Reeve is 15 months old, usually a nice dog that i love very much but today i have had enough and if anyone is stupid enough to want him, feel free to come and get him :mad:

We are in the process of giving the dogs their own room (the dining room) so they can get back into the routine Reeve had before Jess moved in, so the OH moved Reeve's crate into the dining room Thursday night to get him used to the idea!

Anyway the little monster (could think of a better word!) has bent all his crate now trying to escape which he can manage, i'm not brave enough to let him out the crate on a night at the moment which is why i still use it, he's hardly in their during the day :mad: So we tied it up with tie-wraps overnight.

I have just been to put my washing out and got talking to my neighbour, been out an hour max and the little monster (:mad: ) has broken out of his cage and he's chewed my sofa to bits, i don't think Jess is innocent in all this but she wouldn't do it off her own back, got in and Reeve's panting like a good 'un and i chased him screaming my head off back into his crate which he darent open again.

Now the monster is snoring away as if his jobs finished, i could sit and cry :cry: why is he doing this????

I darent even finish off my housework incase the next sofa's on his job list, i wish it wasn't raining because i'd chuck him outside and leave him there all day :mad:

I don't know what to do, i've had enough, i'm too skint to replace everything he rips up (which he hasn't done for ages!) he has plenty of toys to chew but noooo they get left intact!

So if anyone wants a 15 month old staffie, let me know :hihi:

Oh hun :(

Can I ask what make of crate it is? There are some stronger than others and staffies are well known for getting out of the not so high quality ones ;)

Is Jess crated? It could be that Reeve is confused as to why he is being crated when Jess isn't and if his main goal is to play with her, he'll do what he can to get out.

Hi Lotti, thanks for the quick reply, it is only a cheapy one, had it 2 years now so i do need a new one but the plan was to train him out of the cage once the dining rooms sorted, that's not going to happen now though!!

Jess isn't crated no but where his crate is he can't see her and when he's been put in the crate on a night in the kitchen he's no bother :( If he escaped only to play then fair enough (not ideal as i don't trust him in the living room when i'm not there ;)) but i have bits of sofa everywhere now so i reckon he escaped just to cause mischief, oh i can't stand him at the moment, i don't get why he is so naughty :(

Hi Lotti, thanks for the quick reply, it is only a cheapy one, had it 2 years now so i do need a new one but the plan was to train him out of the cage once the dining rooms sorted, that's not going to happen now though!!

Jess isn't crated no but where his crate is he can't see her and when he's been put in the crate on a night in the kitchen he's no bother :( If he escaped only to play then fair enough (not ideal as i don't trust him in the living room when i'm not there ;)) but i have bits of sofa everywhere now so i reckon he escaped just to cause mischief, oh i can't stand him at the moment, i don't get why he is so naughty :(

He'll have escaped to play, and then chewed...
or...
If he's only escaped since you moved it, it could possibly be an anxiety issue. If he's always been in the kitchen and has suddenly been moved, perhaps he's worried about this new change.

Chewing is very natural for dogs, but please don't think they do it to cause mischief. They don't, there are many reasons but it is never to upset you.

I'll come back to this I promise, but I have to get ready now as I'm going out. You may get some very good advice in the mean time.

It sounds like you've been having a really frustrating day tinkabel- I really feel for you.

I'm sorry but I don't have any solutions for you (I'm much better at thinking like a cat) but I hope you get it sorted so you don't have to live with this level of damage.

Of course his age is another contributing factor but staffies are known for mischief and chewing.

At 15 months he's going through his 'awkward stage' and I really do know how you feel (having dalmatians it's hard not to) and there are times when I've really disliked Takara but you know deep down you don't hate him.

Just for a bit of background help:
How much time do you spend playing/training each day?
How long are his walks?
How long and how often is he in the cage?
How often do you sit down with him loose in the living room?
What do you do when you catch him chewing the furniture?
What sort of games do you play together?
How do Jess and Reeve get on? Do they play?

There'll be loads more questions but I'm nipping back and forth from getting ready!

Hi Tinkabel, I haven't any advice, I'll leave that to Lotti, she's the expert.

I just wanted to say, I know how you feel. I remember posting on here when I was at my wits end with my dog. He's cost us literally hundreds of pounds in stuff he's destroyed, you just learn all the time what they can do and prevent them doing anymore.

Keep your chin up, you'll laugh about it one day (maybe).

Thanks everyone, i have calmed down now, i'm hoping the sofa is fixable until i can afford another, this is the second one hes wrecked though, the first had to be thrown away because it was so bad!

