Destructive dog behaviour can range from chewing your cushions, to scratching up carpets, and at the extreme level, completely ripping to pieces your sofa. I've even heard of dogs that have chewed their way through plaster board walls or destroyed a whole kitchen.
Apart from the mess and the stress, any destruction in the house can leave an even bigger dent in your bank balance, which is a great incentive to get this behaviour problem under control.
What Causes Destructive Behaviour?
Dog boredom is often the first thing to be blamed for your dog's destructive tendencies. The trouble with this explanation is that it is guaranteed to make you feel guilty, especially if you have to go out and leave your dog home alone. The implication behind having a bored dog is that you don't spend enough time with them or stimulate your dog enough, which is often not the case at all. It is also attaching a human behaviour to our dogs. People get bored, I'm not sure it's proven that dogs do too. Of course our dogs love being active, but that doesn't mean they get bored when they are not.
I've heard about plenty of dog owners who go out leaving their dog with a pile of toys, but still come home to find their front door paintwork etched with deep claw marks, or teeth marks in the window frames.
Dog Chewing is Natural and Helpful
Destructive dogs will often chew anything they can get their teeth around, yet the reason they do it is not always what it seems. It's not boredom, nor are they doing it to spite you, instead the process of chewing will release a natural endorphin into their system that calms them down when they are feeling stressed. It's a bit like us eating chocolate, which raises our endorphin levels and helps us reduce stress, or perhaps a closer analogy is chewing our nails! (Though I'm not suggesting you give your dog chocolate instead, as that could be lethal.)
A dog's stress will often be as a result of separation anxiety and if the destruction only happens when you are out, anxiety is a much more likely reason for their behaviour. A dog that is frantically worrying about where the other members of its pack has gone and whether they are going to come back or not, can act in extreme ways. Owners often find that destruction happens in areas close to the outside, so doors and window frames are classic areas for them to attack in their panic to get out, as is scraping up carpets in an attempt to dig under doors.
How to Stop Destructive Dogs
If you think dog separation anxiety is driving the destructive behaviour, you need to start a desensitization training programme with your dog as soon as possible. Anxiety is not something that will go away if ignored for long enough, instead it is likely to get more intense.
Try not to use punishment, of shout at your dog if they do destroy something as this can make the anxiety worse. Restrict what they have access to for a while, or invest in a dog crate while you go to work on the problem.
The Author Venice Marriott is a writer, dog owner and runs a website which provides help and information for dog owners dealing with the dog behaviour problems created by anxiety in dogs. Get more information on dog behaviour problems, plus our free help sheet about the major symptoms of dog separation anxiety, when you visit the site.