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Tips for Managing My Dog's Destructive Behavior When Left Alone


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Hi everyone,

I’m having some trouble with my dog when I leave him alone at home. He’s a playful, energetic pup, but whenever I step out, he starts chewing on furniture, scratching at doors, and sometimes knocks over things around the house. I’ve tried giving him plenty of toys to keep him busy, and I make sure he gets a good walk beforehand, but the destructive behavior doesn’t seem to stop.

I’m wondering if anyone has any advice or techniques that have worked for them in curbing this type of behavior? I’ve heard of crate training, but I’m not sure if that’s the right approach for him. Also, are there any calming aids like sprays, diffusers, or other tools you’d recommend?

Additionally, I’ve been exploring What is Power BI for work, and it got me thinking could it be useful to track patterns in my dog’s behavior, like when the destructive actions are happening, to help understand triggers? If anyone has experience using tools like this for tracking pet behavior, I’d love your insights!

 

Thanks for any advice!
michael

 
Edited by michaelcarlos
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  • michaelcarlos changed the title to Tips for Managing My Dog's Destructive Behavior When Left Alone

It depends on why your dog is becoming destructive. If he is suffering from some form of separation anxiety, that would require one approach, but if he's just bored, that would require a different approach. Maybe a cctv type setup might indicate what is actually going on with him while you are away? The knocking over of items and scratching at doors seems to me that he's possibly looking for you or a way out of the house, so maybe separation anxiety? If that is the case, then he needs to do activities to build up his resilience to being alone... start with very short periods, and as he masters those, extend the time you are away in small increments. Make sure he has things to do that divert his attention from chewing furniture or scratching at the doors.

 

I have found crate training to be quite beneficial if you are only leaving the dog for shorter timeframes (say less than 4 hours), but if you are away a lot and for longer timeframes, containment to a crate might be a less attractive option for the long term wellbeing of your dog. If that is the case, then maybe a pen option could work, so that the dog is contained to one area, and you can leave him with puzzle toys, chew toys, interactive toys to exercise his mind and chewing instincts while you aren't there.

 

T.

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Okay so im imagining this is your 2 yr old rescue dog you asked for help in the other post .
The most obvious answer asap is you cant leave this dog in the house unattended .
Chances are this dog already has a history & is in the process of going through another set of history .
Also keep in mind Beagles tick all the things you have mentioned & are a breed that generally does better in a pack .
So the obvious is you need to set up a safe run that this dog can go in when not home .
Im presuming your backyard is not safe or suitable if the dog is locked inside when you go out ??

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On 16/04/2025 at 3:44 PM, michaelcarlos said:

 

Additionally, I’ve been exploring What is Power BI for work, and it got me thinking could it be useful to track patterns in my dog’s behavior, like when the destructive actions are happening, to help understand triggers? If anyone has experience using tools like this for tracking pet behavior, I’d love your insights!

 

Thanks for any advice!
michael

 


See edited post snippet. 

This poster will not answer questions or respond to advice. The story is bogus.
Posts like this... they just get some attention and go back to edit the post to add advertising of an external link.

Common on FB too. Works better there because of the share function. 

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Yes I have kept that in mind. Many more views than people in the discussion. 

But some careful reading and judicious questioning early on might reveal who is genuine.

Remember the person who wrote they were doing right by their puppy having already bought it "four little outfits"?

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