Any of You Gambling Folks?

In Dec of '06, I bought a Westie puppy. The most adorable thing I'd ever seen. Very hard headed; so much so that I had to enroll us in obedience class. But, when he was aboout 6 months old, a really nice 'pet hotel' opened up near my house. This place is gorgeous. The owners hand made everything; you''d have to see it to believe it. So I brought the little guy over for a stay there when I went to Biloxi with my boyfriend, for about 4 days. But, after the 1st night we get a call from the pet hotel saying we had to come get the little *&^%$ right away, as during the night, he ate the walls of his little room. OMG, he'd NEVER done that in my house! So we leave for home; after the 5-6 hr drive home, we get the dog. The lady tells me he is NEVER allowed back there. OK, I find a pet sitter where he isn't locked up in a little room or a cage or a run; he and the lady's dogs have free run of the house. Great, I think, this should solve the problem. All is fine over there...and about 5 months later, I call my pet sitter friend to complain that the dog has just eaten all the baseboards in my house...I'm furious, thinking this behavior is returning (like he did at the 1st place). And you know what she CALMLY says? "Oh, he's been doing that ever since he came here."
OMG what?!?! "He has?" Why didn't you tell me?" "I didn't want you to get upset," she said. I try and calm down and work on the problem, but after another few months, he's still doing it. Finally, I break down and take him to the vet. he says its seperation anxiety and give him 1ml of children's Prozac/day. OK. I try it and it's PERFECT. The lady gets her house remodeled to sell it. He's been doing great at home, and he loves to go there...no chewing...no chewing and as soon as the remodel is done, he chews up her baseboards, AGAIN. ON PROZAC. Need to find new victim, I mean, pet sitter.

The dog has been at the new pet sitter's since last Wednesday, when I left for Vegas. On Monday she called me telling me how ownderful the dog is and asked why must she continue to give him Prozac. I said to her, "I don't care if you stop the Prozac, BUT, if he eats your baseboards, I'm going to say, "I told you so." She's convinced he doesn't need the medicine to prevent his destructive chewing. So, gang, did she or didn't she? Anyone want to have a bet on this? I think she'll stop the meds and he'll eat her house and I'll have to find another pet sitter, again. Anyone up for a bet...Non monetary bet, since you'd have to take my word for what he did, but I think she'll try it.

The answer is obviously yes, but whether she will actually tell you about it or lie to 'save face' is another matter entirely.

Gambling folks..who, us? Never..

I dont gamble - i just play poker

From experience, your dog is having seperation anxiety problems. I've seen it many times and the closer freinds he is with the worse it is. Don't get mad at at dog for missing you.

A short stay at a vet or pet boarder that uses regular kennel cages won't hurt him a bit and is probably a bit healthier because he won't be geting wood shards and plaster etc. in his digestive system. He also won't be in close contact with other dogs so the chances of him getting parasites (mainly flee etc)or in fights are almost null. I'd prefer it over drugging my pet.

From everything you said I think I can safely assume the dog is a close buddy to you, you give him all he needs for attention and survival and he sees you as the Alpha. That's all great and says a lot or you personaly too. Trust me, he'll be fine stayng at a regular boarding place and you shouldn't feel guilty that he spends a few days in a kennel

Used to raise Wiemer's and had one male at went berzerk when I took the female out hunting. He would tear his dog house up and sometimes get loose an try to find us. Had to resort to a kennel box when ever I left him alone. He didn't like it much but he was just fine as soon as she was bck in the kennel with him.

No gamble to your post, just a little understanding of a dog's nature. Give it a try and he won't need drugs anymore. Just don't beat yourself up over him staying in a kennel for a few days.

One other thought, some of this might have been happening as he was growing into his adult teeth. That'll cause a dog to chew anything.

Get a cat. Or two. Or three. Or four. Never had a baseboard chewed; maybe a cardboard box or two. And my computer printer paper that is sticking out in front. And the pet carrier. And some plants.

On second thought, keep the dog.

Try getting a second dog. That way, when you leave, he'll still have a buddy.

Gobbs

Book it. Non-monetary. There are no bad dogs...

I don't know what you would want to bet, but if the new pet sitter is worth their salt, they will be able to keep the dog occupied enough with toys and interaction to keep the dog from chewing the baseboards. Most likely the previous sitters just threw the dog into the room/cubicle and ignored him. We have very expensive furniture in our house and the puppy has never touched it. She has been trained what is good to chew and what is not good to chew. Our dogs have more toys than many 3 year old kids. (and the family room is covered in them). Everybody is amazed that our little Cocker Spaniel girl is so well behaved on a leash and is completely house trained at less than 6 months. It just takes a lot of work and attention. (Kudos here go to Mrs. Jazz for her work with the dogs)

Our pups stay at a cage free boarding with anywhere from 10-30 other dogs in the same room. We have never had any problems. The folks that run the place understand behaviors and are with the dogs 24x7. Our little girl was "rambunchous" in her first stay, but still ate well and was well adjusted when we returned after 4 days.

A good boarding/sitter is worth every penny you pay for it. Kennel training is well worth it too.

Shamus is well behaved...but he gets anxious when I'm gone. Poor thing. He only chews on "Mom approved' toys...and on the Prozac, he doesn't chew the molding at home, anyway. I hope he's still "Mr. Perfect' for the sitter. I get back home from Vegas on Sunday; I'll let you all know how he did and if she stopped the prozac. Vet said that after 6 mos on the meds, he'd learn it was ok and not necessary to be anxious when I'm not with him. The two of us are going to embark on a 4 week trip to New Jersey; 4-5 days driving up there, 2 weeks with my elderly dad who doesn't want a dog in his house (that's going to be great fun), and 4-5 days driving back. We'll have a grand time, I hope. when we get back, the 6 mos will be over and no more meds. I'd HATE to take him off them AND have him eat my dad's house, if you know what I mean?!?! LOL.

That's what I really want! He'd love a pal.

It is a well proven scientific fact that dogs prefer chewing on cats over wood.

Why can't you put her in a cage / enclosed surface when no one is watching her? That way you can see when she is doing it and stop her. I don't know, the worst problems we had with my dog is he chewed up our furniture at first. We sprayed some type of sour apple stuff in his mouth every time he chewed on it, and on the furniture itself, and he quickly got the message ^^

If anyone wants to volunteer their cat for this experiment....

I heard once about putting Tabasco sauce on the wood when I had a Tennesee Treeing Walker pup. Tried it, He loved Tabasco....no joke