My Dog Breaks Things — How Do I Stop It?

Plenty of people get home dreading what their dog will have broken this time. A destructive dog can become a big problem both for their owner and for those around them.

Without meaning to, they can chew through a cable and cause a fire, cause a leak in a pipe, or countless other things that not only damage the home furnishings, but harm themselves and the neighbours too.

Here at SoyUnPerro we fully understand the distress of people who have to deal with these problems daily, which is why we're offering this practical advice to help you stop your dog destroying things.

You might also be interested in: How long can a dog stay home alone?

Why Does My Dog Break Things?

To fix the problem, we need to know its source — it's the only way to get our dog to stop biting furniture, digging in the ground, breaking walls, or wrecking our home in general.

A dog becomes destructive because of three basic factors: excess energy, anxiety or boredom. Some dogs aren't destructive for just one reason, but for two or even all three.

Let's look a bit deeper into what these basic problems involve and why they lead a dog to break things, even if it's just senseless destruction.

Excess Energy

Dogs are animals who generate a large amount of energy each day that they need to burn off. If we don't take them for a walk and let them exercise before leaving them alone at home while we work or run errands, they'll release their energy by destroying the bed, toys, furniture and any part of the house they find entertaining.

Separation Anxiety

We shouldn't forget they're very family-oriented — a dog needs to be with their family (you) at all times, or failing that, with some human to play with or simply to feel safe with.

When we leave a dog alone at home, in a way they think they're being abandoned; they want to go with you but can't, which causes them huge anxiety.

That separation anxiety in dogs can quickly turn into panic, which will drive them to scratch at every door and wall looking for a way out, or to destroy things to get attention so we come to help them.

The Worst Enemy: Boredom

Incredible as it may seem, boredom is often the only reason a dog wrecks the house. When they spend hour after hour with nothing to do… they look for their own way to entertain themselves.

And what better way to have fun than… biting things? Dogs love biting, so when they get bored of doing nothing, they look for something to put in their mouth to entertain themselves chewing it.

Solutions for Stopping Them Breaking Things

Once we've found the source of the dog's destructive urges, we need to get to work so our dog stops breaking things.

If we're not entirely sure of the source, we can try the following solutions step by step to see which works best.

Dogs with plenty of energy — for them the best solution is increasing their daily walks and exercise. Before leaving them alone, we need to tire them out so they release their energy.

And it's not enough to go out for fifteen minutes and throw them the ball until their tongue's dragging on the floor… you need to take a good long walk of at least an hour, where they can run and play freely as they please.

Anxious dogs need a different treatment — for them we need to spend time differently, through trust-building exercises. Although they also need to get out and release their energy (something highly advisable), we need to work on the process of leaving them alone at home.

To do this, we need to start by leaving them alone for a short period of time, half an hour for example, and then come home. We'll gradually extend this time as it goes on, a little more each day, until they get used to being alone.

For bored dogs the process is fairly similar but with a few changes — to start, we also need to release their energy with long walks before leaving them alone.

And to stop them entertaining themselves by wrecking the house, we'll buy them special dog toys. Intelligence toys where they need to do certain things to get their reward (a bit of food), or purely entertaining toys such as Kongs.

Other Factors to Bear in Mind

If you've made it this far, you'll have understood we absolutely need to burn off our dog's energy before leaving them alone at home. But… what happens when it's a very small puppy, an elderly dog, or an unwell dog?

The case of puppies is complex, since we can't force them to exercise — in fact, it's even counterproductive. Puppies need constant company so they don't feel alone, and on top of that, they go through what's known as the teething period, the cycle where their teeth change.

Because of all this, the best thing for a puppy is constant company and several chew toys they can use to ease their gum pain. If you can't always be with them, consider leaving them with a friend, family member or carer.

Elderly or unwell dogs shouldn't be forced to exercise either, so their excess energy can't be released the same way as with a healthy dog. Just as with puppies, they'll need company.

Often, expanding the family with another dog they get along with is a great solution so they don't feel alone, preventing them from panicking or getting bored and starting to chew on any part of the house.