Wits end!! Labrador eating

Blankie

Hi all, I have a 10 mth old labrador bitch, she is such a lovely pup. well mannered and obedient. My main problem is when she is alone. 5/10 she is fine but I have come home too many times to distruction! She has eaten through 2 (yes 2!!) kennels and if I put any bedding in the kennel (no matter how tough) she rips it apart.
She gets two walks a day and plenty of play time so I really dont know what do do?
Any advise would be really appreciated and Im stoney broke with her....

Rigsby

She is probably suffering from seperation anxiety. There was a similar case on "It's me or the dog" T.V. series. The owner was told to go through the motions ( putting on your coat ect. ) of going out and then actually leave the room and then come back in immediatly. This was repeated many times over maybe a couple of weeks until the dog accepted it as normal. It 'll take some patience but worth a try. It seemed to work for the owners on the T.V. You could also leave something with your scent on it ( eg an old t-shirt ) in or near her bedding. Hope this helps

Blankie

Thanks very much Rigsby.. Ill try that. Im thinking its either that or she is bored out of her head outside. Ive loads of toys and kongs for her but she seems to prefer wood! Thanks God I have pet insurance cause Id say she has half a tree inside her at this stage

Jules

thank god a intelligent pet owner...

did you know that you can claim from training from petplan. there are one or two i can recommend but dont want to do it here! you can pm me if you want the info. only 3 in the country that you can do this with, all you need is a referal letter from your vet saying about her destructive behaviour!

SuzyS1972

Ok before you engage a behaviorist - I have a feeling she is bored.
Try buying a treat ball / activity ball and fill it with low fat treats or hold back some of her regular food ( assuming it is dried nuts ) and put some in the ball.
Also invest in a Kong toy - I stuff mine with liver pate or dog food and stick it in the freezer overnight - they will spend hours licking the food out of it.
Give her some toys to play with.

Mine are indoors with all this stuff and I leave the radio on too so it doesn't go from being hectic at 7am to complete silence where they can hear every noise in the neighbourhood to bark at !

try some of the above tricks and if all else fails then have a word with someone but quite honestly a lab is a working breed and given her age etc she is prolly a little anxious and a little bored.
Hey I'd start to freak after a few hours on my own with no TV or mags etc !
Not a critisism and I admire you for wanting to solve the problem as there are many who would ignore it !

Also can u advise if she is neutered - she may be having a change in temperament due to raging hormones - I would strongly suggest you get her done asap if she's not
The last thinkg you need is her coming into season and being distracted by that and every male in the neighbourhood

FranknFurter

Blankie wrote:

Im thinking its either that or she is bored out of her head outside.

If you think that that is possible, it is probably true.
There should be no doubt in your mind that she couldnt possibly be bored before you rule it out.
Behaviourists are great, but most dog behaviourists are extremely expensive and with a bit of careful observation you can usually suss out 9 out of 10 problems yourself.

B

rob1976

I read recently that the antidepressant seroxat is licenced for seperation anxiety in dogs.
I am soon to get a labrador puppy but your post has made me shudder a bit!

Best of luck!

Rigsby

rob1976 wrote:

I read recently that the antidepressant seroxat is licenced for seperation anxiety in dogs.
I am soon to get a labrador puppy but your post has made me shudder a bit!

Best of luck!

If you are worried about seperation anxiety in the dog, I assume you are not going to have the time needed to care for it. A labrador is a lively dog by nature and needs lots of exercise. They also need mental stimulation as do most dogs.

FranknFurter

No human medicine (unless prescribed by a vet), should ever be given to any animal. Often the vetinary versions of a drug of a drug by the same name even, have things added or taken out to counteract the bad effect they may have to animals.

B

RainyDay

How long is she 'home alone' for each day?

