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My 7 months Doberman has already shredded 3 beds in his crate. He likes to sleep on them,

Customer Question

My 7 months Doberman has already shredded 3 beds in his crate. He likes to sleep on them, but still this behaviour continues: he may go in just to tear up his bedding. We play with Seppi a lot, go on walks, train, thinking that all that energy is out, but bedding disaster continues. How I can stop this bad habit? Thanks

Optional Information:
Type of Animal: Doberman Pinscher
Pet's Gender: Male
Pet's Age: <1
Name of Dog: Seppi

Already Tried:
I gave him things he can chew on to divert his attention. When I happen to be there whilst he is tearing his bedding up(fabric/sponge material, I say 'NO' and lock him for 5 min. in the kennel. He sits there quietly until I let him out.

Submitted: 293 days and 4 hours ago.

Category: Dog Training

Value: $15

Status: CLOSED

Accepted Answer

Expert: Jane Lefler replied 292 days and 23 hours ago.

Hi JaCustomer,

This could be due to several different things including boredom, teething, or instinctive behavior. Dogs that are bored tend to tear things up and become destructive and pups are worse at it. I've found that Raw Cow leg bones or knuckles work well to keep them from being bored. I find that giving the dog a normal toy doesn't work. It needs to be a special treat tor toy that he only gets in the crate. The kong with treat compartment filled with peanut butter and frozen is also a good distraction for a bored dog.

Puppies are teething when they are young and tend to pull and tear at objects to aid in teething so this might be a contributing factor. If this is the case, the behavior should lessen as he is almost finished teething. The third reason would be that dogs in the wild tend to scrape together leaves, dirt and other loose objects into a pile, then turn around and around to form a little depression in the bedding material to actually lay in. Your pup might be trying to have the loose bedding material to do the same. However, it is important to stop this behavior because if he is ingesting this material it could lead to an intestinal obstruction. You can read about this here:

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/gastric-stomach-foreign-body-in-dogs/page1.aspx

You can try the few things I mentioned above, but the simplest way to stop the behavior is to remove the bedding when ever you are unable to watch him and stop the behavior. I know you want him to have a comfortable bed to sleep on but you can't take the chance of him ingesting the material. If it is just tearing the batting out of the bed, you might try a blanket that does not have batting for him as well.

I hope this information is helpful to you.

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http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/RecallsWithdrawals/