I just wanted to take the time to say thank you to everyone who responded to my last post. I was a little shocked by how many people shared advice on how to deal with Callie, but it was also comforting to know that this isn't as uncommon as I was imagining. I think I left out a few important details as well, which made me look like I was automatically jumping to the conclusion that because she was acting up, we might need to get rid of her. That is definitely not the case. Getting rid of my baby girl would be the absolute last resort and she would have to do A LOT worse for me to even consider it. I tend to jump a little ahead of myself when I'm frustrated/feel a little helpless. So here are some clarifications:
Callie has always been extremely and surprisingly good about not chewing on anything but her toys while we are home - unless she happens to find a receipt or other random piece of paper on the floor. The only time she was ever naughty in this area was when she could still fit under our bed and I found her chewing on one of the support posts. Frustrating, but not that big of a deal because it's not even close to visible and it was only surface damage. We took measures to prevent her from going under the bed again after that and she's been great ever since.
That being said, it has always been a different story while we were away. Since we got her, her lock up space has been our laundry room on the main level. It's small and practically puppy-proof without doing anything to it. The only real adjustment we made was we took the door off and attached a baby gate, but we did that before we brought her home. When she was smaller she would do well in there depending on how long we left her for. The longer we left her, the more destructive she became: destroying her puppy pads (messy, but not a big deal) and chewing on the baby gate. I think a big part of this was because she still couldn't hold her bladder very long and would pee if we were gone three hours or more. As she got better the longer we were gone we decided she was ready to be in the house alone. We started with short periods of time and increased them as she showed signs of doing well.
Callie did very well up until recently when she started scratching/chewing (and eventually destroying) our front entryway rug and chewing on the banister and nearby woodwork on the stairs that are also in the entryway. She only does this while we are gone and it is worse the longer we are away. The first time she chewed on the banister was about a week and half ago and we were actually home, but it was three A.M. I think it was because it was about to thunderstorm. Normally she does wonderful during thunderstorms - even asking to go outside while it's pouring rain/thundering/windy. However, I do think she gets anxious while they are approaching. She must be able to sense the change in the air or something. After I reprimanded her and the storm started, she went and laid back on her bed and went to sleep. She has yet to do it again while we are home.
This all being said, I'm having to force myself to remember that she is still VERY much a puppy, and an adorable, loving, and easy-going one at that. She will be eight months old this Saturday. I think maybe we decided to let her have roam of the house a little to soon. A few people recommended making sure she is exercised enough. In addition to play time at home and non-regular walks, I take her to the dog park at least 4-5 times a week where she is running/swimming for a solid 45-60 minutes each time. Walking her right now is difficult because she pulls on the leash so much it forces me into an uncomfortable position while I'm carrying around this big belly. Brian and I have talked about trying to do a walk together with her more often right now since it's easier for him to hold her. We also bought her a harness which should help mellow out the pulling. So overall, I think she is getting a very good amount of exercise. Several people also suggested using a kennel. Several different things I read said that introducing a kennel at this point can actually increase her anxiety. Since we started with the confined area, we are going to stick with that for now. If things don't improve, it may be something that we very slowly introduce to her. For now, here are some steps we are taking to make her anxiety better:
1. We will be locking her up again anytime that we leave and we will continue to do so until she stops showing signs of anxiety while we are away. We always leave her with toys to help keep her occupied. She LOVES the Nylabone products so hopefully that will continue to help with her chewing.
2. Something new is we are going to leave the TV on for her as well. Hopefully it will help her stay more calm when we are gone for longer periods.
3. She has always greeted us with excessive enthusiasm when we return home, even if we were only gone 20 minutes (another sign of separation anxiety). After doing a lot of reading about it, we are going to essentially ignore her (after letting her out) for the first few minutes after getting home to let her calm down and eventually come to the conclusion that we always return and it really isn't THAT big of a deal.
I was gone running errands for about two hours yesterday and did the things I listed above. She was perfect while I was gone. I think the returning part will take some time, but it seems to help her calm down faster if she's ignored a little bit.
Thanks again for all your advice and support for our little girl. My sanity and woodwork appreciate it. =)
Love,
-K
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