I was recently on another post asked to make a new one. So here I go.
I have a 15 month italion mastiff got her at 9mo we bleive she was neglected and posibly abused. She is wonderful wile with us or outher family. When crated she will destroy the crate ( heavy meatle wire crates) to the point of cutting her head and mouth untill she is free. After 3 crates we went to a soft muzzel that seem to work after a wile we let her free to the house. She then destroyed quite a lot of things. Put muzz back on for a few days and stoped. But now back to her destruction. Please help what can I do

She is worked for 30-45. Kenneled 4-6 with lunch. It startes right when you walk out the door my. last was heavy expanded steel. She just beet her self up in it

I have a client at my boarding kennel with a Cane Corso that they nearly gave up on and offered to me at 9 months. She put everything in her mouth, she was going through a fear stage too and with it she would mouth them...etc. She was a fast moving destructo puppy. And you really need to think of yours that way....a PUPPY. She is a baby and she is energetic and bored and has more energy than you are burning off.

I would first be certain she is getting regular exercise, wearing her out sort of exercise. I would also say that I played tug with this Cane and that helped her a lot to develope an outlet. She learned very fast using Michael Ellis' techniques. We tugged and walked and rewarded with the tug and she was able to deal much better. And tug wore her out very well. Now she is nearly the same age as yours and she is a more mature than even a month ago.

I would never muzzle a dog if it is left unsupervised. Especially a soft muzzle....as the dog can not drink or pant in many of them. Better to address the excess energy. If she is tired she is less likely to be so frustrated crated. That said too, I have had dogs that didn't tolerate crating at a young age. If yours had a bad experience she may be associating or if she has separation anxiety she likewise can go nuts in a crate. You could also try some DAP (dog appeasing pheromone- I like Comfort Zones version) or Rescue Remedy and this simple addition could help her deal with being left.

I would also be sure to leave her with something to work on .....the kibble/treat dispensing toys, big raw bone....something to put her mouth on when she is alone. I would reserve these for when she is being left and needs something to do when she is crated. And I personally would crate her or kennel her. You have given her too much freedom too soo. (we did this with one of our Bullmastiffs and came home to half a couch) She is safer and so is all your stuff if she is contained. She needs you to be able to come home and be thrilled and happy to see her.
Hope this is some help.

After seeing the above post ...I would say a half to three quarters of an hour is just an edge off for her. She probably needs that three times a day.

Hi Adam,

I can't help but think your dog is not getting enough exercise or working time, and she is telling you so through her behavior.

It could be very simple... a tired pup is a good pup. A bored pup is a destructive pup.

Is there a way to beef up her working/exercise schedule so that when crated, she is TIRED and also, as mentioned above, has an appropriate toy/item on which to focus?

Thank you all for the grate info. We (play) untill she just lays down and wants nothing more but to sleep. And still is as destructive as ever. It all most seams as if she gets mad that we left her just a little to long if our schedual is 30 min off we come home to shreded paper and garbadge. Its not every day just smoe times. My wife is a teacher and thinks the pup sees the kids walking home and puts 2 and 2 together thinking my wife should be home. Reason is the stuff is still wet with slober. I know dogs are smart. She is one of a kind in that way. So I would not put any thing past her

How often do you have to give the. Calm stuff. Do you ween off it or is it just every day

dogs don't destroy stuff because that are mad at you....they destroy stuff because they are bored and they are taking their boredom & frustration out by getting into things.

did you acclimate this dog to the crate at all?

do you always put the dog in the crate under good circumstances?
do you feed and do "good" things involving the crate? Toss in treats and let the dog go in and out to get them?

While all the suggestions regarding exercise are good I cant help but think about anxiety. How does the dog behave when you guys are home just relaxing? Will she destroy stuff if for example you are napping on the couch and she is left out? If she just displays this behavior when left alone it may be more anxiousness than boredom although both are possible too.

Take not of the routine and how she responds when you are all leaving the house together. Does she know the every day routine? For example...my dogs will automatically go to their crates (happily) when they hear my wife call for my daughter every morning. They know it means that my wife and daughter are leaving for the day.

One way to deal with separation anxiety is to go through the motions of leaving but not actually leave. Put you coats on and sit down instead. after some repetition you can put your coats on and leave for 30 seconds then longer etc. After a while she will becvome less sensitive your leaving. it takes time a and patience. Also make the crate a happy place as well.

Hope this helps.

Adam, you are getting very good information here and I agree with all of it.

Wow - "shredded paper and garbage?" She is being kind and gentle. I've heard about destroyed couches and chewed off table legs...

Unfortunately, you have a dog that has been intermittently reinforced for an escape behavior. The dog knows that if she works hard enough and long enough, she will be able to get out of any crate, and maybe you will eventually give up the crate idea altogether. Perhaps you should change her name to Houdini? (bad humor). Escape behaviors are extremely resistant to change, which is why trainers have used compulsive training for high priority behaviors (e.g., retreiving in Schutzhund).

All that said, this is a dog, not an engineer, welder, or mechanic. There IS an enclosure that will safely contain her. I don't know if it is available for purchase, but one could be constructed. Any decent welder could make a secure crate to whatever specificiations you supply. He could literally make a crate out of plate steel with ventilation holes small enough that your dog could never, ever even begin to get out. It would be heavy as heck - not something you could put in your car - but it would be safe and secure. If you had something this strong in the beginning, you would not be in the predicament you are in now, but who knew?

All that said, I agree with the others that there are still training issues. There is a problem with separation, with too little exercise (possibly), with how the dog views the crate, and there may be a problem with the dog's view of her place in the pack.

I'll leave the separation thing to others better qualified.

I would consider backing up and retraining the crate regularly. ALL HEAVEN needs to flow through whatever crate you decide upon. She gets fed there, has her most comfy bed there, toys there, treats there, just make it a fun, safe place. Reread some materials on crate training, and start back at square one. There is a cool video that I saw a clip from by a lady in Canada ("Crate Games") who has made a living in training all things crate-related. I don't know whether it is still possible to get a copy..Because of your particular circumstances, you are going to have to retrain her for the crate since she's come to view it, apparently, as a torture chamber. This will take some time, and some very good treats - we are talking steak here. The time and energy you put into this process now will pay huge dividends throughout your dog's life. The crate-training process never ends either.

In my opinion, your dog would benefit greatly from the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) methodology. Here is one writeup - there are others to be Googled: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm This technique is particularly well-suited to dogs with questionable socialization in puppyhood. Believe it or not, similar techniques are also used for human children who evidence attachment disorders (as in abused children adopted into therapeutic foster placements).

You adopted a "special needs" dog, and good for you!! What you are discovering is that her "rehab" may require some extra efforts and/or equipment.

Good luck!!