I have a problem with my 2 year old rottie/lab/dalmation mix. We've had her for about a year and a half, but we had a roommate up until next montha and she would pee if he came close, so when we would leave home, we would have to crate her. Well, we just moved and I hate using a crate, so we've been leaving her out throughout the day. For the first couple of days, she was fine. Didn't bother anything. THen, it started. If we're gone for anything less than 4 hours, she's fine. But if we are gone for more than that, which is most days since we both work full time, she gets into anything. She drags out laundry, gets dishes out of the sink, gets into the trash, if we leave the bathroom or bedroom door open she messes them up. Today, she even climbed onto the desk and ate one of the wisemen from the nativity on top of it. I know she had to get on the desk, because the chair was away and there's nothing else to climb on, and the nativity is almost 5 feet off the ground. She doesn't mess in the house, just messes it up. I'm not sure what to do. She knows commands, listens to them when we're inside (all bets are off when we're in the backyard) and seems calm when we're home. I'm at wits end and with a baby on the way, I can't have her eating all of the baby's stuff.

the obvious is - crate her when you aren't there.

is she getting at least two brisk 30 minute walks or runs every day? she is still very young & needs plenty of exercise

she is bored silly & needs things to occupy her mind.

consider hiring a dog walker. take her to doggie day care a couple days a week. can either of you come home for lunch to take her out?

Suebgone pretty much hit the nail on the head.

She's bored! She's also got some pretty high energy breeds in her, and is still young so she needs a lot of exercise!

You can also try leaving her some stuffed Kongs or something like that to occupy her brain with. Whenever I have to leave my youngest alone (which is rare, I usually find someone to watch him, and if i do leave him alone it's only a couple of hours) I give him a stuffed Kong, or a 3 lbs weight he loves to roll around and finds extremely fasinating.

great suggestion Stinkey ( not gonna ask ) lol

here is info on Kong toys & some great recepies for stuffin' - even freezing them

Kong Stuffing

she loves her kongs, but that doesn't seem to be sufficient. Any ideas on ways to exercise her other than walking? I like in Ohio and it's frozen here now and I can't exercise outdoors cause I'm pregnant and have asthma so I can';t breath. I try playing fetch with her cause it wears her out more than it does me, but she gets disinterested fast. Maybe I can get my sister in law to walk her for me, would that be a good alternative, or should I be the one to walk her?

I think it should be fine if your SIL walks her, just show her how first. If you use any specific training devices to walk her (Gentle Leader, Choke Chain etc.), or if her heel is good show your SIL how to get her to heel properly and/or how to fit the training device properlly.

If she likes food, I think stuffing the Kong should keep her interested for a bit, especially if it's frozen! My boys can lick out Kongs for an hour or more!

Short training sessions while you are home should help as well, keeps the brain active which is also kind of like working the body!

If you have a treadmill at home, you could also try training her to walk on that to exercise her indoors. It's not as fun as a walk but should help (I'm in the process of teaching one of mine to walk on a treadmill because he's got a LOT of energy in him and it's way too cold here to walk him every evening).

If I can think of anything else to keep her busy, I'll let you know!

Sue - my username is a mix of my dogs nick names lol (Stinkin Linkin and Coaley Moley :P)

sure, if you can get someone to walk her great but as stinkey says make sure they know how to do it properly.

even hire a dog walker if need be. is doggie day care an option? even a couple days a week? that would help keep her mind busy.


ummm wouldda never guessed that one!

Hi, i experience this for my shih shu before. She use to tear all the books and everything( which can be tear) in the house including my recipe book and also all the wiring. Initially i cant find any solution except crate her. But, after reading and reading find a solution which i find quite useful to solve this
problems. But later on, when i walk her around everyday, the problems solved! Playing hide and seek with her in the house,as sometimes its raining! It can maintain her health and provide give her some funs to play around.

Playing while providing dog training? Sound fun right?Solve your problems too!

For hide and seek games, it is actually similar with how we play with our children. Just that, we are playing with our dogs.

1) Start off with your dog stay in “SIT” and “STAY” position.

2) Standing few feet away where he can see you and call him.

3) After first indicator, now trying to hide behind objects such as door or chair or table.

4) Call his name and let him go and search for you. (This might be different from playing hide and seek with your children where you won’t call them.)

You can also play treasure hunt with her and here are the methods to start with.

Free info for all dog lovers.