Need pet advice please!! (Even if you don't have a pet..)

ILoveBoys

We have a 5-6 year old black lab named Chika. We adopted her from the Humane Society about 2 years ago. She's been a wonderful pet, great with the boys, doesn't bark (she was abused before we got her), doesn't use the bathroom in the house or anything like that. We've been able to board her a couple times with success, she never causes problems there.

When we moved to Minnesota 2 months ago, DH wanted to take her back to the humane society, b/c our landlords were wary of animal hair. I said no way, so we decided she needed to stay in the basement of our split level. We are renting, and the carpet in the rest of the house is really plush, nice, white carpet. The basement is berber. So in the basement she stays. And that's where the boys playroom is, so we are constantly down there. She also goes outside with us and runs around, etc. But we can't leave her outside like we could at our old house because of no fencing. We used to leash her and she was okay with that, but then a bear wandered through our yard, and we don't want her to be eaten.

Here's the problem: the last couple weeks she has started eating toys. I'm not talking about toys that are left out overnight or anything like that. I mean, I can leave the room for 5 minutes and the boys will still be down there and she's eaten a toy in that time. What do I do?? I don't want to get rid of her. When DH found out she was doing this, he said we need to take her back. He doesn't think we have time for her anymore. Help!

Dani123

Umm did you say a BEAR wandered thru your backyard??  That might be a bigger problem here....  Can you train her NOT to go on the carpeted areas of the home, and that way you can bring her up??  Its a hard thing, when you have animals, you know? When I was renting I had to look for something that would not only accomodate our family but our dogs too, kwim???  i.e. fence yard, no white carpet (if any at all), etc.

ILoveBoys

The whole upstairs is carpeted.   I do know what you mean when it comes to accomodating dogs. And the landlord just said to "control the hair and it would be okay" but then when we really looked at the carpet, we realized just how nice it was.

Dani123

Do you think your dog will mess it up? Normal wear and tear is allowed to happen and they are the morons that put white carpet in a rental!!!    You have to vacuum it anyway right? so youll get the hair when you vacuum.   As long as the dogs isnt making a "mess" (potty) than just let him up

Dani123

Also you can get a few pet beds so she lays on those and not the rugs...Get a few area rugs that cover large area, so its ok if she is on the rug something, like in the main area...maybe a runner for the hallway or a big one for the living room....

ILoveBoys

Good ideas.....  And yes, a bear wandered through our yard. We live in Minnesota, but on the edge of the city and there are woods next to the houses across the street. So we get deer ocassionally and we yes even saw a bear.

momofolivia

yeah the dog is obviously acting out of stress.  i like the idea of putting area rugs down.  dog hair isn't going to ruin the carpet.  it sounds like a really good dog.  you'll just have to stay on top of the vaccuuming.

heatherfaith

sorry I don't mean to flame but how are you so easy to just bring your dog back?  I find this so aggravating how people just get pets and give up on them and want to bring them back to a shelter.  The dog would probably sit in a  shelter for I don't know how long miserable.  Big deal its pet hair.  Get a good vacuum.  Or if you have a dog don't move somewhere that doesn't want dogs.  Im sure the dog doesn't want to be locked in a basement.  Let the dog have free range of the house and maybe he/she won't eat toys.  

ILoveBoys

heatherfaith:

sorry I don't mean to flame but how are you so easy to just bring your dog back?  I find this so aggravating how people just get pets and give up on them and want to bring them back to a shelter.  The dog would probably sit in a  shelter for I don't know how long miserable.  Big deal its pet hair.  Get a good vacuum.  Or if you have a dog don't move somewhere that doesn't want dogs.  Im sure the dog doesn't want to be locked in a basement.  Let the dog have free range of the house and maybe he/she won't eat toys.  

I understand everything you say trust me.   If you read my OP closer you'll read that my husband wanted to take her back and I said no. That's why I was looking for advice.   And FWIW, she was never "locked in a basement", we have a split level house which means basically that she is on the bottom floor of the house.

I'm going to try putting her bed in the living room and leaving her blanket downstairs....maybe she will be able to make a transition to being upstairs more often. Thanks!

brightning

I haven't read all the previous posts, so this might have already been covered.

I've heard (Cesar Millan) that dogs start doing destructive things when they're bored. Maybe she just needs more stimulation and exercise? Like more walks, Kong toys with treats stuck inside, rotate her toys, new toys, etc.

GL!