[CArnold40]

My beagle is rather old (about 10 human years). She's lived in 2 separate homes with me. While she's never been the best behaved dog in the world, she really hasn't been too bad. Recently, I just moved into a condo (making this her 3rd home). The setup is: A hardwood-floored kitchen with a small cove where she sleeps on her pillow. From there, a hallway leads into a carpeted living room. On the opposite side of the living room is my back door, where I let her out do go to the bathroom and get some sun. This of course means that I have to let her walk across the living room to go outside.

When I am home with her, I pretty much let her run freely, and she seems to behave quite well. But when I am gone, I like to put a gate up in the hallway, keeping her only on the hard-wood floored section of the condo. This worked very well for the 1st week her and I lived there. But since then, she has gotten to where she climbs the gate when I'm not home, and escapes into the living room to chew up my blinds (she hasn't chewed on things since she was puppy), jump up onto the sofa (which she knows she's not allowed to do), and sometimes even pee on the carpet! I even tried to remedy this by putting up TWO gates (one on top of the other) to make it so tall that she couldn't climb over it. In that case, she chewed up the wooden gate so badly that she even made her mouth bleed. She managed to tear the bottom gate up enough to again escape into the living room. Now, I know nothing else to do but leave her outside all day (the condo association frowns on that if they find out)...and I've NEVER wanted to make my dog feel unwelcome in her own home.

I'm really at my wit’s end with her. I'm TRYING to contain my anger. I've gotten to a point where I'm considering getting rid of her. And that thought makes me even angrier with her...only because I love her so much. It's to the point that I get home & see what she's done, and I can't even be nice to her...because I want...I NEED her to know she's done something wrong. This is really starting to make me feel disconnected from her.

ANY advice anyone can lend on this is much appreciated. I'm desperate!

Thank you,
Carnold40

[jesirose]

Hi, I am new to having a dog but my neighbors take their dog to doggy day care, because the dog needs more exercise. Maybe the new condo is upsetting her and having something to occupy her during the day would help?

Did you use gates in the old houses without her chewing them up?

[leeh1317]

Originally Posted by CArnold40

My beagle is rather old (about 10 human years). She's lived in 2 separate homes with me. While she's never been the best behaved dog in the world, she really hasn't been too bad. Recently, I just moved into a condo (making this her 3rd home). The setup is: A hardwood-floored kitchen with a small cove where she sleeps on her pillow. From there, a hallway leads into a carpeted living room. On the opposite side of the living room is my back door, where I let her out do go to the bathroom and get some sun. This of course means that I have to let her walk across the living room to go outside.

When I am home with her, I pretty much let her run freely, and she seems to behave quite well. But when I am gone, I like to put a gate up in the hallway, keeping her only on the hard-wood floored section of the condo. This worked very well for the 1st week her and I lived there. But since then, she has gotten to where she climbs the gate when I'm not home, and escapes into the living room to chew up my blinds (she hasn't chewed on things since she was puppy), jump up onto the sofa (which she knows she's not allowed to do), and sometimes even pee on the carpet! I even tried to remedy this by putting up TWO gates (one on top of the other) to make it so tall that she couldn't climb over it. In that case, she chewed up the wooden gate so badly that she even made her mouth bleed. She managed to tear the bottom gate up enough to again escape into the living room. Now, I know nothing else to do but leave her outside all day (the condo association frowns on that if they find out)...and I've NEVER wanted to make my dog feel unwelcome in her own home.

I'm really at my wit’s end with her. I'm TRYING to contain my anger. I've gotten to a point where I'm considering getting rid of her. And that thought makes me even angrier with her...only because I love her so much. It's to the point that I get home & see what she's done, and I can't even be nice to her...because I want...I NEED her to know she's done something wrong. This is really starting to make me feel disconnected from her.

ANY advice anyone can lend on this is much appreciated. I'm desperate!

Thank you,
Carnold40

being upset with her when you get home has no effect on her. unless she is caught in the act, and scolded at that time...you "not being nice" to her means absolutely nothing to her...except that shes probably wondering where the love is. it sounds like she may be getting a bit tempermental in her old age...and could definitely benefit from some doggy day care...just a place where there is some excitement and stimuli around her. if this is not an option for you...i would invest in buying a heavy duty metal gate that screws into the wall. they sell them high enough so she cant jump over it. also, try leaving on some soothing music or a tv while you are gone.

