Corgi Chewing Everything!

Question
QUESTION: I have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi that is a year and a half old.  She was crate trained for a full year and did very well being in the crate while my husband and I are at work.  I was raised with dogs and they were not crate trained and were always out during the day so I began to feel guilty about leaving her for so many hours.  (We have no neighbors to let her out or doggy day care in the area.) So this summer we starting slowly giving her more and more freedom from the kennel each day until she was able to spend 8 hours out while we were gone.  However, this week she started a chewing rampage. She ate part of the carpet one day, the woodwork the next, etc. We walk her every day and try to play with her as much as possible when we get home. Still, at night she whines until I lay on the floor and pet her some more. This weekend I fell back asleep and, less than 4 feet away from me, I woke up to find she had chewed more wood-work... despite the fact that she had plenty of chew toys around her. I know Corgis need a lot of mental stimulation so we've even tried buying toys that are mentally stimulating but to no avail.  I can't keep her in the kennel 24/7 but these are expensive repairs. Please help!

PS- I have taken her to the vet to make sure there's nothing physically wrong.

ANSWER: It sounds like you were on the right track, but gave her too much space too fast. do you ever catch her in the act of chewing? and if so, what do you do? leaving  dog in a crate is not a punishment, remember that. but it may be harder to get her back in it for now since she has had so much freedom. let me know about my questions and we will go from there.

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

QUESTION: We have never caught her in the act of chewing. The closest we have come is this morning, when she had just finished.  (The wood was still very wet.)  I'll admit, I was mad.  I smacked her on the butt and put her in the kennel.  I thought about redirecting her to the chew toy that was right beside the baseboard but it didn't seem to make much sense, she had obviously ignored it.  Unfortunately, with the layout of our house, it is very difficult to give just a little more space. So we tried giving her the downstairs, but slowly increased the time out.  Also until this morning, she only chewed when we were not home.  I'm a teacher so during the summer I had worked hard to train her to be out.  Now that the school year has started, I can't slowly give her more time again.  Do you think we should crate her again or give her less space, like a bedroom? (We do not have kids yet, so we have one room with nothing in it.) Maybe she's too young to be out? I just worry because herding dogs have so much energy.  It seems almost cruel to keep her locked up all day.  Thanks so much for your help.  I'll admit to feeling deflated and out of my mind this morning. We don't have kids, but she is my baby and I feel like a terrible doggie mom at this point!

ANSWER: Hi again. NO do not lock her in a room..that will not be a good thing. She will destroy it. sounds like she may have the beginnings of seperation anxiety. You need to just get her back in the crate and get a routine going. Let he out right before she goes in it. Make it a positive thing- never use it for punishment. and give her run time when you are home. See what happens in the next ten days and let me know
thanks


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

QUESTION: Hi and thanks for the quick replies... I promise I'll leave you alone for at least another 10 days after this...  We will start crating her again.  Should we leave her toys in the crate too?  It's a large crate but there is still not a ton of room in there and I don't want to cut down on too much space by putting toys in but I don't want her to be too bored either. Is a crate a permanent solution or will we be able to try again when she is a bit older? Any other good tips to help alleviate separation anxiety in dogs? (eg- Leaving and coming back in within a few minutes to make her see we're still here.) Also, any tips for nighttime?  She is free in the bedroom but chewed the wall shortly after I fell asleep, ignoring her whines to get up on the bed. (Short dog and tall bed.) We just bought an ottoman so she can jump up on her own.  Hopefully that will help.

Answer
I know you do not want to hear this, but crate her at night in your bedroom. when you go to sleep you like to be in your bed right? well this is the dog's bed. As long as she is in the room with you she is fine. You can not allow her to roam free because the more she destroys things without you seeing it, the worse it is going to get. The dog is fine in the crate for 8-9 hours in the day as long as you let her run a little before and play with her once home. do not leave a toy in there because if she chews it, you are letting her chew again without supervision. i hope to hear back and we can work on slowly letting her back out.
thanks and good luck
nancy