This is Wembley....
(The first picture was 3 couches, 4 coffee tables, and Many Many toys ago when we first got him woof-ly a year ago. The second picture is him on his first birthday October 26th.)
Wembley and the Tale of the second couch.
We started to see a change in Wembley when I went on a hike with my sister in Lake placid. It was a short hike about half a day. Wembley was about 7 months old & already accustomed to me leaving for a couple hours at a time and this was to be his first big day to prove he didn't need to be crated when we left the house. & boy were we wrong.
Unfortunately our little man decided to eat two full cushions of our leather couch that day, And even more unfortunate my husband (fiance at the time) got home before I did (Mind you we had just bought this couch less then a week ago). My phone rang and I reluctantly picked it up already fearing the worst... Then came receiving the news. My husband's anger showed through the phone, After about 5 minutes I was able to calm him down. I dropped my sister off then headed home to check out the damage myself. When I pulled in the drive I expected to hear my husband still yelling at the dog but I didn't ; It was completely silent.
I unpacked my gear & my son.
Headed into the house.
Turned into the living room.
& saw it......
My husband & Wembley, Snuggled up on the "good" portion of the couch.
I went on to later fix that couch with fishing line & electrical tape more then 15 times due to Wembley's antics. We dubbed it "Thee Frankincouch" Held together by Hopes & Dreams.
This would not be the only couch that had to retire due to Wembley. He went on to conquer another couch, one that we still own to this day (&& Being the lazy mom I am I have tossed a throw blanket over it to salvage what is left instead of buying another new couch.)
This was the second couch that Wembley had destroyed whist living with us. So naturally we went back to crateing him, Which did not work because he escaped not one but TWO crates and destroyed them in the process. We then used baby gates to keep him away from the couch, Which he also ate... We tried bitter spray and building a half door. But Fail after fail for us Wembley would always find a way to beat us.
So I did my research & found out that there was nothing wrong with Wembley, It was us. Wembley had grown so attached to me that he developed a separation anxiety disorder & it was my fault because as a puppy I would take Wembley everywhere I went. So now that I knew what I had done to my dog I had to take action on helping him cope with me not being home All The Time. I relayed on friends and my vet to help m with ways to help him cope and train him that it is okay when Mom leaves the house. Although we are still working on it Wembley has improved significantly in the last 2 months.
Here are my tips for you if your dog has Separation Anxiety:
Step one: Block him/her from his/her targets I.E our couch
Step Two: Put on music or the TV for background noise this makes the dogs more comfortable.
Step Three: Over load them with things to chew on or cuddle with (Depends on your dog, Mine has both)
Step Four: Do NOT make leaving a big scene. If you say "good-bye" for too long then all your previous work will do nothing.
Step Five: Know your time limit. Much like training your pup to go out you need to know what they can handle if you know your dog can only handle 2 hours then don't be gone for more then that you will only be setting them up for failure this way. With that being said once you start to see results you can stretch your time little by little. I would do 15-30 mins increments of adding on the time away.
Lastly, Never be afraid to ask for help from a vet or a trainer! Use your resources to help you, That's what they are there for!!.
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