Chewing

Question
I have a 6-year-old Australian Cattle Dog who I've had since he was 1 year old. He's been an extremely well behaved dog his whole life. Although I used a crate with him when I first got him, in just a few months he was able to stay home when I was gone without any confinement, so eventually, I got rid of the crate.

Fast-forward five years. Five or six times in the past few months, while I've been out running errands, he has picked up things that are on my nightstand (knickknack-type things, none of which remotely resemble a chew toy), and chewed them on my bed. He doesn't do it every time I leave. And he doesn't chew just anything--I can leave clothes, shoes, anything on the floor, and he hasn't chewed them. He doesn't chew furniture either. It's always been a knickknack in my bedroom. I'm convinced he knows that he shouldn't be chewing these things; when I get home, find something on my bed that he's chewed, and pick it up, I don't even have to say anything to him--he sees me with it in my hands and slinks away, like he knows he's done something wrong.

He doesn't show any signs of separation anxiety that I've read about. He whines mildly when I leave, but that stops as soon as I shut the door, and his behavior has been the same way for five years with no changes, except for the recent chewing. He has plenty of chew toys (and I rotate out the toys he has periodically so that he always has a new selection to play with).

I work from home, so he spends a lot of time with me and isn't left for long periods of time (although in July, I went out of town for a weekend once and had my neighbors let him out throughout the day, and he did great!). I walk him anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes a day, every day. I also play a lot with him (mostly fetch, but we also work on training together because he likes learning new commands). We've lived in the same place for three years, so no changes there. No changes to his food or other daily routines. His health is good, as far as I know.

I've just bought a crate again, and I'm prepared to start leaving him in that when I'm away, but I'd really like to get at the root of what's going on here. I know ACDs are smart dogs that need stimulation, and he's got plenty of it. This chewing behavior is brand new after five years of great behavior and no other changes. Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Jessica -

Dogs always amaze me and sometimes leave me scratching my head.  It sounds like you're doing everything right and this is an attention seeking behavior.  What we humans may not perceive as a change may be a big change from the dog's point of view.  Have you had any changes in your family unit? New signifcant other, child, or pet?  Have your work hours changed?  I know you said you work from home but have you taken on more projects that would keep you in your office longer?
I would recommend talking to your vet about this behavior.  Sometimes it can be an underlying health issue that can trigger this type of behavior.  Remember, any attention (even if negative) is still attention from your dog's point of view.   I would continue using the crate as necessary or just closing the door to the  bedroom to keep him from chewing your valuables.  You can also try "mock departures" to rule out separation anxiety. This involves you putting on your coat, shoes, purse, and keys, and pretending you are leaving.  Instead of going you sit in the living room and watch tv or have coffee in the kitchen.  The idea of the exercise is to get the dog to think that just because you got all your stuff ready to leave does not necessarily mean you are going to be gone for hours.  The more you practice these exercises the more the dog becomes comfortable with you leaving.  Best of luck with your pup.  Keep me posted...