Help! My dog started destroying my blinds and now I can’t leave her alone

[youniquestar]

Hello! I adopted my dog as an adult (7yo shepherd mix) and have had her for a little over a year. She’s always been good when she was alone, and I’d routinely leave her at home (uncrated) while I went to work for 7-10 hours/day a couple days per week. But yesterday I came home from work to my blinds completely destroyed! I replaced them immediately, and was hoping that it was a one time thing (LOL).

This morning, I left her alone for an hour and she’d already gotten started chewing on the replacement blinds! Luckily she didn’t have a chance to render them unsalvageable, but they’re damaged and I’m going to have to replace them again eventually.

I’m really frustrated as to where this behavior is coming from. It’s worth noting that we recently moved into a new apartment, so I’m guessing it’s related to that. But we’ve been here for two weeks now and she hadn’t been behaving out of the ordinary until yesterday.

I don’t want to have to crate her, as I hadn’t needed to in the past. But that seems like the next realistic step. I’m curious to see if anybody has had similar experiences/advice for how to handle this going forward

Thanks in advance!

PS

Pictures of the adorable blind-eating demon

https://imgur.com/a/QTBTtcF

 

[irchris321]

@youniquestar Before you leave, Can the blinds be lifted out of her reach?

Can you use baby gates to partition off part of the house that has no access to blinds?

 

[youniquestar]

@irchris321 Thanks for the reply! Yeah, going forward I’ll at least have to take the precautionary step of pulling the blinds so she can’t reach. Though, I’m afraid that won’t address the core issue and I’m afraid of what she might turn her attention to if not the blinds!

 

[irchris321]

@youniquestar Not sure it will help but maybe leave an 8 hour YouTube Dog Relaxation video playing and an Adaptil room diffuser?

 

[teshuvah777]

@youniquestar Hi! How often do you walk her or provide her with exercise? She looks like a dog who can go for a very long walk.( More than an hour.) LOL.

Exercise will help prevent her from doing damages but there are other factors! Like boredom. Find an activity or a chew toy she's obsessed with. Something to keep her busy!

A lot of people like to buy silicone puzzle plates, smother food on it then freeze it. They will crate their dog with this frozen puzzle plate. It's really good for when they are bored and it's also an enrichment activity.

Crating isn't bad BTW! It adds structure to their life.

 

[youniquestar]

@teshuvah777 Thanks for the reply! I generally give her a couple 20 minute walks a day but I’m clearly going to have to give her more now! I’ve been cautious giving her too much exercise because she has some arthritis in her knees, so I didn’t want to push her too much. But we went on a four mile city walk yesterday and she handled it well, so perhaps we’ll do more of that! What’s really confusing to me is why she just started with the anxious behavior now when it’s never been a problem in the past. Do you have any idea why that might be?

 

[teshuvah777]

@youniquestar It could be due to moving to apartments or just a new home in general. When my dog moved homes. She changed a bit. It's kinda like the saying, "new year, new me" to new house, new me. You've trained and practiced a lot of activities at your old home so she understands that home=safe. You might wanna try and reteach her these things. Go over a lot of separation activities and calming activities.

Apartments themselves can be hard for another dog to live in just because there's new smells and sounds. It's a lot for your dog to take in.

Crate train her, teach her placement in different areas of your home as calming activities. Only reward calmness so she sees or understand that calmness is what you want.

If this anxiety gets worse, you may need to call for professional help. It's good to get professional help because they can see body language and help you figure out why her anxiety is rising and appearing.
There could be so many other possible reasons that could be causing anxiety. Seeing your dog's daily life and being present will help more than through text.
If you have any other questions, I can try to help but other than that, probably no further cause this could be a hands on case.

 

[youniquestar]

@teshuvah777 Thanks! You’ve given me a lot to think about, and it’s really helpful!

On another note, I did notice today (for the first time) that there are some squirrels that rummage around in the shrubs that are in front of the bottom portion of the window. She’s got a prey drive for squirrels in particular so I’m thinking this might be the culprit! I think all of your advice is still relevant though so I’ve still got some work to do with her

 

[teshuvah777]

@youniquestar I'm glad to be of help! Having a dog is like having a long life time commitment. All dog owners who have reactive dogs or other problems work on it together everyday, kinda like beating an addiction. I love dogs and they teach us so many things and give unlimited love. It's really like another huge relationship. You and your dog against the odds.

I hope for the best!