April 19, 2011
My dog escapes from everything we try and leave him in. He chewed through the basement door. What can we do?
Full Question:
Hi. We have a 6 year old Chow named Otis. He's been a very sweet loving affectionate dog with no problems all his life until recently. We moved into a new house about 6 months ago. The first thing we did was get an invisible pet fence and collar for him. That works great. When we're not home we leave him in the basement. It's never been a problem before, but about a month ago he started chewing up the basement door and frame. So we looped the wire for the invisible fence around the door. Then he chewed up the stairs. We tried muzzling him, but he could get it off. I finally broke down and got a crate because I knew this was the only answer. Well, he freaks out about the crate! He chews up the metal door to the point that he broke off a tooth. I've tried giving him bones while he's in it, but he's never been interested in any kind of chew toys, bones, or treats. He seems to have horrible separation anxiety and won't let me out of his sight when I'm home. I'm at my wits end!!Please help.
Cathy
Ed's Answer:
Once a dog like this has learned that escape is a viable option to being where he is you have a problem. I wish there were a simple solution - there is not. You could put a normal chain link kennel inside of the invisible-fenced area in your yard. Serious obedience training is also something that can work. By this I mean you really work to train the dog in obedience - it teaches the dog that there is a right and wrong in life. Some dogs make a connection to the escape mode and others do not.
If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes.
If he continues to chew out of the chain link kennel (after training) I would probably put the dog down.
Drugs are also an option but what kind of life is that?
If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes.
If he continues to chew out of the chain link kennel (after training) I would probably put the dog down.
Drugs are also an option but what kind of life is that?
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