[PersistantPuppy]

Hello, its Molly's Mum here again. Molly is now 14 weeks old and still completely adorable. Tonight though, I noticed the corner of the wall next to the front door has been chewed. All paint and plaster (eeek! I hope she doesn't get sick) is gone. I have googled this and come up with nothing conclusive, other than separation anxiety. I don't understand how this has happened - I only go out for short times throughout the day, and she is fine sleeping through the night in a different room from us.

Any suggestions on how I can try and ease her anxiety? I don't care about the paintwork (other than worrying about the harm it can do her) I just hate the fact that she seems to be so anxious that she is chewing her way out of the house! lol

Thanks.

[Ghst]

If this is inside the house, is she doing this when you have left her? I know of one dog that chews at the door to get into the house when she hears thunder from a approaching storm.

[lange]

Hi PersistantPuppy. Did you ever decide to crate Molly? That's what I would do since she's still having anxiety when you leave.

The negative to not crating her is that she may just substitute the wall eating for something else that is destructive (if her behavior is caused by separation anxiety). If you do a search on the forum there's a lot of info on SA. Although there is the possibility that your dog is doing it because she wants to chew something or is bored.

If you crate & work on the anxiety you can stop crating her once she gains more confidence. The older my "pup" gets the less I crate her. Right now she is only crated when I leave for long periods of time. Soon I'll test her out on even that. Right now she seems to take the time to nap since I try to wear out before hand. I see crating as a tool to use as they're learning, not as a means to an end.

ANother idea is spraying the wall with something like bitter spray. They also sell a product that is similar to the invisible fence but meant to be used to keep a dog away from a certain area. The one i seen is called "PetSafe Pawz Away Instant Pet Barrier". There may be different ones to look into.

The best thing would be to teach her while she's in the act, that it's unwanted behavior. But if she's not chewing on the walls while you're around you can't teach her not to do it.

Maybe someone else will have different ideas since I'm very pro-crate. Good luck again!

[CorkyMax]

My Corky use to do this, lol, I still have the walls to prove it. He did it when I was gone to work but he also got in the habit even when I was home. It had nothing to do with wanting to go out as he had access to a doggie door and a big back yard. I think he did it when I was home if he wanted my attention--Does your pup get plenty of exercise and is not bored. Those were the 2 things that I think Corky was doing it for. It definitely wasn't separation anxiety.--Just needed more exercise and something to stop the boredom. Not saying yours may not be separation anxiety but tiring her out I think will still help!