# dog ripping bed sheets



## vinht (Jan 15, 2009)

i have a 7 month old husky/lab mix and he knows his basics. he stays with me in the basement an its one big room. he is pretty well behaved while im home but when im gone hell rip up anyting he can get his paws on. and whens theres nothing around hell get at my sheets. this is my 2nd set of sheets a month ive had the dog for 4. he just resently started. when i get home i show him the sheets and firmly say no. and try to correct him. it doesnt seem to be working. what can i do to sto him since i cant realy disiplin him while im not here. and same goes for other little messes he makes with paper and what not.

oh and i fill a KONG toy with treats while i gone to try to kee him as busy as possible. i plan on getting other toys that will keep him busy. he is IN LOVE with anything edible or seems edible hes a pig. i only give him stuff made for dogs.


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## babysweet (Dec 11, 2008)

vinht said:


> when i get home i show him the sheets and firmly say no. and try to correct him. it doesnt seem to be working.


This tactic is actually going to make the situation worse, not better.

Unless you catch him in the actual act, you can NOT correct him for a behaviour. Trying to explain to him what you're punishing him for is impossible. All he knows now is that when you get home, you yell at him, which will increase his anxiety level when you leave - which, in turn, will increase his need to chew things to decrease his anxiety.

Every time he chews an item, he learns that it's ok. When he's not supervised, he needs to be confined so that he does not have access to articles and items he can get into that are deemed inappropriate. A crate is generally the best way to do this. Leave him with some hardy chew toys (large nylabones, stuffed frozen kongs, appropriately sized knuckle bones, etc) in his kennel and he will be entertained and safe until you get home.

Also, please remember that you have a mix between two incredibly hardy working breeds. One, a dog bred to run hundreds of miles without tiring, and capable of limitless energy. The other, a dog bred to be a human companion and to have a natural drive to explore everything with his mouth. Put together you have a dog that requires several hours of daily exercise, as well as mental stimulation including something that fulfills his oral fixation (a half hour/hour of fetch, etc). You also need to be aware of how much time you are leaving him alone - even older dogs get bored when left alone for eight hours every day, puppies get bored after 30 minutes! It's imperative that you make sure you've left enough to keep his little mind busy while you're away as well as limiting his time left alone.

Best of luck!


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

I second everything that babysweet said.


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## Acadia (Aug 6, 2008)

I agree with everything Babysweet said. 

I also think you shouldn't allow your dog free range of your house when you're gone if he's chewing everything you own right now. You can put him in a crate or keep him in an enclosed area, like the kitchen or another room. Give him a few of his favorite toys in there too. Also, before you leave, make sure you let him go outside, either running around the yard or going for a walk, so that he's not so crazy with energy when you're gone.


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

Agree with Babysweet too.


I wanted to add, sometimes, our husky doesn't really know his nails will rip bed sheets. I found this out by letting him stay on the bed when he made a mad dash to pounce on our other dog and "rip" went the sheets. He is completely oblivious to tearing the sheet and any type of reprimand would be senseless. I have a much sturdier bed cover made out of denim when I allow the dogs on my bed. They also know they are allowed on only if this bed cover is on.

Start crate training properly and your dog might not resist being put inside the crate when you have to leave for some time. It will save exploring time and a bored husky will entertain himself. (So far Animal Planet seems to satisfy Ilya's bordom)

Our husky has started to figure out what is off limits and have made it into a game to entice us to play with him. Our best recourse is to ignore him and pick up whatever he has and make it disappear. So far, our husky has trained my two boys to pick up their rooms


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## Lindseyb (Dec 18, 2019)

My dog has just recently started doing this, but the opposite! He is crated while I'm away, but when I come home and hes out, he will go into his room and rip the sheet off his bed, and then may or may not bring it out to me to show me what hes done. I would just not let him have sheets anymore, but he sleeps on a crib mattress, and the plastic is cold. So he cries all night long if the sheet isn't on there to keep him warm.


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