[CArnold40]

Originally Posted by jesirose

Hi, I am new to having a dog but my neighbors take their dog to doggy day care, because the dog needs more exercise. Maybe the new condo is upsetting her and having something to occupy her during the day would help?

Did you use gates in the old houses without her chewing them up?

Yes, I did use a gate at my previous residence. She would whine about it from time to time, but for the most part she got used to it.

I guess I'll have to look into this doggy daycare thing & see if it's affordable & accessible in my area.

Thanks

[CArnold40]

Originally Posted by leeh1317

being upset with her when you get home has no effect on her. unless she is caught in the act, and scolded at that time...you "not being nice" to her means absolutely nothing to her...except that shes probably wondering where the love is. it sounds like she may be getting a bit tempermental in her old age...and could definitely benefit from some doggy day care...just a place where there is some excitement and stimuli around her. if this is not an option for you...i would invest in buying a heavy duty metal gate that screws into the wall. they sell them high enough so she cant jump over it. also, try leaving on some soothing music or a tv while you are gone.

Hmmm...the soothing music is something I hadn't thought of. That's a simple enough approach to take. Hopefully that might make a difference.

Thank you!

[lil mutt]

maybe she just need to adjust to the new home...

[CaityK]

You should look into using a large crate. This will ensure she doesn't get into anything. Also, dogs usually will not pee inside their crate.

If you are going to keep her restrained when you're not around, also make sure she's getting lots of exercise when you are able to be with her. In fact, if you have the means, it would also benefit the both of you to hire a dog walker to come provide her with attention and activity while you're not around.

[Sorro]

She might be getting seperation anxiety or just be bored. A dog daycare might be a good idea but if you use a crate she might hurt her mouth and paws trying to get out like she did with gates.

[DaGracer]

Seems this could be a deeper issue. Do you know if she whines a lot while your gone(especially during the first 30 minutes?) How does she react when you get home? Does she stay by your side while you are at home and follow you constantly from room to room?

If I had to make a judgement solely based on the information you provided, it sounds like it could be a case of separation anxiety. If that's the case, just putting her in the crate may not help. If she's chewing and digging her way through the gate, she could try to do the same thing with the crate and really cause some damage to her mouth, nose and paws. Also, dogs with separation anxiety can deficate in their crate as an appeasing behavior - leaving an unhappy dog and an unhappy owner cleaning the crate and dog (trust me - been there, done that). It doesn't help to get angry at her because she doesn't understand why you are angry. This could cause your dog to fear you and not solve the reason why she's doing what she does.

It could possibly be a case of boredom, but I'm not sure that's the problem because the actions you describe (going through the gate, tearing up the blinds) are indicative of her trying to get out of the place. Having some things to occupy her while you are gone could help ease her mind some though (kongs with frozen peanut butter or yogurt, food puzzles (beagles LOVE food!), etc.) Soothing music and/or having the television on can help too, but aren't a fix to the problem.

Other than just having moved into your new place, were there any other things that have happened, especially just prior to when this started happening? Anyone visiting your place, such as repairmen or friends while you were out, any loud noises taking place outside while your gone, a change in your usual schedule (like work hours and/or commute times being different), etc. It's possible something could have spooked her while you were gone to bring about this behavior or she hasn't adapted to some of the changes yet. Also, since she is getting older, there could be a health issue that is causing her to react this way.

My suggestion would be to contact an animal behaviorist (not a dog trainer or vet) to discuss the behavior. Usually, a lot of the animal shelters (like your local SPCA or Humane Society) have someone on staff that you can talk to over the phone for free and can send you supplemental information. If they think it's necessary, they can arrange to have a private consult with you (which differs from place to place but in my area costs about $25 for a 1-hour session). Also, you may want to take her to the vet just to make sure her health is okay.

You can always take her to doggie day care, which would be fabulous for her while you are at work during the day. But if you need to go somewhere for just a few hours (out to dinner, to the movies, etc.), you'll want to get this problem taken care of. The good news is separation anxiety is easier to treat than most people think, but it will take you a couple of days of working with her consistently. There are some great articles on separation anxiety you can check out.

Good luck with your doggie! I'd hate to see your relationship end over something that can be worked on and solved, especially since you love her so much!