Q: My wife and I own a beautiful, loving Great Pyrenees. She was found as a stray and we adopted her 2 years ago. We estimate her age at about 4 1/2 years. Her name is Maggie and we love her very, very much, and she is a great pet and friend. However, she has had her moments of destructiveness when left alone in the house, garage and back yard: damaging the French doors, shutters, door moldings, digging holes under the fence, in her attempt to get in or out. This will occur while we're both at work or out for an evening. I know that she just wants to be with us (the pack). Lately, her destructive behavior has been more consistent.
I have tried consistent behavior methods I learned such as with pinch leash, shock fences, pinching gum against canine tooth and firmly saying "Out, out!" I've tried all kinds of chew toys and bones, which only keep her attention for a short period of time.
Should I confine her to a crate or kennel when we are gone? Won't she go nuts? Is there medication that would help her anxiety? Isn't that expensive and require constant monitoring? Or, is it best to give her over to someone who can be with her more hours of the week? Is that fair to her, adopted by another new pack? I feel I give her lots of attention and love, but maybe it's just not enough. My wife has just about had it with the damage and cost. You're advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.
A: Okay, first, you need to stop the negative handling for the destructive behavior. This actually increases the dog's anxiety and makes the behavior worse. Plus, it can have some really bad results when she finally decides to defend herself.
If you both work and also have an active social life together, it may in fact be, as you're thinking that she's alone more than is reasonable. That's something you might want to discuss with a local behavior specialist (your veterinarian can suggest someone).
If you decide not to keep the dog, use the help of either a responsible breeder--if that's where you got the dog--or the rescue people for this breed to place her in the right new home.
As you have discovered, this is not an ordinary breed of dog. Plus, she's not young. But good breeders and rescue people have access to more adopters who have a sincere interest in the breed. They can find her a better home than you could. If you go this route, help them out financially--their work is very tough. Rescue contact people can be found at AKC’s NATIONAL BREED CLUB RESCUE NETWORK available at http://www.akc.org/.
The crate can be part of the solution to this problem, if she is able to rest calmly in a crate. Again, it must not be used abusively, for too many hours of the day.
Medication can help, if combined with a good program--a behavior specialist helps you work out the plan. When you do it that way, the medication is not forever. The expense is relative--everyone sees it differently. The first step would be to talk to your veterinarian.
I hope this is some help in your thinking about how to handle the situation. Dogs can do a lot of damage--and it's never the dog's fault.