[coastaldoodle]

I have a 2.5 year old spayed bernedoodle who suddenly started chewing up paper she finds when home alone. She's only ever chewed up something once when she was a puppy, but hasn't done it since. She has had free roam of the house when alone since about 10 months old and never had a problem (even when we go to work for the entire day). She suddenly has started chewing up paper when she's even left alone for only a hour. Nothing has changed at home...no new routines, sounds, schedule changes, etc. The only difference is my wife just found out she's pregnant, but we haven't been acting any differently and it's still very early on. We ordered some interactive toys and treats to help entertain her and have tried taking her on more walks than normal, but nothing has helped so far. Any ideas what's causing the change or what else we should do?

 

[Deacon.dog]

She's bored. Get her more toys and play things, walk her more often, do some training. Dogs don't destroy things for no reason.

 

[DaySleepers]

It sounds like she happened to try it once, then found it was a fun game. It's always a good idea to check in with whether you're offering enough mental and physical stimulation with these kinds of behaviors, absolutely. But sometimes it's just a new experience.

Management's going to be your best friend here. Either be really obsessive about keeping all paper goods off surfaces she can reach for a while, or confine her to a pen or paper-free room when you have to leave her unsupervised. Make sure she's getting other kinds of entertainment - she might enjoy puzzle toys or difficult chews - and essentially just prevent her from practicing the behavior for a while, while offering appropriate alternatives. Usually this results in a dog moving on from the inappropriate behavior, assuming you've addressed any possible boredom or stress that could be driving it.

 

[Hound Power]

My greyhound also likes shredding paper. I have had to keep it put up. I am working on teaching him that if paper is on the floor, he can chew it. I throw one or two pieces down on the floor and praise him when that is all he chews. Now I am getting to where I leave some papers out on surfaces (nothing on them) and he gets treats for leaving them alone. Leave it vs. yes, you can do it.