Problem:
Acute destructive behaviour
Good
day Shannon
I have an 8 month old female Pointer. She is very loving
and, up to now, has not been through any "chewing
up the shoes stage". She has just had her first
season and this last week has taken a dislike to our
double bed and has taken a lot of the stuffing out of
the mattress. I do have other animals in the house,
ie. two cats and a dog, so it is not as if she is lonely.
What could be the problem and how do I get her out of
it besides smacking and shouting at her?
Many thanks
"Sleepless in Seattle"
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Hi
Sleepless,
From
what you say I would think that her behaviour has more
of a hormonal cause than a developmental cause. I have
arrived at this assumption based on two interpretations:
"
Most puppies will go through a destructive phase (I
prefer to call it an investigation phase) from about
four - five months. However, you say that your pup has
not shown any destructive behaviour until eight months
of age.
" The behaviour is acute thus indicating an internal
trigger.
As
such I would tend to attribute her sudden change in
behaviour to her heat cycle. Perhaps the behaviour started
due to a nesting instinct, brought on by a pseudo pregnancy.
To
an extent one could imagine this nesting instinct (and
many other non-taught /inherent behaviours) almost like
an "internal itch" that needs to be scratched.
Simply put, the dog feels a desire to do something.
Through experimentation and instinct they stumble upon
a behaviour that relieves this desire (in this case
building a nest). Because the desire is relieved, the
behaviour is reinforced and even in the absence of the
initial trigger (in this case the nesting instinct)
the behaviour may continue.
Taking
the stuffing out of a mattress is quite extreme and
a slight distortion of typical nesting behaviour, but
I have witnessed many bitches in similar situations
go to comparable lengths.
The
easy solution is to deny her access to the mattress.
If the behaviour is not reinforced it will eventually
extinguish.
However,
if she still has a behavioural itch that needs to be
scratched she will need to be provided with an acceptable
alternative otherwise she could develop another objectionable
behaviour. I would restrict her access to the bedroom
and provide her with a secluded area with lots of bedding.
Cheap dog blankets or loads of newspaper would be ideal.
Punishment
is a very tricky concept at the best of time and punishing
her for doing something (which she feels she has to
do) will create anxiety. Needless to say this will aggravate
the situation.
Whenever
we punish we create a behavioural void - if this is
not filled with an acceptable behaviour we simply create
an opportunity for another undesired behaviour.
I
would expect her to stop this behaviour if she is initially
restricted from the area and given an acceptable alternative.
However I would watch her carefully for signs of pseudo
pregnancy after her next heat. Some bitches seem to
have a particularly hard time of it, with some even
developing mastitis, so spaying may have to be considered.
Good
luck.