Lotti to answer your questions-

How much time do you spend playing/training each day? Training and playing one on one (just me and Reeve) is usually done 4 to 5 times a day when i go outside for a cig, we have a cuddle on the doorstep and then he fetches me random things he's found, sometimes its his toys other times it can be bits of OH's tools that he's left lying round! Depending on the weather we can be playing up to an hour, if it's raining neither of us likes to stay out in it so we come back inside where we play with Jess and my DS. OH does all the rough play with him and that tires them both out :hihi:
How long are his walks? Reeve hates walking with a passion so in winter we go for a walk twice a day, morning and evening, the walks last a minimum of an hour, if the weathers nice then we stay out longer (he's a dream to walk because he hates it so much so doesn't pull :D ) we also go for a run once a day on the back field to practise recall. Once the weather gets nicer he'll be going for 3 walks a day with an added one in the afternoon although the other walks will probably be not as long.
How long and how often is he in the cage? Before OH and Jess moved in Reeve was caged 30 mins in a morning whilst DS had breakfast, 30 mins dinner time for DS to have dinner and 30 mins for DS to have tea. Also he's caged whenever i pop to the shops, i'm out a maximum of an hour and a half. Reeve also had a strict bedtime of 9pm latest when he would whine to go back into the cage. Now however he seems to be becoming naughtier and naughtier so when the weathers bad hes caged as opposed to being put outside to calm down. He also doesn't have a bedtime anymore!
How often do you sit down with him loose in the living room? Everyday he's in the living room and i tend to sit down on the rug with them both a lot.
What do you do when you catch him chewing the furniture? He has never chewed furniture in front of me but as soon as i come back into the room he scuttles away because he knows hes done bad, usually he runs straight into his cage but today i had to chase him round the room and then into his cage. I also tell him he is a bad boy :hihi:
What sort of games do you play together? He's finally learnt how to play tug so at the moment that is the one i am forced to play the most, although he still lets me win almost all of the time, fetch is another firm favourite although its usually me throwing the ball, Reeve grabbing it, moving it to another spot and leaving it for me to go and collect. We also play chase too where he chases me around the house and pounces on me when he catches me (:help:)
How do Jess and Reeve get on? Do they play? They get on like a dream, although when they are together there's only Reeve that still does as he is told, Jess seems to ignore me, Reeve has his moments but 9 times out of 10 he still does what i want him to. They play nicely with a tug rope, they also rough play and love chasing each other around!

Thanks for your help Lotti, i do appreciate it.

I have been thinking perhaps we did the move into the dining room too soon, perhaps i should've moved the cage in during the day so when he has to be caged when DS is eating he gets used to a different view. He's now being put back in the kitchen where hes asked to go in his cage and hes gone to sleep so i do think anxiety could be an issue here. Jess is sulking now though because she doesn't want to sleep and she wants someone to play with :rolleyes: can't win :hihi:

Well done Tinkabel, for being such a super owner
you seem to have got everything, pretty much covered,
dogs usually behave like this through boredom,but in this case it cant be that, as he seems to get plenty of stimulation through walks and playtime.

Maybe the other dog has upset his routine and hes just plain jealous
has the other dog took some of his attention, and by being so naughty hes actually getting more attention from you even being shouted at dogs sometimes see that as attention.
Plus as lotti said hes at that age

Good luck with him anyway, hope you manage to sort him out.

Well we had a super night once we moved his cage back in the kitchen, he obviously thinks this is where his cage should be so we've agreed for now to leave it be, continue as we have been doing and bedtime is still caged in the kitchen, i'm hoping he lets us know when he would like to be a bit more free but he seems to like the security of his cage and his own space.

Thank you everyone for your advice, i do think perhaps he's doing it to get the attention and 'show' Jess that i am his, he's a very mild-mannered dog but he has gone for Jess before if Jess is having a cuddle with me and spending too long with me (although Jess soon shows him who's boss :hihi: typical bitch ;))

They've both been up running around since 6am so they're both fast asleep, walkies soon though!!

Thanks again!

Ok...

He sounds like he's one awkward dog because you're doing more or less everything right.

A few points I picked up on:

Tug - this is a great game for a staffy to play. Staffies have loads of energy and strength and this is a staffies favourite game.
I recently read that tug is a great game for all dogs because as we know, dogs are predators and it helps to exercise their predatory instincts (tiring them out and stimulating them).
Some people disagree - they say you shouldn't encourage their predatory instincts, however, in my opinion - the more you do, the less the need for them to use them in a potentially harmful situation.

Caging - he's getting plenty of practice being in his crate, however, it sounds like you do use it as punishment. It is very difficult to exclude a dog from the pack without caging him if you know he's likely to cause damage.
I know - when I exclude Takara and put her in the kitchen, she scratches the kitchen door. However, by putting him in his crate when he's been naughty you are associating his crate with punishment and he'll want to be in there less and less.
Do you have any shelter in your garden? Dogs only have to be excluded for 2 minutes at a time (after that punishment is worthless as they fail to associate it). So perhaps put some make shift shelter up in the garden for when he's naughty and put him out there instead of in his crate.
The fact that you go out there to play will stop him associating it negatively (Takara goes in the kitchen when she's naughty but we play and train in there so she's still happy in there).

The other important thing to remember, is that whenever you cannot supervise him, he should be crated. If he gets the chance to chew on furniture (even when you're not there) he will realise it's much better than the chew toys). Prevention is a much easier way of going about it. So crate him if you can't be watching what he's doing.

Access to toys -it may be as well to restrict Reeve's access to toys. It sounds like his frustration tolerance is quite low because he demands attention from you.
In order to build his frustration tolerance (which may also help his chewing problem), you should ignore him from time to time. Restrict access to some of his toys (particularly those in the garden if it's going to be used as a time out area) and when he brings you a toy, ignore him until he drops it and leaves you. Then call him back and play with the toy.

Remember that things should be on your terms. The more you give attention and play on your terms and not when he wants - the better frustration tolerance he will have.

I hope that helps a bit. I do know how difficult it is to play by the rules when you want your house left in one piece :(

Forgot a bit!

This depends on the layout of you house but something that works a treat with Takara is telling her time out and putting her out of the room we're in but leaving the door open enough for her to get back in.

She's then told to sit and wait and is ignored. She has to wait until she's told to come back in. Any attempt to get back in before I say so and she's sent back out.

It's hard work at first because they don't have enough self discipline to do as they're told especially as they are being excluded, ignored and want to be with you.

However - it's much more effective than shutting them up (if they're not too hyper) because they have to learn that self discipline.