shih tzu bad behavior

Question
Kristen,
First of all thank you for your insight in answering my first question!
As for the aggression...when I take her to work with me she stays in my office with a baby gate on the door or is put in a crate I take with me to work if I have to leave the office.  However, people will come by my office door to speak to me and if she knows them, she is thrilled to see them.  If she doesnt know them (and especially for those who have dogs, it seems) she barks and growls non stop. Even if someone comes into my work place but not to my office, she smells or hears them and does the same. When we go out with Buffy, she also reacts this way to people she doesnt know and to all dogs.  I really think it is fear- but it is coming out in a totally unacceptable way!  When she acts this way we usually tell her NO in a stern voice and if she keeps it up, we will make her lay down in a more submissive position until she calms down (not by petting her- just holding her firmly).  If we are out on the leash, we first try to tug the leash if we see her stiffen up to start barking- trying to get her attention away from whoever it is.  The best result from any of these is her either growling in a low pitch off and on or stopping all together, but just for a few seconds or minutes if we are lucky.  So far we havent seen the friendly to everyone attitude her breed (shih tzu) is 'suppose' to exhibit!  When she was much younger, I would pick her up and 'help' her calm down by petting on her.  But I have since found out that it just lets her know its ok.  (Dog Whisperer anyone?)
Any advice or direction is appreciated!  If I am handling this all wrong I want to know! We love her dearly and just want her to be happy and healthy...more friendly would be great too!:)
Thanks again!
Jen
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Kristen,
I have a 1 year old shih tzu, Buffy. She is about 12 pounds. We have crate trained her and she is house broken.  When we are not in the room with her- directly observing or playing with her we keep her in her crate.  She is crated over night and during the day when I go to work.  Sometimes I take her to work with me, but she is very unfriendly to people (and ALL other dogs!) she isnt familiar with so this creates a problems at times(the ups guy is terrified of her).  We let her out as soon as we get up in the morning and let her out to do her doggie business and as soon as we get home in the evenings to play with her.  She is provided with tons of toys (some of which we rotate to try to keep the interest up),play time with me, my 3 yr old and my husband and taken on walks.  The problem I have having (unsocialable behavior aside) is that when she is left alone for even a second she finds something to destroy.  Her fave is socks.  We try not to leave any around- but I do have a 3 yr old daughter...
She will chew on them and then when I catch her she tries to swallow them whole(she adores my daughters little socks- just her size). While socks are her first choice, she has also chewed the base boards and a couple of patio chair legs.  I know what you are thinking...but she is doing this in record time!  I leave the room for 5 or 10 minutes and she attacks innocent belongings.  
Is there a way a breaking her of this or will she be bound for the crate for eternity?  I am also wondering if crate trained dogs are ever able to be left out alone during the day.  I cant imagine doing this with Buffy at this point, but all our friends think its cruel to put her in the crate and tell us how angelic their dogs are when left alone!  
Is the chewing habit one a puppy grows out of or does it last forever?
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks!
Jen
-----Answer-----
Chewing IS a puppy behavior, Jen, but it sounds like your dog's chewing behavior is due to separation anxiety rather than just simply puppy chewing. Your dog cannot handle the stress of not being able to see you, and the chewing is an outlet for that stress. Have you tried keeping her leashed when she's loose in the house, and keeping ahold of the leash so she has to follow you around and isn't left alone in a room when you leave? That might be something you could consider. Another solution would be to ensure that all socks and other such items are picked up before you give Buffy house freedom, and to thoroughly spray table/chair legs, baseboards, coffee tables, etc. with Bitter Apple spray (which you can buy at most any pet store). If you use the Bitter Apple, when you first get it, saturate a cotton ball with the liquid by holding it over the opening of the bottle and quickly turning the bottle upside down and then right side up again. Take the cotton ball to Buffy and offer it to her just like you would a treat. She should take it, but then quickly spit it back out. When she spits it back out, praise her! Pick up the cotton ball and try it again a minute later. If she takes it, praise her again when she spits it back out and repeat until she will not take the cotton ball. Most dogs will not take it that second time, and when she refuses to take it, praise her for that!

There are some dogs that like the taste of Bitter Apple, so keep Buffy on a leash when you do the cotton ball experiment, just in case she is one of those dogs that likes the taste. You don't want her to swallow the cotton ball. If she likes Bitter Apple, you can try one of the other bitter sprays on the market. If those don't work, you can try jalapeno juice or even white distilled vinegar.


If you go to www.yahoo.com or www.google.com and do a search for dog separation anxiety, you should get lots more ideas on how to help Buffy.


Your dog is still very much a puppy at just 12 months of age. Just be patient with her chewing, and don't worry about what your friends say. Yes, most crate trained dogs are able to be left uncrated at some point in their lives, and no, it is not cruel to keep her crated when you are not home. Think about this, and tell your friends this when they bring up their opinion about how cruel you are for crating your dog during the day; say you leave Buffy out of his crate one day when you go to work (or even just for a short period of time while you run to the store). Buffy finds the clothes hamper and discovers a treasure trove of socks. She swallows one. It blocks her intestines as her body tries to push it through since it cannot be digested. The blockage subsequently kills her. Keep in mind this is an absolute worst-case scenario, but if Buffy is in her crate, you do not have to worry about her potentially ingesting something that might be dangerous; it's for her own safety, and she is comfortable in her crate. When she's left out, she becomes anxious, so by crating her, you are actually making her feel safer, as well as ensuring her physical safety. I have three dogs at the moment. One is an almost 5 year old chow/pit bull cross that was an angel from the very beginning. I only had to crate her for about a week and she was a perfect house dog. Another is an almost 18 month old German Shepherd that I still have to crate when he's in the house because he tries to mark things when I'm not looking (he was fine until he learned to lift his leg! LoL) and he tries to dig his way through the basement door because that's where the cats are kept when I'm not at home. The third is a 5 month old German Shepherd female that is still being housebroken (I've only had her for going on 2 weeks) and gets into tons of mischief and chews on everything she can get her mouth on when she's loose in the house. She does not have house freedom at all yet, but when she's out of the crate, is 'attached' to me. I don't think I can ever leave the male loose in the house as long as I have cats, because he thinks they are fun, interactive toys and focuses all his attention on getting to them whether I'm home or not. The female shepherd should eventually be fine, but will probably continue to be crated when I'm not at home and at night until she's closer to 2 years of age. At what age she will earn house freedom when I'm home I cannot say; that all depends on when she finally learns to leave things alone! ;^)


When you take Buffy to work with you, I would recommend keeping her tethered to you or crated so she cannot go after other people. What do you do when she behaves aggressively? I'd like to help you with that problem, too.

Kristen

Answer
You're probably right that her aggressive behavior towards people she doesn't know and other dogs stems from fear, and you are also right in that picking her up and trying to 'soothe' her is not a good thing to be doing. Have you considered putting her through a basic obedience class? That might be a good idea, as it would teach her to behave and listen to you even around other dogs and people. If you decide to try this, I would recommend that you steer clear of the classes offered in pet stores. Most of the trainers there have limited experience and expertise; it doesn't take much to become a pet store trainer. Instead, try to find a trainer with a resume, and if you can, one with experience in aggression.

Are you using any kind of training collar when she's leashed?