My dog is tearing the house apart now that my older dog has passed away. Help?

Question

My younger dog (year old) has just started tearing the house apart. She never did this before while my older dog was alive and now she is going crazy. I don't know if she is just lonely or maybe she lost the authority figure in the house. I have never had to crate her before. Is it too late to start now?

Answer 1

Dogs experience loss/ grief much like people do... this is probably just an expression of it. What to do is another matter. This may be a bit long, but I found I couldnt explain it with less.

Its never to late to crate train a dog. Buy a nice open wire crate, big enough for the dog to stand comfortably sideways in (this way you no there will be no problem with length and will be able to lay across an end.

Get a blanket for the crate and (you) sleep with it for a couple of days to get your scent on it. At first the dog should be in the crate most of the time. Always refer to it as the "bed" or "house" when crating the dog. Leave several toys/ rawhide chewys in with your dog as well...dogs dont like to be bored.

Bring the dog out for eating and then straight outside to go potty. My two will almost go on command as I always refer to the initial trip as "go outside to go potty". A good meal and bathroom break should "buy" your dog inside the house priviledges. Your dog is looking for some quality companionship, so now is the time to invest it.

Keep a close eye on your dog to watch for and discourage the bad behaviors when out in the house. Escalating responses to bad behaviors is also good. Remember dogs are pack animals. In a pack some times a simple nip or growl is the only needed discouragement at first, so a light tap or a stern "no" should be the first response. If the the behavior repeats then increase the response. (Dont use your hand other then for a reminder tap...your dog will come to fear your hand.... a good old rolled newspaper works fine for a swat).

The ultimate response should be when you put the dog on his/her back and pin them down, being cross/ severe in tone and maybe a swat while pinned. Do this for at least 30-60 seconds. Use this option after 3-4 lesser attempts to break a behavior.

My dogs also know that following a scoldiing, I will always take them back (after a cooling down period) and love them. My catch phrase is "do you want to be forgiven". Then they come up and I pet them and we "make up". And dont forget to praise them when they have been out of the crate and have a good session.

Back to the crate... as you begin to modify behavior, allow the time out of the crate to increase, as the dog "buys" time with good behavior. Try not to use the crate as a disciplinary tool...at least not until you try a couple other forms of discouragement. You want your dog to feel as though the crate is their little castle. We have found that if we leave the crate open, our dogs will duck into it now and then just for a little snooze or to relax and chew a toy.

Every dog is different, but most adolescent dogs will begin to get the idea in about 2-4 weeks. You should begin seeing improvements easily by the end of the first month and a return to normalcy by 2 months. This is not to say let the crate go at 2 months. It may take as much as 6 months to solidify behavior. Try to leave plenty of toys around that your dog knows are permissable for him/her to have when out of the crate. Dogs also understand ownership to some extent. I use "your toy" when showing something they can have and "mine" for something off limits to them. Our latest behavior we're working on is patience going out the door to go outside... catch word is "manners".

My 8 year old has had a couple of return visits to the crate over the years as needed. Plus the crate is great insurance against unexpected behaviors when you have to leave your dog for that 3 hour walmart trip. It ensures good behavior and a friendly relationship on your return. Hope this helps.

PS a new companion dog might help... and you can crate train them together.

Answer 2

I'm really sorry, and understand what you're feeling. Give it a little time. As they say, time heals all wounds. A lot of time the best therapy is to wait a little while, then go shopping for another dog. A lot of people go back to the same breed, however, I have found in this situation, it's better to try something different so you're not constantly reminded of the other dog. If it helps, try collecting old pictures of her, and putting them into a book, so you can always have her memory. But, honestly, I think the best therapy is to find a new puppy to fall in love with and fill the hole that the other dog left. Before you do that though, do give it some time to mourn. People who don't own pets don't understand how losing one can almost be as heart breaking as losing a person in your life. Don't feel bad, or ashamed of being sad about this. It's totally natural. Feel better.

Answer 3

She may be looking for the other dog and can smell her scent in the house. It shouldn't last for to long. Crating a dog is not a bad thing. Give her a lot of love dogs grieve just like people do. I have 2 collies that were getting old my 15 year old died and the other one laid with him until we buried him. She then stopped eating and wouldn't do anything she died about a month later the vet said she died of a broken heart. Your dog is young and no doubt thought of the older dog as a parent, Dogs are people too,,

Answer 4

No, it is not to late. I started to crate both of my dogs when they were both a few years old.

This might help: Buy a different type of dog treat, something that you would only give her when she is crated. Make sure you only crate her when you know that you are ready to walk out the door. Coming up with a phrase or command may also, help. I tell my dogs, "ready to go lay down" and my friend uses "lets go to bed" for their dog. Put her in the crate before giving her the treat and then walk out the door.

At first I would almost run out the house because they would start to whine and bark. Now, it is the normal routine. (I just think they like the steak treats most of all)

**I first started with the travel crates to put them in and my boy dog was able to get out! Which, is still a mystery to me! I now have the metal square crate. He hasn't figured that one out, yet!**

Answer 5

She is probably acting out because of anxiety, animals are quite sensitive especially when there is a loss. My advice would be to get her another companion if possible and buy some "bitter apple" sold in most pet stores to keep her off the furniture along with hitting the floor with rolled up newspaper as part of training discipline, use a firm "NO"!!! whenever she gets near, that along with the bitter apple and the noise coming from the newspaper should tell her that you are not happy with that behavior. She will learn and make sure to give her treats whenever she gets off. Good luck.

Answer 6

your dog has separation anxiety this happen to us when our daughter moved out there are meds you can give him go to the vet this is a true problem and the dog cant help what hes doing my vet gave us a CD to watch and it made me feel bad that i yelled at him when he chewed up every curtain in our house and lots of other things

Answer 7

I think your dog is doing this because it is lonely and has alot of energy have you tried buying chew toys for your dog if you havent try it it might help.

Answer 8

she is probably lonely and misses your other dog, its not late to put her in a cage, but if your home pay attention to her , play with her show her that she is loved. when you go out put her in the cage. i do that all the time, because when i left them out. the house was destroyed. good luck.

Answer 9

no its not to late she is acting out as a child would when they are hurting and don't understand why you still need to dicipline her and remind her who is boss. your older dog was probably the dominate one and now there is no one to run the pack so to say.

Answer 10

maybe get another dog to acompany her. She could be bored for doing this or just looking for her pal.