[Emakala]

Good Grief... Digestive problems settled, finally 99% housebroken, and now this! Our 10 month old pup has been a handful from the start but we've been getting better all along. Now, he's chewing up anything cloth that he can get in his mouth. He's destroyed two blankets (one was brand new!), one jacket and a good shirt. I'm at witts end and afraid I may become an orge if I can't stop him. We recently had our son staying with us while he was recovering from a motorcycle accident. We also had his American Bull Dog staying here for a month as well... very Warner Bros. and humorous. Our little guy and the big guy got along great. Now that dog is gone and I'm sitting our daughter's wolf cross. He's a much older dog and doesn't appreciate constant harassing and play, but is usually patient. I suspect these changes over the last month have upset our little dog. I tend to take the wolf cross out by himself as he can't 'do his business' with the little dog constantly pestering him, then I put him in and take out my little dog. While I'm out with the big one, my dog looks for things to chew up... an apron, a sock, etc. I can grasp that he's feeling left out and anxious when I'm outside with the big dog, but the last damage to a beautiful new blanket was while I was just in the other room! We don't have a fenced yard, big acreage but I can't let the dogs out on their own... we have skunks, racoons, coyotes, bears and the occasional cougar.
Please help... what am I doing wrong now!

[labman]

I am sure part of the problem is the no fun older dog taking up your time. Still, it is nice to have a few things around the house not damaged by chewing. Exiling the dog is never a good solution, even in a safer area. You may need to crate him when you aren't able to keep an eye on him. You may also want to look at closing doors or using gates to keep him where you can see him. I have a short length of chain fastened to the one computer desk to keep the puppy near me and out of trouble when I am using it.

It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy
Wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
Household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
Other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The
Only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be
Happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
Den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
Its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
Will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
Ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put
In a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
A crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
Anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
Bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, make take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

Accidents and damaged possessions are the fault of whoever was watching the puppy. When you are watching it, immediately correct it as soon as it goes for anything except its own toys. In a quiet, but firm voice ''Bad dog, its name drop!''. Gently remove what ever and replace it with one of his toys. At 10 months, it may be more effective to maintain eye contact until the dog drops it, rather than remove the toy. Just stare him down.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.