So just recently my 15 month old Akita has developed a habit of chewing up items while we arent home... like today... i came home from work to find that he anihilated my XBOX 360 controller and a few books off of the book shelf...
My guess is he's frustrated about somthing but i cant figure out what it is...

I walk him every morning before work and every evening after work, he has toys but lately seems like he's bored with them.
Is he looking for somthing new to chew on/play with?

i cant figure it out, he's a very happy dog and is always playful and pleasant to be around but when we leave the house for a while we sometimes come home to find somthing destroyed.

Oh bugger! A chewer! Really annoying for you I can imagine.

Several reasons, why a dog might chew things. I suppose some of the things to look our for to detirmin why are,

1. Your reaction when you catch him in, or after the act. To a dog, actions can be reinforced by a negative reaction on our part as well as positvie reactions. Assess what you do or say to him when you come home and he has torn things apart.

2. Have you considered the possibility of seperation anxiety. It often rears itself by barking, pacing or damage of items around the home when the family is away.

3. Too much freedom, is it worth considering reducing accessablitiy around the home to only a very small, safe area when you are not around to supervise, or maybe even crate training?

4. Boredom without family company around, particuarly if he is quite used to your company, to be without it for a period of time, and without the stimulation of you around, it could be a time passer for him until you do come home.

5. Dont rule out the possibility of it just being a habit that he has just fallen into.

Just a few thoughts anyway, good luck with it, I hope you work out why soon, so you can start preventing it.

Originally Posted by nattiej1976

Oh bugger! A chewer! Really annoying for you I can imagine.

Several reasons, why a dog might chew things. I suppose some of the things to look our for to detirmin why are,

1. Your reaction when you catch him in, or after the act. To a dog, actions can be reinforced by a negative reaction on our part as well as positvie reactions. Assess what you do or say to him when you come home and he has torn things apart.

2. Have you considered the possibility of seperation anxiety. It often rears itself by barking, pacing or damage of items around the home when the family is away.

3. Too much freedom, is it worth considering reducing accessablitiy around the home to only a very small, safe area when you are not around to supervise, or maybe even crate training?

4. Boredom without family company around, particuarly if he is quite used to your company, to be without it for a period of time, and without the stimulation of you around, it could be a time passer for him until you do come home.

5. Dont rule out the possibility of it just being a habit that he has just fallen into.

Just a few thoughts anyway, good luck with it, I hope you work out why soon, so you can start preventing it.

ive thought about speration anxiety... my wife says that any time i leave the house or even the room he will start to whimper and wait by the door for me to come back...
its strange because he just started doing it recently... it was never a problem before... and it seems he only tears things up that are either lying on the floor or are right at his eye level...
ive heard leaving music or the television on while away from the house helps with seperation anxiety... does this acctualy work?
i recently ad a buddy give me some tips on making good use of his Kong Ball and maro bones that he has cleaned out... i filled one of his bones with penut butter and stuck it inthe freezer... im hoping that will keep him occupied during the day... i plan on picking up some new toys for him too...

[reeskujo]

Try putting him in the sit position and giving him a treat when you go out the door....This will teach him to relate you leaving with something positive instead of it being a negative for him....This is also not unusual for shelter dogs as they often are still afraid of being left...My Husky had this same problem when my husband would leave and he started giving her a treat as he was leaving and it really helped...Also don't give him along drawn out good-bye as that will just build the anxiety of you leaving....Give him a treat,say see you later and go...Remember that Akita's are very family oriented dogs and have a strong desire to be around their family so make sure he gets plenty of time with you or he will get frustrated.

Originally Posted by reeskujo

Try putting him in the sit position and giving him a treat when you go out the door....This will teach him to relate you leaving with something positive instead of it being a negative for him....This is also not unusual for shelter dogs as they often are still afraid of being left...My Husky had this same problem when my husband would leave and he started giving her a treat as he was leaving and it really helped...Also don't give him along drawn out good-bye as that will just build the anxiety of you leaving....Give him a treat,say see you later and go...Remember that Akita's are very family oriented dogs and have a strong desire to be around their family so make sure he gets plenty of time with you or he will get frustrated.

Awesome...

I will try this tomarrow before i leave for work... He usualy follows me to the door then i pet his head and say "Be a good boy, ill be home soon"...