8 month old puppy chewing when left alone
I have 2 dogs, a 6 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Bailey and a 8 month old puppy named Roxy. Roxy is 50% Staffordshire Bull, 25% Labrador and 25% Springer Spaniel.
They both have their problems, Bailey is aggressive towards other dogs. He's been that way since I rescued him in 2011 from the kennels, I think his previous owners used him for dog fighting. He is not aggressive towards Roxy, although they have just had a little fight over a bone, which has been taken off them. I've had 3 professional trainers come out to see him, but nothing has changed, so I've had to just accept that that is just the way he is, but if anyone has any advice there, feel free to leave a comment.
Now for the main problem, well, the one that annoys me the most. Roxy is chewing everything she can get hold of whenever I leave the house, even if I'm only out for 15 minutes to go to the local shop. Whenever I leave the house I have to make sure there is nothing she can get. They are both 100% obedient when I'm home, sit, stay, come etc. They do exactly as they are told and stop misbehaving when they're told. I cannot tell them to stop when I'm not there though.
I know it is Roxy that is doing it as I've left Bailey alone many times before I got Roxy and everything was fine. I do believe that he could be joining in with Roxy though. I cannot even leave the house without thinking I need to get back for the dogs after 30 minutes, I live alone and have nobody that can watch them while I'm out. How can I train her to stop this if I'm not there when she is doing it?
P.S. I can not be too strict with her, if anyone raises thrir voice at her while she is being told off, she gets nervous and pees on the floor.
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8 months old is still a puppy, and puppies need to chew as their teeth and jaws are developing. IMHO, 8 months is too young to leave them alone, unsupervised and unconfined. Make the Kong toy more interesting: fill it with treats and peanut butter, almond butter or yogurt. Freezing it makes it last even longer. Then give that to your puppy in a crate when you leave. This fulfills their need to chew, gives them some puzzle-solving work to get the treats/food out, reinforces that the Kong is appropriate to chew, and prevents them from chewing anything inappropriate. It also prevents your older dog from stealing it from the puppy. Give one to your older dog too to avoid jealousy problems.
has Roxy always been like that (i.e. chewing everything she likes)? Maybe she thinks it's okay to do so. But that's just me. I've been with many dogs in the past and I always made sure that they do drop the chewing and nipping habit at an early age. Here's a good read about how to deal with this problem: www.howtoteachadog.com/how-to-stop-puppy-biting
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