I have 3 dogs. Two of them have been together for 8 years (the youngest of the two) and they moved into a home with a three year old dog about 8 months ago however the three of them have only fully been together for about 6 months. The 10 year old is dieing and the three year old has become extremely anxious and destructive. Literally destroying my wood back door. My questions is could this be his reaction to the dieing pack member (she is the alpha)? He usually only has this reaction to fireworks and we haven't been having any.
Optional Information: Type of Animal: dog Pet's Gender: Male Pet's Age: 3 Name of Dog: BB
JaCustomer,
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Can you tell me more about what is happening?
is this younger dog scratching at the door in an attempt to get out the door?
Is it only the door that is being destroyed?
Does he only do this when you are gone?
If so, how do you know it is him?
If he does it while you are home, is there any thing different about those times that might be setting him off?
How long has the younger dog been doing this
He has had issues with fireworks for quite awhile. He has been in his crate (which we don't use anymore) when we weren't home and the were being set off and DESTROYED it ..... bent it, broke welding, destroyed the plastic pan. He has gone through fences, almost a 2x4, and ripped up carpet. It didnt matter if he was home alone, free with the dogs or if we were in the same room. He just wants away from the noise. As of late, we have the older dog inside and he is outside with the other one. He is doing it to one wood door. He does it if we are home or not. Last night he started on the door frame and tore apart our foot mat. We tried putting him in the dog run and he started going to town on the fence so we let him out. There is nothing really different other than our older one is inside and has been for a few weeks. I think I answered all of you questions and tried to give you a little more background.
JaCustomer,I know you didn't ask about noise phobia but I'm going to give you some information on those. In addition, some of the medication I discuss with noise phobias might be helpful in this case as well.
Many dogs have reactions to different noises. This is really a problem around the 4th of July and fireworks. For things like thunderstorms, some people tape the noise and play it back at lower volumes while playing with the dog and providing positive reinforcement for the dog's lack of anxiety while the noise is played at low volumes. You then gradually increase the volume slowly until your dog is desensitized to the noise. Your vet could prescribe a medication called Acepromazine, which is a tranquilizer. You can read about this here:
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/acepromazine-promace-aceproject/page1.aspx
Many people get Rescue Remedy to help with noise phobias. Be sure you get the kind that does NOT contain Xylitol. You can read about this here:
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/rescue_remedy.htm
It may also be available in your local pet store as well. Benadryl is often used as it does tend to calm your dog. Benadryl can be given to your dog, the dose is up to 2mg per pound every 8 hours. Benadryl in not a sedative though so it won't put your dog to sleep. Leaving a TV playing loud also helps prevent your dog from hearing the outside noises. Another treatment is Melatonin which you can read about here. It has been shown to work well for noise phobias.
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/melatonin-melatonex/page1.aspx
Since your dog is outside, it sounds like he is experiencing separation anxiety. Whether it is separation from you or his companion would be hard to tell at this point unless you switch the other dogs and put the ill dog outside and see if he still has the same reaction.
If he isn't an outside dog all the time, you might try a muzzle to prevent him gnawing and using hi mouth to destroy the door. Keeping the nails cut short can also help prevent more serious damage to doors. They also make steel plates that you can apply to the bottom of your door that is very effective at protecting your door against dogs digging at the wood.
I can give you some sites that discuss this issue and may have some solutions for you, but most are for dogs that are inside with their owners and have anxiety when the owner leaves the house.
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/separation-anxiety-2/page1.aspx
http://www.houstonspca.org/site/DocServer/separation_anxiety.pdf?docID=401
The noise phobia your dog has might be a contributing factor here as well. YOu might want to try a combination of medication and behavior modification to help your guy.
Hope one of these suggestions help. If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to press the reply to expert or continue conversation button.
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Since there have been recalls on certain foods, please check the following site to be sure the food your animals eat is not affected. If it is affected, contact your vet as soon as possible. Have your dog seen if they have any symptoms.
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/RecallsWithdrawals/