does my chow have separation anxiety?

[haifinn]

Charlee Bear is not the destructive type at all. I'm sure most of you know chow's are not very destructive dogs if they get proper exercise daily, which Charlee Bear does. Anyways; everytime my husband and I leave for longer than an hour she will get in the trash and shred things all over the kitchen, and then she will start digging at the carpet (she never digs) which we had to get replaced twice costing us tons of money, this only happens when we are away... Do you think she may have some separation anxiety? she ALWAYS wants to go with us when we leave, maybe she is just mad at us for not taking her... I don't know.. but is there any way I can get this resolved if this is the case.... I am against putting her in a cage.. I feel it is cruel to do. Thanks.

[applebear]

Dogs don't get mad and take it out on your things. Most likely she is having a bit of separation anxiety or even just bored.

You may at least want to confine her to a safe area, to lower the risks of damage and/or eating something she is not suppose to or even risks to injury [ie she decides to chew on a live wire, get into something toxic, etc]. You would work on separation anxiety just as you would if she were in a crate. My dog Rolyx had it, actually at nearly 3 years old, still has it to a small degree...but not nearly as extreme. If I would of left him out in the house during his worse time with it, it wouldn't of been a pretty ending...I have no doubt he would of caused thousands of dollars of damage and again, maybe even injury to himself. I did a lot of going in and out of the house while he was quiet, to show him I was a] returning and b] I don't come home when he's crying. It was a difficult time to say the least...lots of standing outside the door waiting for that moment of silence and entering right that second.

He now goes into his crate on his own. I rarely use it now, only when I go somewhere that's going to take awhile. It's completely his choice 99% of the time and he looks at it like his own little den and place of comfort. Crates really aren't cruel if used properly, but that's just my opinion...it's really is to each their own on it.

[Tippsy'smom]

Could be separation anxiety... Could be boredom...

To me, sounds more like boredom. Have you tried a Kong? I stuff my guys' kongs with peanut butter and freeze them, and then give them to them whenever I leave. Takes them a while to get all the peanut butter out and it makes them tired physically and mentally.

Dixie has separation anxiety though, and took me a while to figure out how to handle it. Kenneling wasn't a solution in the slightest.... She forced her way out of her wire kennel, her plastic kennel, and a fabric kennel (on the fabric one, I walked away for a minute to get my glasses out of my bathroom). I ended up having to rig her plastic kennel to make sure she couldn't pop it apart anymore and making sure she was left with a frozen peanut butter Kong whenever I left her (no matter how short or long a time). I also went with the thundershirt theory and got a snug fitting t-shirt (since the thundershirt is so expensive and I just don't have that much money) that I put on her whenever I leave her too. Now, I've taken the rigging off her kennel and she eats her peanut butter out of her Kong and falls asleep. And now, I can even leave her without locking her in her kennel and she spends most of her time either sleeping in her kennel, on my bed, or looking out the window; no more chewing up walls, door frames, furniture, bedding, blinds, carpet, etc. I did what I did to keep her safe. Kennels aren't cruel.

However, if it's boredom, you're probably better off kenneling to keep her from destroying stuff or hurting herself (eating things she shouldn't, etc.).

[giseleassink]

My chow mix puppy is a house destroyer… tree sunglasses (no cheap ones)two coffee tables, a sofa table, the sofa wood foot, pretty much all the base boards on the living room… I thought it was a puppy thing do… she loves her kennel, but she goes thru phases when she is just great and don’t mess with anything wait to go outside to get her business done.. and she will go to the crazy phase once a month… you guys knows when it goes away???

BTW did you guys ever see a dog with addition for wood?? She loves get little branches when we walk and eat them… besides all the wood stuff in the house… there is any wood sent toy that you know???

[Rory's Dad]

Def sounds like seperation anxiety. Even if we are in the same room, Amber our female pup, will dig away when in the crate. Non-stop. Rory, the male, looks at her likes she's crazy and just sits there calm as can be.

1st of all, puppy proof your house. Don't leave trash or extension cords available for chewing. If crating is not your choice, restrict to a room with nothing open for destruction. Leave favorite toys, balls, or chews for the dog. Some chew items, like deer antler or hooves can take hours for them to get through and can keep their attention for long periods of time.

