When Keg is away Hurley will DESTROY.

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keg11

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I'm sure there has been some mention of this, somewhere but I'm not the sharpest (see Breeding thread "Does color effect temperament" for further proof). but Hurley is either training to become an X Games athlete or is on his way to a life long battle with sniffing glue.
I come home yesterday to find bits of dry wall and shreds of paint on the floor, this is the second time. I debated on whether he was trying to do difficult dance maneuvers or just in a fit of boredom started peeling paint off the walls, after careful consideration I decided due to his lack of thumbs it could be neither.
Hurley is eating the wall. Only when we are gone. How do you correct an action that you are not catching? Today he is in his crate so unless mesh wire has the same appeal all should be good.
I really want him to be out during the day. I have put numerous chew toys out of all varieties so he has options. Heck when I'm home he spends his time chewing on his German Shepherd sister's face and she responds by attempting to swallow his head. It sounds violent but if ever there was a loving way to chew face and engulf a Sheltie noggin this is it. I'll post pics of this one day. Dang! I'm easily distracted! My point is can some of you experts guide me?
 
keeping him crated while ur gone is probably the best option. i know you dont want to. but its the best way to keep him safe. u dont want him to end up getting into something that could be harmful to him or his health.and they have "puzzles" for dogs, to help keep there mind stimulated, u might want to try those although i cant think of any good websites for them of the top of my head, but maybe someone else knows some.
 
There is nothing wrong with crating during the day or when he is alone. Mine are still crated, and Gio is nearly 7 and Romeo is 2. As far as I am concerned, they will always be crated when left alone. It's part of the routine now and they don't mind it in the least.

At least that way you don't have huge home repairs and you know that you will not come home to a dog that has choked on a piece of plaster or some other horrible fate.
 
If you don't want him crated while you are gone, then you are obviously going to have to keep him in an area that is limited and he can't destroy. Other than that crating until he learns not to destroy is what you must do. Unfortunately they don't know what is a toy and not. You have to child proof your home for dogs same as for children.:wink2: My kia had started to chew on a wall , but that's because it was already starting to peel so she helped it along.:lol: I just fixed it and placed a chair in front of it and she has never touched anything else since. Good luck on your decision, and welcome to the forum.:winkgrin:
 
I had hoped to leave Sadie out while my husband and I were at work but she started chewing wood. We left her in the back yard for the day once so she chewed on the back steps. I assume she's bored as she doesn't seem to have seperation anxiety and if there are other dogs with her she doesn't get into trouble.

Sadie gets crated when we're not home which seems to work well. Sadie loves her crate and spends the day sleeping.

My parent's sheltie did have seperation anxiety, he'd destroy the house when left alone. He's 7 now and just recently they started leaving him out of his crate. So far nothings been destroyed.

I'm hoping that some day I'll be able to leave the crate door open so that she can decide if she wants to be in there or not. :smile2:
 
I too intend to crate as long as necessary! I made the mistake with my first pup, Timber, to come one day and find my couch cushions destroyed! Not to mention, the next 3 days of him passing fiber in his poops!

My boys are excited about being in their crate! Really! I say "cookie" and they both head there and wait for their "room service"

If you think the crate too confining, consider an Xpen. Bacca's crate currently is set up in the pen so it gives him a little more space to move around.

At night, I now let the boys sleep anywhere in the bedroom. Bacca always stays on the bed, but I always find Indy inside his crate every morning.

It really is not cruel! It is their safe haven.

btw - re: dogs devouring dogs! It's so true. Sometimes when the boys play, it seems rough to me. I mean, the two of them romping in the snow, with Indy attached to Bacca's ear! Ouch! You'd think it hurts - but doesn't seem to. The worst part is the drooled fur after their play. Sticky!
 
what u must understand is that dogs are pack animals. u and your husband are both part of your dogs pack. so when the 2 of u leave for the day she doesnt understand why her pack is leaving her behind. she becomes bored and thus destruction comes. one thing u may also try is before u leave tire her out. take her for a 20 min walk before u leave. dogs arent like us they dont sleep all night and go all day they have go times and down times walk her in the morning then she will have exhausted some of her pent up energy. my shelly who is 2 now did these things untill she was about a year old. so we had to crate her when we left even tho she was house broken. now she is fine but we still find an occasional chewed up tissue lieing on the floor. best of luck..
 
My old sheltie, Crystal, used to love to chew on dry wall, every day new holes all over. I tried spraying with the clear spray of something like "Bitter Yuck", but apparently she didn't mind the taste that much. Eventually, I added some Tabasco sauce and sprayed the walls at the level she was chewing. It stopped her right away. Of course, the walls were kinda orange, but once I was sure she wouldn't do it again I just washed, spackled, and painted. Good Luck!
 
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