Old age staffy has become destructive- need advice, running out of options :(

Hi There
New to the forum, and I'll be honest iv only registered on the chance someone here can help as im desperate.

My silly old staffy Jazz, who is quiet simply the most ludicrously stupid, insecure and pathetic animal ever to have graced the earth, is not behaving like herself.

A little background, we rescued Jazz around 8 years ago from an unpleasant owner. She had been badly neglected, and as such craved every little bit of attention she could get. She never leaves your lap, and her tail goes into overdrive just by glancing at her! so insecure.

On the other hand, though, this has made for a wonderful family pet. So loving and affectionate, and so very well behaved, as she cant stand being told of (perhaps a side effect of regular 'abuse' in her past...). She has never been anything less than the ideal dog.

Now we are not entirely sure of her age, but a recent routine exam from the vet (in which she was granted a clean bill of health) estimated her at around 12. We are well aware that she is coming into the later part of her life, and we expect the inevitable problems associated with that. What we did not expect however, is what has happened.

She is totally fine, totally normal, until we go out. When left alone (not entirely alone, we have another staff too, a bit younger), she has started climbing (forcing her way) behind our hi fi stand, and chewing the wires. I must emphasise, she has NEVER been a destructive dog. But on 8 separate occasions now, all when left alone, she has forced her way into this location and done considerable damage. Over £400 of new cables, even a new unit was required after being knocked of as she bulldozed her way into the tiny gap.

Simply put, we are not rich. We cannot afford to keep fronting repair costs like this, and when coupled with her age, my dad, who is about £200 beyond the limit of his patience, is considering having her put down simply because he believes there are no other options. The hi fi cables all run through the walls, integrated, so we cant remove the equipment every time we go out, nor can we leave her in any other room, for a multitude of reasons.

I have talked him into digging out the old training cage and putting her in that when we go out, but frankly I think she'll be able to get out it, she has incredible biting power like most staffys, and as such, very little contains her when she doesn't like it.

Has anyone out there had a staffy exhibit this sort of radical behaviour change, or encounter anything similar? I mean, if we can get to the bottom of it, maybe there is a reason we have not considered, or perhaps she is just loosing her marbles... in which case what sort of treatments are there out there?

I thank anyone who takes the time to consider our situation and offer assistance. I don't want to loose my pet, especially considering when your with her, shes completely healthy, and normal! This is not her time.
Thanks very much

Well firstly I hope your Dad is over exaggerating his reactions because of the costs being incurred by him . This poor dog has given you years of love so you can't just turn it off like that because of some damage . Being quite frank and I hope you don't mind but I would get rid of my Dad first  
Has this just suddenly started happening or has the behaviour been getting gradually worse ?? First action I would take is to go back to the vet and explain the difficulties you are having and ask for a check over regardless of the last check up unless this is why you took her there.
Where is your other dog when all this is happening , are they kept in separate rooms so you can be sure your other staff isn't involved in this ??
Obviously she seems to favour this spot for some reason , just a crazy thought but have you pulled all the equipment out and made sure there is not some favourite toy stuck under the cabinet (sorry if it sounds silly)
You could try putting vicks vapor rub around the back edges of the cabinet and on the cables to deter chewing , or get a bitter apple spray.
Does she show any tendency to favour this spot when you are at home ??

Hi welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you are having these problems.

It is not unknown for dogs to have dementia like symptoms, so frankly yes she could be genuinely loosing her marbles.

But without a diagnosis you can't work on that, so in the mean time you need to start from the start again.
Whats she fed,
what exercise does she get,
what personal space does she have,
has anything changed lately (i.e. new car, new person in the house, new dog - how long has he been there, new dog walker, new friends)


Dogs that hide are as you said, quite insecure. So if she is craving a bit of alone time away from the younger dog maybe then i think you should dig out the crate again and try her in it. She might just want peace and he is bugging her when you are not there to play referee

Thanks guys.
First of all, I word it poorly, giving you the wrong impression. My dad loves Jazz, every dog has one master, he is hers, she is HIS dog, no two ways about it. Its his fear, she is getting on, he knows there are going to be issues, and he fears that this may be the beginning of them. He cannot bare the thought of her deteriorating, and that combined with the frustration over her recent behaviour, is coming out as anger and he is saying things he does not mean. It a whole mix of emotion, and my dad does not handle emotion well.

