Bored Mastiff

[jetsmum]

Hi there,
My 5 month old, not so little Mastiff puppy today decided to rip the clothes off the washing line, and ripped the fly screen off the door.

I work full time and so does my partner, she is home alone during the day Mon-Fri. It is the first time she has done anything like this. There is a Labrador pup that our roomate owns, they usually are outside together, but have had to be seperated recently due to Kennel Cough, which both dogs contracted and have since been treated and recovered.

I don't know what to do to brake her boredom, she is a good puppy 90% of the time, but she has played up, and i want to fix the issue now before it gets any worse.

Please all suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks :dogohmy:

 

[tigerlily46514]

Well, you are wise to realize it IS boredom. Can you afford to pay someone to come by and walk the dog or play with it for a while each day?

I use a lot of toys, and swap the toys out every few days. Soon as Buddy stops playing with a toy, i remove it back to main toy box that he has no access to, and bring out some other toy he hasn't seen for a while. (i also get a lot of toys at goodwill ) This can help for when he is home alone.

How long til your dogs can play together again?

 

[fickla]

I would never let a puppy have free range of the house or the yard when I am gone. Your 5 month old is just at the start of that horrid teenage phase and even if she never got into trouble before, she's going to start now!

I highly reccommend crating her while you are gone, or at least restricting her access to a much smaller damage proofed area. Occupy her with some stuffed, frozen kongs. If neither of you can come visit her during your lunch break you may need to hire a neighbor kid to come let her out and play with her for a bit. Or doggy daycare is a really great solution if you could afford it.

Even when the two puppies are healthy enough to play with each other I don't think I would leave them outside unattended while you are gone all day. The two of them can get in much more trouble together than separated. Plus being teenagers they could easily get into a squabble even if they get along really well.

 

[snooks]

I too recommend a crate and also would not leave a puppy unattended alone or with another dog all day. They are so good at destroying things at that age b/c they are bored and full o of energy and curiosity. A crate that big will be costly. Do you have a laundry or kitchen you would puppy proof?? That might be cheaper unless he's the type that would chew cabinets and wood. My dogs never were so that worked for me. If he is try some corrective distraction reward training.

I fostered a dog that just lay down while I was standing right there and proceeded to bite the corner of the wood cabinet and start chewing. I just said eh-eh in a low voice-not yelling or mean and the second she looked at me I said YESSS and gave her some chicken. She never touched the cabinets again. The thing is you have to catch them, distract, then you could give a good dog toy to chew instead GOOOOD or food rewards.

Thinking of the screen --- yow my sympathy. I've crate trained all my dogs and watch them like hawks when i'm there and they are out romping and they've never destroyed anything---well one bench outside got teeth marks all around it but I never could catch them doing that. :msntongue:

Try leaving some frozen kongs too for a very safe distraction. It takes my uber chewer about 60-90 minutes to get through one of those. Also the more exercise he gets the more tired he'll be and the more he'll sleep when ur gone.

My favorite kong sites are http://dogs.thefuntimesguide.com/2006/02/dog_recipes_for_kong_chew_toys.php
http://blueboychihuahuas.com/nutrition/kong_recipes.html
http://www.labmed.org/catalog/kong2.html
note if you have any questions about foods poisonous to dogs (like chocolate, grapes, onions, raisins, highly fatty food, etc) blue boy has a list or you can google it. u can also google kong recipes.

depending how you layer and how tight you pack it, it will take longer to eat. just don't make it too hard to get out or he'll lose interest. if you come home to half full kongs you'll know he gave up. i currently mix a tiny bit unsulphured molasses and honey with low fat ricotta and put just a couple of teaspoons in the bottom, a few carob chips (5-6 small) stuff the rest with cubed baked chicken, sweet potatoes, applesauce, or apples. Plug the ends with a little no sugar natural peanut butter and freeze over night. I have to be careful about calories for my older dog so more chicken for her. They come in all sizes and ur pup might need one of the extra large black ones (black is strong) and they can go in the dishwasher after.

Good luck..hope the kennel cough is cured up. :dogtongue2: