kima Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 (edited) I wasnt quite sure where to post this but as Marlo is technically still a puppy (10.5 months old) I figured here was as good as anywhere! Recently (well over the last 3 months) Marlo is becoming increasingly destructive during the day when we are at work and being a Stafford, Marlo is capable of a great deal of destruction! Because I study fulltime and work fulltime I dont really go out much so other than 9-5pm when me and my partner are both at work, Marlo has people around. While we are home he gets plenty of attention and walks and runs and never chews on anything he isnt supposed to in the house (except for the odd slipper or sock here or there)however during the day when he is outside he is a terror! The worst part is that he is beginning to destroy things that have been around for months and he has never paid much attention to. Over the last 2 months he has pulled down a small tree, destroyed 2 solar lights, numerous plant pots and pegs, a packet of BBQ wipes, the wheel off the BBQ, a fence paling, the trigger head off the hose, and he has started to chew the edges of his kennel and pulls out and tears to pieces any blankets, towels or bedding we put in there. More concerning (and costly) he has pulled up and chewed the plastic pipes of the sprinkler system and no matter how many times we bury them he digs it back up and he has chewed through the gas line between the gas bottle and the BBQ. We make an effort to Marlo-proof the garden as much as possible but he still finds something to chew and destroy and the more little things we remove like plant pots etc. the more he chews big things like the BBQ! We have tried leaving him more toys outside but there are very few toys that last more than 15 minutes with him and the few that do last, he will no doubt get bored of. Leaving him bones and things to chew isnt really an option either because he tends try and swallow any food small enough to fit in his mouth meaning we have to supervise him to make sure he doesnt start choking. (He doesnt seem to understand that just because half a pigs ear fits in his mouth doesnt mean he should swallow it!). We even tried the no-chew sprays (without much hope) and sure enough he just licked it off. I am open to any suggestions people may have and interested to hear what others have done in the past to tackle problem chewing! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Here is Marlo just because I can :) Edited May 7, 2013 by kima Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 No, don't believe it :p So mmmm, what is his schedule? How many training sessions a day ? What is his diet like? is he castrated yet? What's he like on a walk ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 (edited) What about making some home made things for him to destroy, atleast that won't cost you an arm and a leg. - paper rolls filled with treated and taped up with masking tape - lemonade bottles with frozen low salt chicken stock and a few holes punched in them - A small sandpit with little treats buried through it for digging - A big handful of kibble sprinkled across the whole yard so he has to hunt for the bits - give him a frozen marrow bone so it takes longer to get through it(if he doesn't choke on a barbecue wheel he really is unlikely to choke on a large bone) - A trip to the op shop for some 50 cent teddies :D -combined with a few heavy duty kongs and some cheap rope toys that can be affordably replaced when they are destroyed. just remember that however much he gets as treats during the day forms part of his daily diet, so reduce his other meal/s Edited May 7, 2013 by kelpiecuddles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisey Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 I've definitly been there before :) When does he go for a walk? Can you take him in the mornings before you leave and then do some training during the walk and then a few mintues when you get back from the walk? My guys love old toilet rolls/cardboard boxes/old socks.... Does he have a Kong Wobbler? I find rope toys last a while too, they love ripping them to pieces... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 You may also want to invest some good money in tough toys!! have a look HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kima Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 No, don't believe it :p So mmmm, what is his schedule? How many training sessions a day ? What is his diet like? is he castrated yet? What's he like on a walk ? He doesnt have much of a routine in the mornings, especially lately as he is refusing to get out of bed in the morning (clearly takes after his owner :p ). When we make him get up OH usually plays with him for about 20 minutes in the morning and then he gets breakfast and then he puts himself back to bed for a bit until i leave for work. Most of his training gets done in the evening. He gets walked as soon as we get home from work, then he lies on the couch and watches us make dinner. After dinner we do training with him and then play time. 9:30pm he puts himself to bed. I think diet might play a factor, the trainer we saw said that raw mince can cause an abundance of energy in Staffords. He gets a few chicken necks