February 27, 2025

Our 9 month old dog destroys my things if we don't crate her at night, is this puppy behavior or something we can work on?

Full Question:
Hi. We used to foster through our local shelter, and foster failed with the last puppy. Lucy, the new addition , is around 9 months old and spayed. She was brought into the shelter with her litter mates at 14wks, and all were very timid. We worked a lot on obedience and commands, building trust, not rushing her - luckily she's very treat motivated. Lucy gets plenty of exercise everyday - we own a gym, and I work from home, so it's usually play with toys, the other pups, or a long trail walk where she can use her nose to sniff - on leash, of course. She still doesn't love strangers or people coming right at her, but we know that's a work in progress.

The biggest issue is at night. We mostly crate her, but occasionally my husband leaves her out, and she goes on a path of destruction. Only on my things. Other than crating her, or making sure everything is picked up, is this still puppy behavior or something we can work on?
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
I would use the crate. Unless you can supervise and interrupt her before she starts destroying things then there is no way to work on it. She's showing you she's not ready for that kind of freedom at this point. Some dogs destroy things out of anxiety and some dogs just enjoy tearing things up.

I've raised countless puppies and also adopted some older dogs with a lot of issues and if the dog shows me one time they have this tendency then I manage them so they can't rehearse the behavior I don't want.

No ratings yet
Was this Q&A helpful? Let us know!
Did you find this Q&A helpful?
Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
No ratings yet
Was this Q&A helpful? Let us know!

Did you find this Q&A helpful?

Recommended Products
Scroll to Top