Couch chewing all of a sudden! Please help

[hrsjmpr]

Ihave an 11 month old husky/lab who has always been great about not chewing anything. we have givven him freee reign of the house since he was 5.5 months old, just recently i came home to the couch stripped of pillows & a hole chewed in the base!
we decided to give him a second chance & left him out still, today i came home & all the cusions were on the floor & he had chewed under where the cusions should have been. Obviously he doesn't get free reign anymore, but has anyone heard of this sudden change in behavior??? any tips or ideas???
thanks!

[Darth_Vaders_Mom]

He just missed you! Maybe was bored & thought those cushions looked like a lot of fun! We have a 10 month old Great Dane. I know we are waiting until he is at least 2 years of age before he is left out of the crate when we are gone. I've been told that when we get to that point we have to do it in increments! Leave for 10 minutes come back, etc. I'd invest in a crate or use a utility room or something while you are gone. Some places offer doggie daycare for about $12 a day. Something to think about! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Bow Wow Beds:

[mojo]

try her with differnet toys is it is a hard chewer then kongs are the best.

[Sirlocksley]

It very well could be boredom. hes is still a young dog, and the separation from you could be causing the boredom. He has explored the house for the last few months, and is having trrouble finding things to do while you are gone. You could try toys, but I would hate to take the risk of further property destruction. Crating the dog seems to be the #1 cure for this type of behavior problem. The dog is young enough that you should not have any major problems with this.

[Chocolab]

I let my lab stays in our living room when I went out with my husband since he was 3months old. Never had any accident until one day (2 months after)... he ripped a whole box of tissue paper and destroyed my cushion while we went out to have dinner. Then I gave him another chance by letting him stayed in the living room while we went to book store. Again he ripped a hole on my sofa. So we started to put him in the crate for few times when we went out until this week; we decided to give him another chance by letting him stays in the living room alone and he is doing fine again. It might be helpful to leave all his/her toys with him when you go out. (My dog loves "Nylabone" - bacon flavored bone).

[ April 09, 2004, 08:27 AM: Message edited by: Chocolab ]