Please help...My MIL's Pup is eating EVERYTHING

She is a one year old american pitt and is the sweetest, mushiest, friendliest pup ever. The problem is, she will not stop tearing my MIL's house apart. DH and I feel guilty because we gave her to MIL as a Christmas gift last year.

We tried crating her- she bent back all of the metal bars and got out, tore up the house.

We tried banning her to the kitchen by blocking off the entrance with a 5' high shelf thingy. She jumped over it, and tore the house up.

We tried putting her on anti-anxiety drugs prescribed by the vet thinking maybe she had separation anxiety, they worked for a week, then she tore up the house.

We have bought chew toys and tennis balls, fake tires for dogs and kongs with pb in them.

Nothing works.

She has completely destroyed her couches, but she can't buy new ones yet because they will be eaten as well. She has eaten the cords on her lamps, cat litter, CD's with the cases, the lights on the christmas tree and a bunch of ornaments. Right now my MIL has a bare nekkid tree in her living room. She has eaten baskets and newspapers/magazines, stuffed animals, ceramic statues that stood on the floor, etc, etc, etc.

We can't leave her outside because the yard is not fenced in. She has mine and DH's puppy to play with everyday so it's not like she's alone. Plus MIL has 8 cats!

I just don't know what to do! This is not normal puppy chewing! I have never seen a pup literally DESTROY a house before!

She is such a good dog otherwise, and only does this when no one is home.

And the worst part is, we never catch her doing it because it's already done when someone gets to the house.

What can we do?

Re: Please help...My MIL's Pup is eating EVERYTHING

Hi! I'm a frequent lurker and I came across your post. I can totally sympathize with your situation. It sounds as if your MILs puppy needs some serious exercise. It's great that she has lots of other animal friends to play with and lots of chew toys, but those activities pale in comparison to a long, vigorous walk. It can be difficult to dedicate so much time to regular walking/exercising, especially in the winter, but it sounds like your MIL's puppy needs to be exercised. I'm sure as she moves through the puppy stage and gets a bit older, she wouldn't need as many walks.... Has she had any obedience training?

Message edited 12/24/2008 11:22:28 AM.

Re: Please help...My MIL's Pup is eating EVERYTHING

Sounds like you've done a lot already. I would have recommended the chew toys also. At this point there's only one thing I'd say to do - drain all that energy out of the dog by exercising the heck out of it in whatever way possible. Doggie Day Care, dog walkers, fetch, agility training, trips to the dog park, hikes... It sounds like the dog needs either a job to do or something to cure it's boredom.

Good luck, and WOW what a strong dog to bend a crate! Amazing. Maybe it's time for a new, stronger crate for the times no one is home.

Re: Please help...My MIL's Pup is eating EVERYTHING

First thing that comes to mind is exercise! Also, Katie didn't mellow out totally until she was about 1 1/2

Re: Please help...My MIL's Pup is eating EVERYTHING

She's bored - She needs some serious exercise - Does MIL have a fenced in yard? Let her out to run around and explore outside for awhile - Go outside with her and play fetch - She needs to get rid of some of that energy !!

Re: Please help...My MIL's Pup is eating EVERYTHING