Blankie

Thank you so much to everyone. Ive enlisted the help of my father (he is retired) to come to my house when Im at work and bring her down the beach to drain all that energy out of her so hopefully this will work...

lightening

Blankie, you don't happen to live in Raheny in Dublin? I have seen a nutty lab being walked around lately!

triona1

I was once told by a vet to use a wood spray deterant,used for horses to stop them chewing wood,i used this for my newfie and it worked he had the skirting boards and all chewed off,anything wooden he ate chairs in my home and everything.but do ask your vet 1st.hth

Blankie

Hi everyone! Just wanted to bring you up to date! My pup is now 13 months old. Unfortunately not all issues are resolved Exercise has increased (thanks Dad!) and her time alone and destruction has decreased (thanks to me working at home (thanks boss)) The main problem now is eating stones..
No matter how long she is out in the back garden (even 5 minutes) she finds and swallows stones
Some of them are quite big and Im really worried because I just cant stop her. She has gone through some serious pain in the last 4/5 weeks which has caused her to stop eating and stop her bowels moving and caused me a lot of vet bills!

Has anyone experienced this and can provide and advise?

Again huge thanks to all, and to those who are thinking of getting a lab please dont be put off. The benefits totally out-weigh any of the above

peasant

Stone eating is a bit of a strange one.

Some dogs do it because the have some sort of mineral deficiency, so get her checked by the vet and maybe change the food.

There are dogs out there (very few) that just like to eat stones and keep on doing so, no matter what you do.

The only thing that helps in those cases is not to let them have access to stones, which is bloody difficult.

Blankie

Thank you peasant! Yes I had read that some dogs to this due to this deficiency. Each time I have brought her to the vet he has told me it is a game to her???????? and she will grow out of it.
Thanks again, Ill let you know how she gets on

anniehoo

This behaviour is called pica (eating chalk/stones) and there can be various reasons for it ranging from medical to behavioural! If its a mineral deficiency then you can get mineral supplements e.g. http://www.naturalcanine.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TNC&Product_Code=PKEASS&Category_Code=PAERCWE ,it can be just simply boredom or it could be more serious like a intestinal tract disorder or diabetes mellitus. Your vet should be giving you better advice if theyve already operated on your dog!

Blankie

Youre so right Anniehoo! She has had blood tests so far. Im seriously considering changing vets... He doesnt seem as concerned as I think he should be (or maybe Im just an over-protective mam!)

Alfasudcrazy

You should have another dog as a playmate for her. I gave up using anything other than straw to use in the dog house ( of course it is out in the garage)

Lets face it some dogs are just not suitable for keeping in a dwelling house when you are away. Might have to make a dog house and enclosed run for them outside.

slumped

I have a book at home that says leaving a Labrador outside for long periods without attention is almost cruel as these animals crave human attention and the warmth and security of a home.

Just a thought.

Schlemm

Have you ever heard of dog appeasement pheromone? Apparently it has a calming effect on dogs as it is a synthetic analogue of the pheromone secreted by bitches shortly after they give birth. Kind of like a comfort blanket in scent form! Anyway you can buy it and althought I've never used it myself I hear it's great for complementing other strategies to combat separation anxiety. You can phone a pet shop and ask I guess but I dunno if its sold here.
If not, it's available online:
http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/erol.html#497x0&&http%3A%252F%252Fwww.google.ie%252Fsearch%3Fhl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial%26hs%3DMXL%26sa%3DX%26oi%3Dspell%26resnum%3D0%26ct%3Dresult%26cd%3D1%26q%3Ddog+appeasement+pheromone%26spell%3D1

tinkerbell

We have a Newfoundland and we brought him to a dog trainer today and she advised that we get him one of those Kong toys as it'll keep him from getting bored. Our fella eats everything too but she said the Kong toy should keep the boredom at bay.

Do you let him into the house at all at night when you are home? That might stop the anxiety a bit. Or just go to a professional! The dog trainer we went to is actually a canine psychologist!!! She got him to sit, lie down and to sit quietly when the lead is put on him - I'm telling you, it was a miracle and all done in an hour. But she gave us loads of advice on stuff, so maybe you should do the same to sort out the destructive behaviour. And our puppy would not do ANYTHING for us til today, he would never sit, only when it suited him!