How to Help a Destructive Dog

Dogs are cute but also stubborn and destructive. If you have a dog with violent behavior, you might need help because if not, they will continue to tear your homes apart. Bad dog behavior should not be tolerated, or you will find your home in an irreversible mess.

A destructive dog behavior usually comes out when they are left alone at home. There are different reasons why dogs develop violent behavior, but as an owner, you can still change these, and dogs are trainable to change this behavior.

Reasons Why Dogs Develop Destructive Behavior

Boredom 

Dogs can feel boredom, too, especially if they are always left alone at home or the only pet at home. When a dog is bored, they will find ways to amuse themselves, and one of them is chewing. Dogs are known as chewers, and they would often chew on the things they see in your homes to relieve themselves of boredom. When they are left alone for long periods, they will chew on things that are near and accessible for them.

Hyperactivity

Dogs are full of energy, and as an owner, you should know how to mellow down this drive and hyperactivity. To let out their pent-up power, they would often do the “zoomies” or run around and let out the extra energy they have. You are lucky if they did it outside of your home, but if they did their zoomies inside your house, you should expect broken things and messy rooms. 

Separation Anxiety

Dogs are known as affectionate animals who love their fur parents so much that they want to be with them and cuddle with them all the time. But they also have feelings, and they are lonely when they are being left alone, even for a few hours only. Dogs also experience separation anxiety, and they panic when they feel it. They would bark or howl and sometimes would destroy walls to get out.

Attention-Seeking Behavior

Dogs know when they need your attention, and if they feel that you haven’t been giving them enough attention, they will do things for you to notice them. They would do things like grab items and provide them or bring them somewhere for you to find. They will do these things if they try to demand something of you, like food or treats, even if it is not yet time for them to have them.

Phobias 

Like humans, dogs also have fears that can develop into phobias. These can cause anxiety, and they could become destructive, especially if they are trying to get out of that situation. Thunder and lightning are common fears for dogs, along with fireworks and other loud noises. They will start scratching your walls or other objects and try to hide.

Tips on How to Stop Destructive Behavior for Dogs

If your dogs are showing destructive behaviors, there is always something you can do to stop it. And here are some of the things you can do for them.

Dog Proofing Your Home

This means that you put away the things you think are valuable for you that your dog might destroy if they exhibit destructive behavior. Give your dogs something they can chew, such as chew toys. Train them to chew on these toys and not on your valuables. It will take patience and many hours to train your dog to do the right things. But it would be worth it all if they could stop chewing on your valuables and walls.

Give them Chew Toys 

As mentioned, chew toys play a significant role in stopping the destructive behavior of your dogs. You may need to provide them with several chew toys of different forms so they won’t get bored with just one kind of chew toy. There are chew toys that are shaped like bones. Some are balls, others are hard to bite, and some are softer and enough for them to chew on and pull but will not break. Keep the chew toys clean and disinfected to prevent any illness for your pets. If they are already damaged, and small parts are coming off, throw them away, or your dogs might choke on them.

Supervise Your Dog

Dogs are submissive to their owners, and if you want to stop their destructive behavior, you have to supervise the changes you want to happen. Not only because you provided them with chew toys, you expect them to change their behavior. You need to teach them what the chew toys are for and repeat this as often as required. Dogs learn by repetition, and they follow those they can trust, and that is you – their owner.

Train Your Dog

If you have the time and patience, you can train your dogs., But if you think you do not have the time and ability to teach them, you can always hire a professional dog trainer. They can help you stop the destructive behavior of your dog and have them behave better even if they are left alone. Trainers are equipped with knowledge and skills to train dogs to act and stop their destructive behavior.

Dogs are great companions, and as responsible fur parents, we should also look after their welfare and behavior. They still need to be trained to behave appropriately, especially when there are new people, and preserve their valuable belongings. Avoid giving your dogs some stress by leaving them alone or not attending to their needs and not giving them enough attention. These are some of the few reasons why they develop destructive behaviors.