or a tin of sardines in the morning with 1 cup advance and then raw meat and whatever veggie scraps we have (usually beans,carrots, sweet potato or peas) in the evenings. We got him desexed about a month ago and hoped it would calm him down a bit, alas it has not! What about making some home made things for him to destroy, atleast that won't cost you an arm and a leg. - paper rolls filled with treated and taped up with masking tape - lemonade bottles with frozen low salt chicken stock and a few holes punched in them - A small sandpit with little treats buried through it for digging - A big handful of kibble sprinkled across the whole yard so he has to hunt for the bits - give him a frozen marrow bone so it takes longer to get through it(if he doesn't choke on a barbecue wheel he really is unlikely to choke on a large bone) - A trip to the op shop for some 50 cent teddies :D -combined with a few heavy duty kongs and some cheap rope toys that can be affordably replaced when they are destroyed. just remember that however much he gets as treats during the day forms part of his daily diet, so reduce his other meal/s The Kongs are a good idea, we give him cheese and kibble filled kongs in the evenings if we need some quiet time and they entertain him for about 15 minutes, I was just worried it would get lost in the garden, but i guess replacing kongs is cheaper than replacing the other things he destroys! I've definitly been there before :) When does he go for a walk? Can you take him in the mornings before you leave and then do some training during the walk and then a few mintues when you get back from the walk? My guys love old toilet rolls/cardboard boxes/old socks.... Does he have a Kong Wobbler? I find rope toys last a while too, they love ripping them to pieces... He has a wobbler, doesnt take him long to get all his kibble out of it though, he has figured out if he bats it really hard with his paw it goes spinning across the room and kibble flies out everywhere :) Cardboard boxes i can see him loving though! Thankyou all for the great advice so far! Am now going to go make OH drink a bottle of soft drink so I can fill it with chicken stock for Marlo tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Anything that can make him use his brain is a good thing. Try thinking about him as a dingo as weird as that sounds, they scavenge as they go and will even climb into small trees, etc to retrieve food items. If you can make things, bury things, put treats in wierd places where he needs to think in order to get them out then all that will do two things, it will keep him busy and it will make him think which will help to tire him out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye GSD Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Invest in a dog pen/run - that way you can give him all the toys/kongs etc.. and know he is contained so he cannot destroy things that are not his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCNut Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 My pup destroyed the little 4mm irrigation hoses too. Loved em. After neutering, and a bit more maturity (approx 10mths when he did his worst, too - now hes 17mths) he doesn't even know they're there - in between those times I just managed the situation so he couldn't get to them. Unfortunately burying isn't enough you might need to limit access to that part of the yard. Petstages do some seriously tough toys aswell. Try the orca. From what I understand the Kong Extreme range is designed for staffies and those with amazing chomping abilities :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 What form of independence have you taught him. IE when home do you shut him outside so he goes & plays or his he with you 24/7 ^ reliant on you to be his fun?? What has changed over the last 2 months ??Have you been less active with him ,spending more time away or any other change? Have you considered doing a puppy sandpit for him burying his toys there & encouraging him o play there . I would also consider it is time to get up early & go walkies . The biggest thing you need to think of is the backyard is there domain for many hours a day often by themselves . Have you considered a doggy door allowing access to a set part of the house laundry do he has a more homely day time especially when it gets colder & they often sit in a nice snug house until everyone leaves then outside to the cold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackJaq Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 (edited) What kind of training do you do with him? Anything interesting, or just simple things like sit, stay etc? This will quickly bore most dogs to death and I suggest you start finding tricks and more difficult things for him to learn. I would maybe consider looking into some kind of dog sport, teach him tricks and devise ways for him to amuse himself and wear himself out as others have said. Also, the dog run sounds like a good idea to me but make sure you buy a good quality one, things that contain most other dogs don't necessarily work on a Stafford ;) I like to stop my dogs from being able to engage in destructive behaviours to begin with (by keeping them with me, crate training or kennelling or a combination, whatever works for