More dog behavior help

[cre8nkos]

My black lab max has started tearing things up while my fiance and I are at work. This has just started about 2 weeks ago. He never tears up anything major, mostly just paper, but it's usually right in front of the door when we come home. However today he got in to the garbage can. He's 1 1/2 years old, and we've never had a problem with him before.

 

Any ideas?

[deamonstar]

I saw a t.v. show about dog behaviour a few years ago that dealt with a similar issue. it seems that your dog may be trying to tell you something... perhaps it needs a bathroom break. do you take your dog for a walk before you go to work? or is there a doggy-door for outside access? if not, this may be the problem. many dogs, even house-trained, will show their frustrations in a similar manner. even if you do take your dog for a walk in the morning, it may still need to go later in the day. if there is no outdoors access, if possible, come home for your lunch break and let the dog out. if a bathroom break is the problem, after you begin to remedy the situation, expect a few days to possibly a few weeks for the dog to adjust to the new schedule before significant improvement is made.

another common problem, with similar behaviour, is that your dog may just be lonely while you're gone. try leaving the t.v. on. a neighbor of mine had the same problem, and then, tried the t.v. method (she has cable, and turns it to "animal planet") with great results. or, again, you could try coming home for your lunch break and taking your dog for a walk. the daytime company, even brief, can result in significant improvements.

[lobices]

try a femalle lab to join your black lab max...I think he must have a "girl"....

[LJG]

It must be that your pet has been rewarded in some way he associates with the behavior you mention. Maybe the reward was just in the form of extra attention. Perhaps you got all excited when you saw what he did.