[jeanjean]

My six year old male has started destroying my house.. diggin holes in my bath tub, eating my window sills, digging at my doors. THe worst separation anxiety I have seen..... Not crated but he is locked in the kitchen with his Weim sister who by all contradictions is a wonderful and calm couch potato..... Don't know what is going on with my V boy but I need help... Crating while gone to begin again... Thinking about using the DAP plug ins.... any information on those. Any suggestiosn feed back greatly appreciated....

 

[tbone13]

Two things, first, this is why, I think, you should always crate your dogs when you're gone. Even the best behaved dog can "turn bad" at any given time. For all you know when you leave the house there's a noise coming from a neighbors home that drives him crazy and he responds by tearing the house apart. I recommend that you start crating him again ASAP. Not only does it keep your stuff safe, but it keeps him safe.

Also, is he getting enough exercise? I've noticed that our male is more likely to misbehave on our really chaotic days where we break his ruitine.

 

[Vlicked]

What are DAP plug-ins?

I'm in agreement with tbone; our male V seems a little bit more "anxious" when his schedule is disrupted...a quick 20 minute run behind the bike seems to do the trick if we're in a hurry for some reason! A tired dog is a happy dog.

Sounds like you're going to crate him again which is a good idea. However, I do not believe crating is going to solve any problems with his behavior in the long-run if he indeed has serious separation anxiety issues - it will just prevent him from destroying your home (which isn't a bad thing, mind you!). I have a friend who's dog bloodied himself trying to, and succeeded at, digging himself out of his crate.

From things I have read, if this is anxiety induced, you will need to "desensitize" him based on what triggers this behavior (i.e. picking up car keys, putting shoes on, packing a bag). Here's a quick read: http://www.boulderhumane.org/hsbv/go.asp?mode=sep_anx . I would highly suggest a call to a local trainer or even the humane society if you want him to be happy and even stay "calm" in the home during the day when you leave.

But, tbone also has a good point that outside stimulus could also be triggering this behavior. Thunder? Lawn mowers? trash trucks?

Good Luck!!!

 

[Ed.]

As a pup, my Kaiser would chew everything but now, at least once a day, we exercise him to exhaustion (min. 1 hour off-lead and running/chasing, twice a day) and he's very calm in the home. Vizsla's have enormous stamina and energy and if he's tired, he'll have no motivation for chewing and digging.