you), rather than trying to correct behaviours that are self rewarding after the the fact. My Weimaraner is two and a half now and I am only just starting to leave her inside the house by herself for a couple of hours at a time now. Both the bullies we own are not left in the house on their own at all, they are two and a half and 5, respectively. Edited May 8, 2013 by BlackJaq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kima Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 I think the sand pit idea is definitely worth a try, and some new toys. Unfortunately a dog run wouldnt be possible due to the layout of the back yard. Its a lot of raised garden beds and not a lot of flat space. We try and give him alone time in the garden when we are hone but he just lies next to the door and cries and waits to be let in. Think we definitely could do some work around teaching him he doesn't need to be with us ALL the time when we are home! Thanks again for all the suggestions. Its all really helpful constructive stuff. He hasn't been too bad today because my mum is staying with us for a week from interstate so he has company. Will be off to Bunnings for some sand tomorrow though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Just putting it out there - my 3 year old Aussie would still destroy all the things you've listed if we left them in the backyard with her. She does obedience/rally/agility, lead walks, off lead walks, to the dog park... Anyway, she gets rotated treat toys (Kongs, Busy Buddy range, plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, ice blocks) and a walk before work, every day without fail. It does help. Potplants would still be fair game though :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackJaq Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 (edited) Unfortunately a dog run wouldnt be possible due to the layout of the back yard. Its a lot of raised garden beds and not a lot of flat space. If you have any concrete area at all you could opt for a small transportable run that gets locked together with pins so you can tidy it away when you are home or not using it and this way you might not loose any living space permanently. If this is not at all possible then I really hope that the other things work for you because none of our bullies ever grew out of destroying stuff, even when they had a full training schedule and things to do while we are out lol Sorry I don't mean to sound really negative, it is just my experience (hence they are not ever left inside unsupervised!). I would definitely keep on working on alone time while you are home. What you are describing is very normal and you will have to ignore it completely until the dog goes quiet on his own. The I would immediately let him inside and reward him for the first few days. Then slowly let him wait quietly longer and longer. This is really important because as he gets older (and bigger and stronger) he will get worse if he finds that he can make you come get him by doing things (crying, chewing stuff, digging, barking, trying to climb fences, he may try a whole variety of things once he knows he can succeed). If you don't deal with it now while he is still relatively young you will most likely find yourself in big trouble later and even now it might be part of the reason why he destroys stuff when left alone as he may be protesting this and has not learnt to be on his own and comfortable/relaxed. Edited May 9, 2013 by BlackJaq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kima Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 i dont think that sounds negative blackjaq, it is a real possibility. Always better to be realistic I think :) Fingers crossed a combination of toys and morning walks and mental stimulation does the trick! otherwise it looks like we say goodbye to the outdoor setting and get a small run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I agree with dealing with it now. I know someone with a golden retriever who they just gave in to all the time as a pup and he's now destroyed a couple of back doors breaking in to the house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaffSam Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Hi Kima.... I have nothing to add to what has already been said.... I get it though my girl is an awesome chewer... But I do need to say that when I looked at your pic I swear I was staring straight at my girl ... Except she has more socks ( and is obviously a girl)... Oh my goodness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kima Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 She must be very cute then! does she have silly floppy ears too? On the chewing front I got Marlo some nice big marrow bones from the market. Won't know how good they are at keeping him busy till tomorrow but it has been quite fun watching him drag one round the garden and attempt to hide it under bushes. Hopefully he will actually chew it and not just spend all his time trying to hide it! unfortunately it wasn't until AFTER I got back from the pet shop that I realised he has chewed the top off his black Kong so he will have to settle for his Kong wobbler and rope toy tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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