Funny,I am asking a dog question. LOL..
Anyways, we have had our foster dog "Ashely" for over 2 months now,close to 3. She is a black and tan coonhound. What a sweet dog, laid back, great and gentle with the kids. Basically, her job is to hold the sofa down all day.
Anyways, she is for the most part, housetrained. It seemed like she would have an occasional accident.
We never had to crate her, when I left the house, I left her with the rest of the dogs.
Well the last month, everytime I leave the house, she chews something. I do know its her,because my dogs dont chew. The customers I have here dont chew.
I would come home, and she would find a toy to chew, or a empty box, or what ever was laying around she would chew. Now if I am upstairs and she is downstairs she does not do this. Its as if she knows I am home. Does this sound like separation anxiety, or is she just mad that I leave her???
I have now resorted in putting her in a crate when I leave the house. It is a pain, but I am sick of cleaning up a mess when I come home. As well as I think I pick up everything, I would still come home to chewed up pencils/pens etc..Its as if she would look for stuff to chew.
Do any of you have a dog who does this?
For the last 2 days, shes been put in a crate when Ive left the house, and nothing has been chewed.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 06:26 am:

From my experience - and my middle son & dil's experience with their Weimeraner - and from what I've read, definitely separation anxiety. And yes, she does know when you are home and when no one is home. Crating seems to be the only solution. Greg&Lori's Weimeraner had so many anxiety issues, which I'm told Weimeraners often do, and she was a rescue dog, that she broke teeth chewing on the metal bars of the crate.

When you crate her, do you leave something for her to chew. Scott says the horse bone chew things are the best. Certainly the one he got for Sasha 2 years ago is still holding up - a bit smaller and with chew marks, but she is a Rottie, with a big mouth and big, big teeth.

We had a German Shepherd once that, if he couldn't find anything else to chew, would pull a book of the shelf and chew on it. I had to crate him whenever we went out and when we went to bed.

By Reds9298 on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 09:22 am:

My sister's lab/rott mix also has separation anxiety, and like Ginny said, from what I understand this is generally the common reason for chewing. My sister and friend's dogs who chew however from anxiety, ALWAYS chew something that smells like the owner. A shoe, a blanket, a bedspread, a piece of clothing lying around, the slipcover on the couch. My sister's dog actually takes meds for it while they are at work because he's huge to crate, they don't have much yard, and they don't want to get rid of him. I recommend crating highly anyway. Our dogs have always been crated when we leave. It's a simple solution to the problem. My sister's house is very small and a crate that size would be an isore for her lab/rott mix.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 11:13 am:

Our dog is 16 years old, in June, and he still has separation anxiety.. If I do not crate him when I leave he will dump all the trash and poop on the floor.. He does it every time, it doesn't fail.. It is never anything else but the trash and the poop.. It is like a pay back for me leaving lol... If I crate him, he is calm but excited that I am home... If I don't crate him he is a wreck and acts up for a while after I get back, like he is mad at me..

Like I said he will be 16.. He was crate trained when we got him (they both worked) and 15 years of living with us and he still acts up when left home alone.......... I think some dogs are just that way and I think there is little you can do about it except for keep him and your house safe...

By Yjja123 on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 10:46 pm:

I would crate her and make sure she has plenty to chew on.
We have to do this with our lab. If we didn't, he would find something himself. It may be boredom. The vet said some dogs just need to chew. We keep ourselves stocked with toys and chews. The best is the Kong toy. We put peanutbutter in it. It keeps Cosmo busy for hours