Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 1/11/2008

Question
i have a 1 yr. old male boxer in the house. We have raised him in the house.He is a wonderful loving dog. When he is left at home alone he tears things up, such as he chews corners off my end tables.pretty much destroys the house. What can I do to stop this behavior. I dont want to put him in a inside pen for a long period of time while I go to work.even if im gone for 1 hr. he still destoys my house HELP

Answer
Your dog appears to be demonstrating separation anxiety although, at his age, this could be generalized chewing left over from teething.

The first thing you must do is not allow him free run of the home when you are not there.  Confine him to one area where he can do minimal damage, such as the kitchen, with a strong baby gate or actual door.  Give him special toys only when he is being left alone, such as a kong with a teaspoon of peanut butter.

The second thing is to teach him some emotional independence.  Find (or buy) an article that's ugly, one you don't want to be seen in your home.  I used to recommend my clients buy rubber Halloween rats!  Take the article, put it in plain sight of the dog, and call a TIME OUT.  For 30 minutes, totally ignore the dog, no matter what he does.  Don't even use his name; if you must refer to him, just call him "the dog" or "rover".  At the end of the 30 minutes, remove the object, call the dog and pet/praise him.  Do this, if you can, at least once a day (no more than twice) for the next two weeks.

At the same time, learn about positive reinforcement training.  Purchase a clicker (go to Karen Pryor's web site for information on clicker training) and teach him a simple behavior (such as "sit", but use another word) using the clicker.  Once you have 100% compliance to your cue (command) -- this takes at least 30 repetitions, which should be done in short intervals over a 1 to 2 week period, you can now instruct your dog in that behavior for everything.  For the next month to two months, make him earn everything.  His food, being allowed outside, being allowed inside, being petted, being played with, etc.  This will give him the clear signal that you are "top ranking", which should alleviate any responsibility he feels for your home when you are gone.  Confining him will also give him this signal, as will your TIME OUT exercises.  After 15-20 repetitions of your TIME OUT, you can use the object by placing it on a counter top just before you leave the house, for no matter how long you will be gone, and call a TIME OUT.  Your dog should have acquired a conditioned response to the object's presence and will relax and be resigned to his fate (that you are not available.)  Make sure you remove the object when you return.  Do NOT greet your dog immediately upon your return; count to ten!

Do NOT admonish him if he destroys something when you are gone.  The dog has NO CLUE why you are angry and his anxiety regarding your absence will worsen, because he will now anticipate your anger when you return.  Give this approximately 6-8 weeks and you should see the separation anxiety diminish and end.  Repost with any further problems.