why is my dog scratching the door?

Question

I have a two yr old whippet dog who when younger used to scratch,but over the last eighteen months had been fine until recently.Every day when i go out and in the night he scratches the door taking chunks out,today i even came home to blood where he had cut his paws scratching so hard.
Hes not on his own as we have a 8month old pug.
Recently the pug has been to the vets a few times so they have been separated,but the nights they are always together.
he has always been destructive,thats why he is locked in the kitchen when im out and in the night.
Anyone have any ideas,really need some help.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

Sounds like separation anxiety. Those that suggest using a crate are really suggesting that you do not correct the problem but just avoid it by using a crate. The best solution would be to correct the behavior, right? I suggest obedience classes for you and your dog as I'm sure your dog has a few other problem areas that you tolerate. The behavior associated with separation anxiety can take different forms. One is as your dog does and scratches and tears things up, another might be constant barking or biting at its paws and drawing blood. I can give you a short course in correcting your dog's behavior but I'm not so certain it is going to be useful since you do not have a good foundation in dog behavior, which you really need. Wouldn't it be nice to have a dog that you don't need to lock in the kitchen? Obedience classes.

Answer 2

What we call this type of behavior is an extinction burst. What it means is that you and your husband did a great job at training your dogs!! It put the behavior of sleeping in your room on "extinction". Then, your daughter (Bless her!!) let the dogs sleep with her, and the dogs got the idea that - hey!! wait a minute!! maybe if I am just really diligent I will get rewarded with sleeping in Mom's bed!! So, even though you have continued to refuse entry, the dogs are showing an extinction burst...the behavior is back with a vengeance because the dog is trying to figure out how much behavior output will finally win him the jackpot - your bed!! You can set up a training regime to help, but it'll take effort (and cooperation from EVERYONE in the house. Your dogs want to access you and your husband (attention), and they want to access your bed -(tangible). Can you make the living room more appealing - like take a sheet from your bed (that you have slept on - preferably a lot) and put it on their sleeping surface? There is a really cool item for sale through Dr. Sophia Yin. She is a veterinary behaviorist. It is a remote treat giver. So, you and your husband are in your room, and when the dogs go near their living room sleep area they get treated by you releasing a treat using a remote. When they do scratch at the door...totally ignore it. Any yelling at the dogs just encourages them. They see that as a step in the right direction. Hope that helps!!

Answer 3

My husband and I have 2 American Pit Bull Terriers. We have a 1 year old male, named Brooklyn and a 4 month old female, named Destiny... They would both chew up everything they could get to when we would leave them home alone and Brooklyn would even get so bad that he would try to dig through the door!... We talked to our vet and he said that they have seperation anxiety. I guess alot of dogs get seperation anxiety and certain breeds and/ or dogs are worse than others... There isnt really too much you can do for the anxiety its self.. there are doggy meds to help it, but besides that really the only thing that would help the anxiety would be to not leave them! lol.. I dont think that there is much you can do for any chewing or digging (as far as training them not to do it) when you leave, because they are trying to show you that they dont want to be left alone... Each of our dogs has their own crate and we use to only put them in their crates at night, but ever since our vet told us that it sounds like they get seperation anxiety, we put them in their crates when we leave. We never leave them in there long because our vet also said that if they do have bad seperation anxiety they could do something like chew on their tail or paw untill it bleeds! : ( Anyway, we leave them in their crates with a couple toys each and the tv on... I am sure leaving them in their crates doesnt do anything for the anxiety but the dont mess our house up anymore! : ) So if I were you I would try leaving them in crates with a few toys and mabey leave a tv on for them when you leave.... Good luck!

Answer 4

Separation Anxiety-try putting him in a crate when you aren't home-a vari kennel works better than a wire crate for pawing dogs. You may also think about trying some rescue remedy to calm his nerves. Good luck

Answer 5

Well it could be his past...maybe if you got him from a shelter..who knows?? it could also be anxiety. But the main thing is the other dog. Jealousy does turn in. He might just be doing it to get more attention. So taking them on separate walks helps ALOT. good luck!

Answer 6

Same thin I have a 2 yr old whippet to but I try every thing nothing works

Answer 7

My dog does that to our door when we make a lot of noises in the house and wants to come in and check it out. But sometimes if they are out they just want to come in and the other way around. I dunno if this will help just thought I'd tried to help. You should get his paws checked also.

Answer 8

Use a crate when your not home. Let him sleep with you at night or use the crate.

Answer 9

They might need to relive them selves or they might just want to play outside your other dog also probably misses his/her friend.