Trouble with my dog

[Silver_Dragon]

I had the WORST time with my bernese mountain dog cross and her chewing! We
crated her for the first 8 months or so, but we thought that was enough, as
I don't like to have dogs permanatly crated. Well every SINGLE day we would
come home to things being destroyed, her favorites being books and magazines
and (my stepmothers) shoes, but anything that was available she would find,
and destroy. She was like that up untill just about 4 months ago. She is
now almost 2 years old, so it went on for a LONG time. Nothing seemed to
help, we took extra care each morning to remove any noticable that she can
or would destroy. It didn't seem to matter, she would open bedroom doors,
and get into closets to retrieve shoes! At first I did nothing, because
everyone said that after the action was done, they don't have a clue, but
after this didn't work, I figured I had little to loose. So from then on I
would always yell at her when she did something wrong, but I would drag her
to it and she knew! I started comming home, and the days she destroyed
something she wouldn't come to greet me because she knew she had done wrong!
Then the days she did nothing, she was their happy as can be, so I truely do
not beleive that they don't know what they did after the matter.
Time was all it took. I think alot of training and work also helped out,
because a dog always feels better when they have something to do, and I
found that once I expected her to do her obedience work without any treats
as a reward, she started settling down too... just an odd coincidence
maybe. But now we are working on carting, so she has been fairly exausted
during the day.
Anyways, back to what I was going to recomend... As for the urinating, she
is still a pup! Ivy did not FULLY learn to stop going in the house untill
she was about 7 months old! And that worked instantly once we yelled at her
for it. She is a hard-head and things just do NOT click with her any other
way (and latly she goes into the garbage can, we yell at her every single
time, and she does NOT get the point.... but what are you gonna do?!).
Another thing you may consider is some medical reasoning. My dalmatian is
12, and latley he has been getting Urinary Tract Infections, and he NEVER
goes in the house. But when he has a medical reason he cannot help it
because it hurts so bad he just has to go. I would not rule out any medical
problems unless you have already checked it out, because alot of times that
can be or IS the problem. And it seems more likley because the dog not only
does it while you are gone, but while you are there.
I do not know the full story, but there may also be a problem with a 'fear'
issue. If they are so young things can startle them without you ever
knowing, and maybe something happend where she is afraid to go outside at a
perticular time of the day alone? I mean, I would have to know the full
situation to make full assumptions, but it is another 'option'.
And another thing, you said you were only gone for 20 min. Well when a dog
typicly does something, be it destroy something or urinate etc. when you are
gone, most of the time it will happen within the first 10-30 min. you are
gone.
If you wouldn't mind explaining the full details of the problem and the
situations, it may make things a WHOLE lot easier to classify a problem.
Hope I either may have helped, or will be able to help in the future!

~Silver Dragon~
~Buds Kingston Rose~ 12 year old Dalmatian
~Ivy Lea CGC, TDI~ 2 year old Bernese Mountain Dog/English Setter cross
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