not Enough Exercise
Dogs are by nature active animals that are accustomed to excuse the pun, horseplay, and running. If we humans get bored, we can vent our frustration by simply saying we are bored, and we get to move on and do something else like watch TV or something. Not surprisingly, it does solve the problem sometimes.
For your dog, however, it’s a different story. They can’t speak and nor do they have any other alternative other than that empty pan for a kibble meal that they just had just a few hours ago. It is pent-up energy that needs to be released. Common sense would tell you that, for a dog who is faced with no choice boredom can quickly turn into aggression which is more often than not, directed to objects like your favorite shoes.
What you can do
- Leave the radio at a somewhat low volume so as not to disturb your neighbors to simulate people being in the house while you are away. Your dog will be less lonely if he hears people talking. Or you can leave the TV on too with the screen at very low brightness to conserve energy.
- Same as above: puzzle toys, crate train, exercise, and if you can, a dog sitter.
Possible Cause/s #5: Separation Anxiety or General Anxiety
A dog who is anxious about being left alone is but a natural reaction. But then, he could eventually get used to it in a matter of days. But a dog with separation anxiety has an emotional and mental condition that needs to be addressed properly by a trained professional depending on the severity.
This condition is a whole topic that can be discussed in more detail. However, we will only cover important points that will help your dog about the main topic of this guide which is to stop him from destroying things while you are out. First, you will have to identify if it’s separation anxiety.
Here are the known symptoms of Separation Anxiety
- Urinating and Pooping
- Chewing, incessant digging, and an overall destructive behavior
- Howling and Barking
- Pacing
- Wanting to escape
- Coprophagia- eating some or all of his poop. Note that a dog with this condition might only do this if you are not around. So, observe for the strange disappearance of his poop or no poop at all spanning a few days.
If your dog has most of these symptoms consult your vet or a dog expert first before doing anything.
Generalized anxiety is a disorder that is similar to separation anxiety except that with generalized anxiety it doesn’t matter whether you are there or not, your dog is always anxious and is prone to aggression and destructive behavior. This usually afflicts dogs who have experienced abuse and neglect, mainly these could be dogs who came from the rescue center. If you suspect that your rescued dog has generalized anxiety, contact your pet care professional first.
What You Can Do
Only after consulting an animal professional and possibly some treatment should you do the following: crate train, puzzle toys, and proper feeding habits.
Possible Cause #6: Your Dog Could Be Sick
Try to observe any strange movements like walking with a limp, or your dog might be unable to sit or lie down properly. Some uneasy and irregular movement, or maybe throwing up. These are some of the signs that your dog may have a medical condition.
What You Can Do
Consult your vet for a proper diagnosis. While in treatment, provide some attention and care for your dog and address the behavior gradually by retraining him not to chew up the furniture.
Read also: How to Teach a Dog to Stay Off the Couch, Bed, and Furniture
What not to do when dealing with your dog’s destructive behavior
- Do not punish your dog. Punishment is attention delivered negatively. Your dog might continue being destructive since he was able to at least get some reaction out of you. Do the steps in the guide and be patient.
- For possible serious conditions like Separation Anxiety or Generalized Anxiety, do not try to treat your dog on your own. Consult a professional for proper diagnosis and treatment. Do not give medication without your doctor’s advice.
- Do not blame yourself too much. Be objective and try out the solutions as suggested, after which you can evaluate the results.
Related: How to Teach Your Dog to Ask Permission
How Long Does It Take to Train a Dog to Break the Habit?
Since we are reacting to specific scenarios, it may go from a few days to a few months. If the reason is as simple as your dog is hungry, all you have to do is give proper feeding. But if it is a disorder or something deep-seated, you may have to consult an animal health professional first. Then, you may invest time and effort in crate training as well as some basic obedience skills which could take about a month or two, or even more.
Are Some Dog Breeds More Prone to Destructive Behavior than Others?
Some dog breeds are genetically predisposed to be farmhands and are built to help humans with working cattle or herding some other farm animals. Some of them are even used as hunting dogs and guard dogs. They are strong and they run fast. These types of breeds are agile and intelligent.
Whenever they become domesticated and are kept at home in cities as pets with no room to stretch, they tend to be destructive. And it is only because they don’t have anywhere else to go. But then, it doesn’t mean they can’t be good household pets. With a minimum amount of exercise, some discipline, and a little bit of love, they can easily adjust to their environment and still make excellent animal companions.
The following are known to be hyperactive and maybe your next fluffy and active furry friend at home:
- Border Collie
- Siberian Husky
- Jack Russel
- Great Dane
- Mastiff
What If I Have a Stubborn Dog That Just Won’t Stop Chewing My Furniture?
One way or the other there has to be a reason why your dog insists on doing what he does, keep in mind though that he is not purposefully stubborn. Run through the guide again and check to see if he matches any of the possible reasons. Then proceed to reapply the suggested remedies. If it still doesn’t work after the second or 3rd try, it’s time to see your vet.
At What Age Can I Start Addressing My Dog’s Destructive Habits?
Just like any training activity that doesn’t involve complex tricks, your puppy may begin training at 8-12 weeks old for the crate. Your older dog can start anytime as well as senior dogs too.