- Identify and then eliminate stressors that set off your dog. This is the most efficient solution for destructive bed chewing, but the triggers may lie beyond your control. …
- Use a synthetic dog pheromone product. …
- Leave on a television or radio when you’re gone. …
- Engage in behavior therapy.
Separation anxiety could be the cause
If you’ve tried all of the above, but you’re still coming home to mess and destruction on a daily basis, it’s highly likely that separation anxiety is the real culprit.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t still ensure everything already mentioned isn’t covered. Regardless of the cause of your dog’s destructive behaviour, all of these factors matter and should be addressed as part of your duty as a dog owner.
But when you throw separation anxiety into the mix, you have a much more complex problem on your hands.
Separation anxiety in dogs is simply your dog missing your company, albeit in an extreme way. For dogs, it isn’t natural for them to be alone. They evolved as pack animals and they crave company. As a family pet, they see you as a pack member – hopefully the alpha! When you go missing for any amount of time, a dog which suffers from separation anxiety will go into meltdown. They don’t understand that you’re going to come back; they only know they’re completely alone, and they don’t even know whether it’ll be forever.
A dog suffering from separation anxiety can display a variety of symptoms. Destructiveness is just one of them – and it could well be the reason why that door has claw marks in it, his bed is ripped to shreds or the carpet has been chewed up.
Other symptoms include barking or howling, inappropriate toileting, chewing, excessive drinking, salivating and pacing around.
As a pet owner, it’s part of our responsibility to try to help them to deal with this anxiety. How we do that is dependant on the severity of the situation, but here are a few useful starting points:
He’s bored while you’re not around
You can’t always be at home, and no one expects you to be. But a bored dog is an unhappy dog, and you need to ensure your dog’s needs are met even while you have to leave the house for short periods.
Do you leave stimulating toys out while you’re gone? Can your dog roam freely around the main part of the house to keep himself busy? If not, you’ll have one bored, frustrated hound on your hands, and there’s no telling what that may lead to!
Why do dogs destroy their beds?
Not only could there be a variety of reasons why your dog is destroying their own bed, but they may also be doing it in a number of different ways. While some dogs erratically dig in or scratch their bed, others pee on or chew them.
Below, we’ve looked at some of these behaviours and explain why it could be that your dog is acting in this way.