{"id":11488,"date":"2015-07-22T10:11:25","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T09:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?p=11488"},"modified":"2025-04-29T12:42:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T11:42:38","slug":"puppy-is-destructive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/puppy-is-destructive\/","title":{"rendered":"The Post-Crate Nightmare: Why Your Puppy Turns Destructive (and How to Fix It!)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Today\u2019s we look at a common problem where a puppy is destructive when left alone outside of his crate. Crates and crate training are very popular nowadays, and done carefully they can really benefit a dog and his family. It is often doing away with the crate, that triggers a few problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s look at a common problem as an example: <\/strong>Owner Lucy has a 6\/7 month old Labradoodle boy. She\u2019s had him since he was sixteen weeks old, he\u2019s been crate trained and has always been very good about chewing his toys, rather than the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First taste of freedom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

About two weeks ago, Lucy started extending his freedom when she is out of the house and leaving him in the kitchen with his crate door open. He has toys and a kong, and a friend comes in to walk him if he is left more than two hours. To begin with all went well. \u201cHe was fine until this week\u201d says Lucy \u201cnow he\u2019s started to take things off the sides while left alone.  iPad, cook books etc destroyed!\u201d Lucy says she can\u2019t leave the room without him taking something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing to say here is that this is not Lucy\u2019s fault.  Many people do de-crate their puppies at this age, and for some, maybe as many as half of all labradors, they have no problems. However, many people in Lucy\u2019s situation experience the same result, or worse, when they de-crate their young puppies at much under 18 months old. Let\u2019s take a look at why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chewing is very common when dogs are young<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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When your puppy is destructive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We tend to associate chewing and destructive behavior with very young puppies, under about four months of age. Unfortunately this assumption is largely flawed. The reality is that Labradors are often at their MOST destructive between 8 and 12 months old<\/a>. This is also the time when they are most at risk from swallowing or biting on hazardous household items like batteries and electrical wiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not about teething<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is because chewing, and the urge to chew<\/a>, is not just to do with teething<\/a> ( a process that is over by around seven months old). In fact, teething is only a small part of the driving force behind chewing. Many young dogs like to chew a great deal, long after teething is complete.\u00a0 And young retriever breeds can be especially destructive.\u00a0 Possibly because we have bred them to be very \u2018mouthy\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n

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Teething isn’t the only cause of chewing<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Supervision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition, we tend to supervise very young puppies extensively. We make a lot of effort to redirect their chewing activities onto more appropriate items such as chew toys.  And of course we often crate young puppies if we leave them alone in the house for an hour or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they get to six months or so, our dogs look and seem, almost grown up.  And it is tempting to give them a good deal more freedom than they had before. This combination of less supervision and more freedom, and possibly more alone time for the dog, frequently results in destructive behavior.  So what is the answer?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The right age to de-crate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your dog has always been crated when you leave him alone, 6\/7 months is probably not the best age to change that. Every dog is different and I can\u2019t give you an exact age, but I can say that I don\u2019t usually de-crate my Labrador puppies until they are between 15-18 months of age. I then set a \u2018test period\u2019 of freedom in which I am very careful to ensure there are no \u2018temptations\u2019 around for the dog, when he or she is alone.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It can be hard to know when it’s the right time to ditch the crate<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How to de-crate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are precautions you can make to ensure that de-crating goes smoothly.  I keep to a set of \u2018rules\u2019 or \u2018guidelines\u2019 when I first de-crate. I stick to these for at least a month after first decorating my puppy. At the end of a month I figure she should have some good habits installed and be less likely to get up to mischief once I extend the period of time that I leave her for. Here are my de-crating rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n