Suddenly Acting Out? S.O.S.?!

[anotheruser]

So, my (2yo Malamute X) girl is a rescue from Mexico. Not a trauma rescue, just unfortunate circumstance. Her previous owner died and his wife was overwhelmed with 3 young kids so she put the dog in a shelter. I've had her since early spring, and she settled in well. We even have a routine down-pat. All was running well and smooth... until today.

You see, we crate the dogs when we are not home. My roommate's 7yo dog is destructive (separation anxiety- a trauma rescue), and mine just likes to chew on EVERYTHING. I make sure to let them out immediately before I leave, and again the moment I get home. Never been a problem.

Somehow, today, she managed to unhinge (bust out) the front of her crate. She escaped. The kitchen trash was all over the floor. My daughter's bottle has been chewed to shreds, and the rubber nipple is gone entirely. There is droppings in the back room of the basement, and urine in every room of the basement. The kids room reeks of fecal matter, but I haven't found the pile yet. Thank heavens I have barricaded the stairs going up- we just laid down luxury carpet a month ago up there.

I don't even know how to respond. There has been no changes. No new people. No schedule adjustments. No food changes. Nothing. What in the world got into her? And what does she have against my basement (which is typically also baby-gated so no child/canine goes down there)?

My only theory is that we got our first snowfall this weekend and something about that has her acting up (Mexico doesn't get snow, so it was her first experience). But I still don't get why that would cause her to act weird?

 

[stykbo]

@anotheruser This doesn’t seem like a change in behavior to me; the difference is that she was able to get out of the crate while before she was locked in.

I’d assume this is either boredom or separation anxiety. Making sure she gets enough exercise is step one, and the next is working on separation anxiety which is a lengthy process. I’d be careful crating a dog with separation anxiety especially if they’re prone to trying to escape, since they can easily hurt themselves trying to get out. (Tear up their nails scratching, hurt their teeth on the metal, etc.) Of course, her being out and chewing stuff is also a hazard so there’s no perfect solution unfortunately until the anxiety is under control.