Dog eating everything

Question
QUESTION: I have a dog who eats everything. And I mean everything. He doesn't do it when you're watching, normally it's when i've gone out to work or to the store. He eats ipods, books, clothes, garbage, shoes and more recently he's been chewing on the walls and baseboards. Today he pulled a bit of siding off the shed in the backyard. I'm not sure how to stop this behaviour. It's costing me a fortune to replace everything that he eats and the house I live in isn't my own. I've tried telling him no and bad in a firm voice but he just doesn't listen. He also jumps a lot, it doesn't matter who comes in the house as soon as they are in he starts jumping at them and wont stop. I've tried smacking him on the nose when he does this and saying no but he doesn't listen.

If there is any help or advice you could offer it would be greatly appreciated.



ANSWER: Hi, Hannah,

Thanks for the question.

I'm not surprised that scolding him or whacking him physically doesn't help. It seems to me that his behavior comes from a very strong, instinctively-driven part of his psychology, one that's hard to repress. The trick to changing these behaviors is to give him an alternative outlet for his instinctive energy.

What kind of dog is he? How old? How old was he when you got him? Where did you get him? Why did you want a dog? How much hard vigorous playful activity does he get every day (and by this I mean games like fetch where he gets to chase something and bite it)? Do you ever play tug-of-war with him and let him win? How long is he left alone during the day? Have you ever crated him? Does he ever get a chance to play with other dogs? (Imagine having a child and not giving the kid a chance to play with other kids.)

The jumping up is very easy to solve: just put the leash on him before you let anyone come inside the house. That way you'll be able to control his movements more effectively. It wouldn't hurt if he knew how to sit on command. If he does, give your visitors a treat or a toy, and have THEM ask your dog to sit. Repeat this often enough and a pattern will develop where he greets visitors by sitting for a treat or a toy. (By the way, the jumping up is a way your dog has of redirecting his urge to bite anyone who comes through the den door into a more socially acceptable behavior; so giving him something to bite on, like a toy or a bone, will help him behave himself even better than he's already doing.)

I hope that helps with the door. Let me know a little more about him and I'll give you some tips on how to get rid of his destructive chewing habit.

LCK

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

QUESTION: Hello,

Thanks for the quick reply. I will totally try the leash and treats thing for the jumping.

He's a collie/ Lab mix. We're not sure what kind of collie, he's from an animal rescue center. He was 12 weeks old when we got him. We actually got two of them, their brothers. They live together and get along really well. He is the dominant of the two. The other one has no issues with eating things. He's 11 months old now. We play tug of war a lot and he does tend to win most of the time. We live in an area where we get a lot of snow in the winter so we can't take him to the park in the winter. He does play in the yard with the other dog a lot. They run around like crazy and play with each other. They have lots of bones and kongs that they chew on all day. He has never been crated, it is something I would like to avoid. He spends about 4-6 hours in the bedroom. When we leave him alone in the house, not locked in a room, he doesn't chew anything. We just can't leave him alone incase someone else comes home he jumps all over them.

If you need any more information please let me know. Thanks for your help.

HW

Answer
Hi again.

The fact that you say this dog is "dominant" over his brother is indicative to me that your dog has a high-level of tension and anxiety. (http://tinyurl.com/2q2esp ) The normal way for a dog to relieve internal emotional pressure is through his teeth and jaws.

I recommend playing tug-of-war with him outdoors every day, twice a day for at least 15 mins., unless he gets bored with the game before the allotted time has elapsed. Always let him win and praise him enthusiastically for winning. I also recommend using the game as a focal point for teaching the dog obedience commands like sit, stay, and down.

You should also hand feed him all his meals, using a pushing exercise, until you get to the point that he's much calmer overall, however long that takes. The pushing exercise essentially means that you put one hand, palm up, against his chest, and let him eat from your other hand. As he eats you slowly and gradually pull the food hand away so that he has to push into in order to eat. Over time you build up the amount of pressure he puts against your hand to the point that he's up on his back legs, practically pushing you over (you'll have to brace yourself or he WILL).

Here's a link to that exercise: http://tinyurl.com/3balu6

Also avoid all negative interactions with him. No scolding or punishing. Those things will only increase his anxiety, and hence, his bad behavior. DON'T CORRECT - RE-DIRECT!

I recommend you think a little more about crating him, too. Here's a link which explains why it's a positive thing for a dog: http://www.tiny.cc/CrateTraining

I know I'm giving you a lot to do, and you might be able to resolve things to your satisfaction simply by teaching him a new greeting behavior for when people come over, but I think it would be a good idea to teach him to stay using my "Trick-or-Treat" game. It has a tendency to make any dog who goes through all the steps of the exercise. And you only need to spend a minute or so doing the exercise each time.

Here's a link to that: http://www.tiny.cc/TrickorTreat

Best of luck! If you need further help, let me know.

LCK

PS:Long walks in nature will also help him use up some of this energy.