Is Radar just going through his 'teens'??

[mmclean]

Radar has been such a great guy. Yep, he took a bit longer than any other dog I have owned to potty train but I am certain it's indicitivie of the bully breed. He is now 9 months old and has been acting really naughty lately. Before, I could leave him out of his crate for the day and other than some redecorating of towels there was no destruction. I do come home every lunch so the longest he is alone is about 4 hours. Now I am coming home to cords unplugged from their outlets, couch cushions pulled from the couch and peed on, shoes pulled from their containers (which are chewed through) and destroyed. I have taken him to all sorts of puppy classes and he is, for the most part, really well behaved and has learned a ton of tricks. I also am planning on getting him certified to be a therapy dog. He is extremely well socialized with both dogs and humans and is so sad when people don't want to coo over him. He is officially crate bound again, poor sad puppy dog eyes when he figured that out this morning. Will I ever be able to let him be free again? I swear, even when I was taking a shower this morning he was acting out and getting into trouble. Is this normal for the age and he will become my star puppy again or do I now have a naughty dog for life?

 

[MaplesMommy]

It almost sounds like seperation anxiety to me.
Did anything change in the daily routine or your/his schedule? Did he get scared by anything?

I would go for a long walk and/or play with him before you leave him alone. Does he have chewing toys?

 

[Tgirl]

It could be some separation anxiety. He is a "teenager" though and there are ups and downs as they mature. Stay consistent with his training and things will get better. It's great that you are taking him to puppy classes and looking into getting him certified as a therapy dog. Obedience will build their confidence and help with all sorts of behavioral issues.

 

[2bullymama]

He is bored and waking up looking to get into whatever is avaiable... it is in your best interest and his saftey to crate him when you are not home. Cheli is crated everyday for about 8 hours, he just can not be trusted to just sleep so it is for the best. Also, some pups just are nt meant to be given free roam... little stinkers!

MY EB is 9 yrs old and has been free to roam the house since she was two, but everyday I come home and she is sleeping in her crate (we leave the door off for her to come and go as she pleases.

 

[mmclean]

It almost sounds like seperation anxiety to me.
Did anything change in the daily routine or your/his schedule? Did he get scared by anything?

I would go for a long walk and/or play with him before you leave him alone. Does he have chewing toys?

He has tons of toys and seperation anxiety would make sense if he didn't do it when I was in the shower. I always take him on long walks when I come home for lunch and again at dinner and I wake up early specfically to play with him. There have been no changes in the routine except his most recent class is over (pretty much expensive play time in my eyes). He has done all of the puppy series and I can't get him certified until he's a year old. I thought it was because of the lost play time (as class was over) so I have been taking him out to the dog park more frequently but nothing seems to be helping. He's back in his crate for the afternoon (not as punishment, just to contain the havoc) and he has no issues going in, but I did enjoy knowing that he could stretch his legs through the course of the day and not be in that small space.

 

[Cbrugs]

Is there a room you can confine him to when you're not home where he can stretch his legs through the course of the day? Jax was never crate trained (totally my fault) and he gets confined to the kitchen when we are not home. I highly doubt I will ever give him free range of the house when we are not home.

 

[Alice Kable]

It sounds like you are doing everything right with Radar, but he isn't mature enough to have full run of the house when you're gone. The only thing you can do is crate him or block him in a puppy proof area. Maybe getting a larger crate would be a solution.