I have Mia, a 9yr old Pit x who I rescued at 1yr of age. She was used as a bait dog, starved/fed scraps, and left tied up until her collar grew into her skin. Amazingly with time and love she has turned out to be a great dog. In June my eldest dog, Ellie, passed away due to old age, but knowing that Mia would be lonely on her own we got a puppy, Indy, in November of the year before. Mia and Indy play non-stop and get along really well. You call one and they both come running...
For about 2 wks after Ellie passed, Mia was noticeably depressed, but we understood how she felt. After that she started chewing on the wooden/wire gate which separated the driveway from the bulk of the yard every time we left the house for 1hr+. I work 4 days and my hubby works 5 days, so the dogs are left alone often. Our property is fully fenced, 2 acres. Part is the "pasture" which is fenced off for our livestock, and part is our gravel driveway, leaving about 1 acre for the dogs. We have a huge mud room that has a dog door and is filled with beds and toys. Because Indy likes to chew when he's bored, they are limited to the mud room during the day. Basically a dog paradise...chase rabbits and quail until you're pooped then go lay on your warm plush bed. When she started chewing on the gate we sprayed bitter apple on it and that limited her destruction for quite a while. Then she broke it a few times and got out into the driveway that is still fenced, I repaired the wooden/wire gate and she would stay in for a while longer...eventually she totally killed the wooden/wire gate...she ate the wire to shreds and I would need to make a whole new one from scratch, I was afraid she might break a tooth. So we just left it open so they could be in the driveway area as well. They tossed the recycling bin a few times...no biggie. Then about 1 month ago she dug out under the chain link driveway gate. She was waiting in the front covered in horse doo and tired. We immediately lined where she had dug with pavers. That lasted a while, then she started squeezing out by bending the gate. We are so afraid she will get into trouble or be injured while out, so last week I bought a chain link kennel. We attached it to the front of the house so they can go in the dog door. We left for a minute and they pushed the entire 6x20 kennel off the edge of the deck and got out. We attached it to the deck, then she ate through the edge of the chain link and broke a tooth, which needs to be extracted now.
I'm afraid that until we deal with the issue in her head she will do anything to get out, including breaking herself. We have tried the obvious...leaving the radio on, puzzle balls, kongs, chewy treats...I take them to the nearby lake as often as I can, but it's frigid and dark before and after work, so it's hard...
Any suggestions or personal experiences that might help are welcome...I just know we need help.
For about 2 wks after Ellie passed, Mia was noticeably depressed, but we understood how she felt. After that she started chewing on the wooden/wire gate which separated the driveway from the bulk of the yard every time we left the house for 1hr+. I work 4 days and my hubby works 5 days, so the dogs are left alone often. Our property is fully fenced, 2 acres. Part is the "pasture" which is fenced off for our livestock, and part is our gravel driveway, leaving about 1 acre for the dogs. We have a huge mud room that has a dog door and is filled with beds and toys. Because Indy likes to chew when he's bored, they are limited to the mud room during the day. Basically a dog paradise...chase rabbits and quail until you're pooped then go lay on your warm plush bed. When she started chewing on the gate we sprayed bitter apple on it and that limited her destruction for quite a while. Then she broke it a few times and got out into the driveway that is still fenced, I repaired the wooden/wire gate and she would stay in for a while longer...eventually she totally killed the wooden/wire gate...she ate the wire to shreds and I would need to make a whole new one from scratch, I was afraid she might break a tooth. So we just left it open so they could be in the driveway area as well. They tossed the recycling bin a few times...no biggie. Then about 1 month ago she dug out under the chain link driveway gate. She was waiting in the front covered in horse doo and tired. We immediately lined where she had dug with pavers. That lasted a while, then she started squeezing out by bending the gate. We are so afraid she will get into trouble or be injured while out, so last week I bought a chain link kennel. We attached it to the front of the house so they can go in the dog door. We left for a minute and they pushed the entire 6x20 kennel off the edge of the deck and got out. We attached it to the deck, then she ate through the edge of the chain link and broke a tooth, which needs to be extracted now.
I'm afraid that until we deal with the issue in her head she will do anything to get out, including breaking herself. We have tried the obvious...leaving the radio on, puzzle balls, kongs, chewy treats...I take them to the nearby lake as often as I can, but it's frigid and dark before and after work, so it's hard...
Any suggestions or personal experiences that might help are welcome...I just know we need help.
