My Dog Destroys the screens on my windows

Question
QUESTION: I have a lab/springer mix (at least that is what he is supposed to be).  We got him and his sister from the pound.  The boy, who looks like he is part wolf hound to me, is tearing up every screen on any window that is accessible to him.  He is in the back yard and we thought this was only because of fireworks but now it has happened when we just leave the house.  He is trying to get into the house.  He has ruined the mini blinds by getting his head in and around the window (from the outside) and even trying to chew the door knob (on the inside) to let himself in.  I am at my wits end.  I have no screens on the back of my house and I am really starting to consider getting rid of our dog.  We have had the two of them for at least 6 years.

ANSWER: Something...it could have lasted three seconds and you may totally not have noticed what it was...may have frightened this dog and created a trigger and conditioned fear response.  IF this is the case, whatever the trigger is will be difficult to assess; it could be a bird passing overhead in a certain place, a car rounding a curve, a child's voice off in the distance, associated with the original sound or event which created the fear.  It might happen once a day, several times, no one can give you this information except the dog (and that takes close and consistent observation, rather like you were performing an experiment.)  A conditioned fear response can be acquired in a dog in three seconds from an ordinarily benign source (to you.) It can be complicated to rehabilitate but some dogs are very easily rehabilitated and there's no way of my knowing this from this distance.  It appears that your dog wants to get in, where it's "safe".  Do you keep your dogs outdoors when you are not at home and allow them in other times?  Leaving a dog or dogs outside all the time is not good.  Dogs are pack animals and require the interaction of all their pack members, which includes humans.  If you are keeping the male outdoors and allowing the female to remain indoors, this is also a problem.  It is simply not humane to force dogs to live outdoors.

You've had these dogs for six years.  This should mean you have an emotional attachment and commitment to them.  You need the help of an expert who can evaluate temperament in both dogs, observe the male outdoors and question you and other humans in your household regarding everyday interaction with both dogs.  This problem cannot be solved in a text box.  Contact the veterinary college closest to you and ask for referral to a certified applied animal behavior expert, Ph.D. or DVM.  The professional must be available to come to your home; a clinical setting (such as an office) will not do it.  It's unacceptable to dump a member of your family because he or she acquires an emotional or physical problem.  Keep your commitment to the dog and do whatever it takes to help him.  And let him IN.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your response.  We do let BOTH the dogs in.  Whenever we are home. They are treated like kings and queens. They both mean very much to us.  I resent the fact that you assumed we "force the dogs to live outdoors".  I will contact our vet for further questions.  I don't know what gave you the impression that we would let the female in and not the male.  Infact the reason we got two dogs to begin with was because we wanted them to have the company of another dog.

Answer
If you will re-read your original question, much crucial information (such as where both dogs are kept and whether or not they are separated) was pretty much left up to me to guess.  This is why, for serious behavioral problems, one needs to find an expert who can come into your home, or make an appointment for you to go to their office, for hands on evaluation of the dog(s) in question, a full interview with all humans regarding behavior over time, etc.