DESTRUCTIVENESS

Destructiveness is seen both in the presence and absence of people. Where the people are present somewhere in the household, although not necessarily present in the same room as the dog, the motivations are likely to be attention seeking. Dogs do not have hands so they are likely to investigate things with their mouths. If the texture of the object is appealing, then the dog may start to chew or tear at it.
Most owners will punish dogs when they see this sort of behaviour but this can have serious consequences, depending upon the exact nature of the owner’s response.
· Young dogs may be very intimidated by shouting, smacking and other physical punishment. This may sensitise them to eye contact, certain hand gestures and raised voices so that, in the future, these stimuli evoke fearfulness or even self-defensive aggression.
· The dog may learn that destructiveness is a successful means of getting attention.

The attention seeking or exploratory nature of the destructiveness should be clarified. Attention seeking destructiveness will follow the pattern of all other forms of attention seeking behaviour ( see information leaflet on attention seeking in dogs for treatment).
Where destructiveness is not due to attention seeking, then the dog usually shows a range of preferences for the kinds of things it destroys. The material and construction of the object is important because the dog is getting some positive experience from destroying it.

TREATMENT

It is far better to divert the animal onto a more suitable target for chewing, such as a nylon chew toy, kong or similar. The dog is mildly rebuked as soon as it shows an interest in something it is not permitted to have and given something else to investigate. It should then be heavily praised when it shows an interest in the substitute object. If the dog is repeatedly given lots of attention whenever it is seen with one of its legitimate chews, then these will become the main things that it destroys.
Owners must be prepared to provide young dogs with a seemingly endless series of things to chew and destroy. Valueless items such as cardboard boxes provide endless entertainment.

FOR DESTRUCTIVENESS WHEN PEOPLE ARE ABSENT PLEASE SEE LEAFLET ON SEPARATION ANXIETY.