Its an old throwback trick, but leaving a radio on or the tv can give them some comfort as well.

Make sure you provide plenty of praise and affection when you return. Gives them a positive to look forward to. I take both of my dogs into the living room and practice basic dog skills as soon as i come home from work (sit, down, paw, stand) with treat rewards. They really look forward to it, and guarantees (mostly) waggly tails and chuffing chows.

[Rory's Dad]

Def sounds like seperation anxiety. Even if we are in the same room, Amber our female pup, will dig away when in the crate. Non-stop. Rory, the male, looks at her likes she's crazy and just sits there calm as can be.

1st of all, puppy proof your house. Don't leave trash or extension cords available for chewing. If crating is not your choice, restrict to a room with nothing open for destruction. Leave favorite toys, balls, or chews for the dog. Some chew items, like deer antler or hooves can take hours for them to get through and can keep their attention for long periods of time.

Its an old throwback trick, but leaving a radio on or the tv can give them some comfort as well.

Make sure you provide plenty of praise and affection when you return. Gives them a positive to look forward to. I take both of my dogs into the living room and practice basic dog skills as soon as i come home from work (sit, down, paw, stand) with treat rewards. They really look forward to it, and guarantees (mostly) waggly tails and chuffing chows.

[Victory]

My chow mix puppy is a house destroyer… tree sunglasses (no cheap ones)two coffee tables, a sofa table, the sofa wood foot, pretty much all the base boards on the living room… I thought it was a puppy thing do… she loves her kennel, but she goes thru phases when she is just great and don’t mess with anything wait to go outside to get her business done.. and she will go to the crazy phase once a month… you guys knows when it goes away???

BTW did you guys ever see a dog with addition for wood?? She loves get little branches when we walk and eat them… besides all the wood stuff in the house… there is any wood sent toy that you know???

This one sounds more like teething issues that have gotten out of control. And they can be dangerous if she injests enough sharp little wood chips it can cut her tummy and intenstines up and you won't know until she begins to have bleeding issues. Get her some better chew sticks. Whenever she goes after something wood, give her the kind. Chows have strong jaws and can destroy the toys that are rated for them, I always get mine the ones for much larger dogs, I bought my boy a nyla bone when he was little rated for a rottie or larger and it's still here 7 years later, so it the one for Firesong. They have to CHEW on them, they can't just crack them into pieces. I do that for all their toys, bigger toys for bigger dogs, well made ones too. Oh, one of the other things that they love and that are better for them on walks are plastic water bottles, remove the lid and the little ring around the neck and if she picks up a stick give her the bottle. It will take a long time for the plastic to start to shred, when it does you can take it away from her and give her a new one.

[hayleedog]

When I got Hannah when she was 16 months old 3 years ago she suffered separation anxiety. she chewed door jams, broke my front window and defecated on everything she could. I locked her in the kitchen with a child gate and she chewed through it. I felt the only thing I could do was crate her for her own safety. She chewed through the 1st crate I got with those small wire bars so I got a level 3 crate that had thick bars.

Now 3 years later I no longer have to crate her though I don't let her have the run of the house either. When I leave I shut her in a back bedroom away from the street with the TV or a radio running so she can hear voices. It seems to work well or her. I also use kongs killed with peanut butter or cream cheese, frozen. It tends to keep her busy. Good luck!

[Cam Atis]

Definitely your chow is BORED. I didnt knew then but Sarahloo said Cassie is never bored because she never never destroyed or damaged anything since she is a pup until now. Except for the hose which she used for teething. Had a few holes on it.
Dont feel sorry for crating. But it is a structure to train. It is not forever. It is a place wehre she can spend time. Buy A BIG CRATE so she can have much room. Bit if you are gonna buy a small crate where t is enough for the dog to stand on all four and circle around, THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. It should be bigger. where he or she can stand on two. Spread all his legs and still have enough space for his bowls and a toy or two.
Maybe my secret is Cassie is free to do what she wants where she wants now. But before that stage I regimented her on crate, exercise, poop, play, relax, crate. She got it in less than a month would you believe it? Nxt I gave her a dog house. A smaller one than she have now. So step by step she knows her boundaries.

[Cam Atis]

Leaving the tv on or radio also worked on Cassie when we were at the hotel for two nights when she was just an 8wk old pup.