The first bout of destruction was around 1 month ago. Repaired it, then nothing for 5 days. Then it happened again, everything destroyed. She chewed through metal speak cable half an inch thick, incredible. We at this point took her to the afformentioned vet visit, and they said there is nothing physically wrong with her. In terms of behaviour, he said he cannot comment, he is not a dog psychologist, and he suggested we avoid speaking to one as, in his words, 'dogs are far harder to understand than people, any advice you get from a psychologist will be theory only'.

The last week has shown her behaving this way every single day.
Our other dog, Kizzy, is about 9. The two of them have been together for the past 7 years and get on wonderfully, they are like sisters. We know kizzy, we can immediately tell from her reactions when we get home that she has not been involved, as its not guilt or shame she demonstrates, which she would if she had been naughty, it is worry. Worry because she knows her best friend is doing wrong! in addition, two of the times, jazz got stuck behind the hi fi and so was still there when we got home, and kizzy was just sitting in her chair looking worried
We have ripped everything out of there to check if there is anything that could be attracting her, there is nothing as far as we can tell, though we appreciate dog senses do go beyond ours. We cleaned the area down fully, made sure there was nothing of interest there at all. She is entirely indifferent to the spot when we are around, like I said, he behaviour is entirely normal until shes left alone.

The basics, well, shes fed the same food as shes always been fed, just standard tinned dog food, two small portions per day. They are not walked as often as we'd like, probably 4 times per week, but they are long substantial walks where they are off the lead and free to run for a good hour or two. In addition, they spend at least 3 hours a day running around (chasing each other) the garden every day. This is no more or less exercise than they have ever had.
There have been no changes at all for over a year (when I moved out), and in terms of personal space, she is never ever alone, shes always with kizzy, or with us. When kizzy is taken into another room, she cries, they hate being apart. They sleep together, clean each other, they are inseperable.
This is our biggest concern with the training cage, its not big enough for both of them, and I suspect jazz will destroy it just to get to kizzy, they wont like being separated.

Im sure you can see why we are overly concerned, vet who cannot help, such a sudden change in her behaviour for no apparent reason... and our biggest concern if we are honest is that, if it is mental issues, if she is loosing it, could her behaviour toward kizzy change? they are, as all staffys are, aggressive in the way they play. If she is loosing it, we are fearful that unpredictable behaviour could lead to additional problems between the two dogs, and kizzy is much smaller and less powerful a dog than jazz. We don't want to put her at potential risk.

I know, I know. Im imagining the worst, without any evidence or even suggestion that her behaviour is even changing, it could still be something tangible. I guess this is the side effect of loving them as family members, logic goes right out the window!

They really need at least two 45 minute walks per day, the destruction could be boredom. They should definitely be taken out every day. The different sights, sounds and smells on walks provide mental stimulation as well as the obvious phisical exercise.
I would try increasing the exercise you may find that works wonders, a tired dog is a good dog  

It ceretainly sounds like seperation anxiety, although whether that has arisen because of lack of exercise or from her health starting to fade a little with age, I don't know.

I would certainly try the crate as long as she's comfortable & happy in there. I would also sugest seperating the two dogs when you're out just in case Jazz is trying to get away from Kizzy for whatever reason.

It sounds as though the chewing is secondary to the getting behind the unit - it sounds as though she's trying to hide. Is she ok with sudden loud noises? Could there have been any disturbances recently that could be frightening her?

Something you could try is an Adaptil plug-in or spray to keep her anxiety levels down.

I would try more walks, even just shorter ones at her age. Not getting out everyday would drive me mad

Hayley wrote:I would try more walks, even just shorter ones at her age. Not getting out everyday would drive me mad

Yes, I agree with that.