What to do with a destructive puppy
Destructive dogs are a big problem for many people, and often for themselves. These dogs, who are dedicated to biting furniture, shoes, plants and anything else they can find, usually end up abandoned or in a shelter waiting for a family to adopt them. Dogs that destroy the garden by digging holes also usually have the same luck.
Unfortunately, destructive behaviors are very common in puppies and very few owners have the patience and consideration to understand them, as well as the proper techniques to correct them. Biting things and digging are natural behaviors in puppies, as natural as breathing, feeding, or potty training. Therefore, some breeds have more of a need to express these behaviors than others. Terriers, for example, generally like to dig, and in many cases it is impossible to prevent them from doing so. The behavior of biting things is more common in all dogs, but puppies and other breeds bred for hard work usually have this behavior more pronounced.
To learn how to understand your furry companion's behavior and so you know how to help him, in this article from PeritoAnimal we will explain to you what to do with a destructive puppy.
Correcting Destructive Puppy Behavior
Although biting things and digging in the yard are inappropriate behaviors for humans, they are very natural behaviors for puppies, and so it is not convenient to do away with them. The best thing you can do to prevent and solve destruction problems is to redirect destructive behaviors to resistant objects or suitable places. That is, in addition to dog training, you need to carry out an environmental enrichment program for your puppy.
Old school trainers often solve the problems of destructive puppies with punishment. They simply punish puppies each time they start any of the destructive behaviors. The problem with this is that it usually causes more problems than it solves. Most puppies develop other inappropriate behaviors in response to these "treatments" and may even increase the intensity and frequency of the destructive behaviors. Therefore, in this article you will find solutions through redirecting destructive behaviors, not through punishment. In other words, instead of teaching your puppy not to bite and not to dig, you should teach him to only bite his toys and to dig in a certain place built specifically for this purpose.
The strategy of redirecting inappropriate behavior is equivalent to the environmental enrichment that is done in modern zoos. It not only serves to solve the problem at hand, but also serves to maintain the psychological and emotional health of the animals (and often improve physical health through exercise).
Why Puppies Destroy Things
Dogs and humans evolved together, achieving a very good coexistence between both species. However, the pets we have nowadays (dogs or other animals) do not enjoy real freedom. They have many benefits, but they are captive animals. Pet dogs do not have the freedom to walk where they want when they want. In addition, they must stay home alone for many hours, with nothing to do and no way to control their environment. Therefore, behaviors appear that are natural to them and have nothing wrong with them, but that we consider behavior problems because they have negative effects on our property.
It is not surprising, therefore, that puppies destroy things when they are left alone and without an activity to perform in an environment that, although it is familiar to them, is artificial. Not all the reasons why puppies destroy things are known, but the following are the five most common causes:
Personality
Some dogs are simply more destructive than others. While you can't blame genetics completely, heritage definitely has an impact on the frequency and intensity of puppies' destructive behaviors.
For example, terriers are usually dogs that enjoy and dig in the garden in search of burrowing animals. In contrast, the Pekingese or Bulldog are less prone to digging and are more fond of biting something to pieces.
Boredom
Puppies often destroy things when their owners are not home. Since they have nothing else to do and need to be entertained, many puppies look for some activity that will keep them entertained. Since they can't play with the console or watch TV, they bite the furniture, dig in the garden or bark (the latter is not about destruction but can be very annoying to the neighbors).
Of course any animal that is left alone for many hours every day gets bored and looks for a way to overcome this boredom. Although it happens especially in puppies of breeds developed for hunting or work (protection puppies), the truth is that it is a mood state that occurs frequently in all breeds of puppies.
Anxiety
Puppies are sociable animals that need contact with other beings. Biting and digging are activities that help them reduce the anxiety they feel when they are alone.
This anxiety is normal and should not be confused with separation anxiety that occurs in some puppies. Separation anxiety is a serious problem that, although it has some of the same symptoms as the normal destructive puppy, causes extreme behavior because puppies panic when they are left alone.
Frustration
When a puppy is locked alone in the house, it has no control over its environment. He can't get anything he wants, can't go investigate the strange noises he hears outside, can't open doors to go play, etc. This inability to control the environment creates a lot of frustration in any animal, which can be reduced or eliminated with certain activities that may or may not be fun, but keep the animal active.
Have you ever seen a circus lion or tiger in those small cages to transport them? Or maybe a big cat in an "old" zoo enclosed in such small cages in which the animal has nothing to do? These animals often develop stereotypical behaviors, such as pacing back and forth over and over again. These behaviors serve for the animal to relax itself and reduce frustration.
Thus, biting things and digging are two behaviors that can become stereotypical for puppies that are left alone for many hours day after day. Biting and digging have a relaxing effect for puppies that helps them pass the time. It is something like bursting the little plastic balls that come in packaging to protect fragile products. Have you ever popped those little balls? It's addictive, even though they are meaningless. Time flies by and we don't notice.
Bad manners
Someone is likely to say, "If the dog destroys things, it's because he's rude!". But I don't mean just the fact that it destroys things, I mean why it does it. Many dogs are trained to destroy things, this is true.
When they are puppies, we are usually happy and congratulate puppies for almost anything they do, although many of those things are inappropriate. For example, the three-month-old puppy takes to his bed a shoe that is bigger than he is (or any other object that in his mouth looks funny) and family members laugh at his behavior and pet him, rather than correcting that behavior.
After identical situations happen repeatedly, it is not surprising that the puppy learns to destroy things because his behavior is socially reinforced with the approval of the family group. Although approval does not come in canine language, puppies are very observant and their evolution with humans leads them to understand many of our species' attitudes and body language, so their behaviors can be socially reinforced by ours.
Three years later, the family that encouraged the dog to be destructive will be wondering why their dog is so mean and rude, and they will begin to seek the help of a trainer.
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