My staffie recently started clawing at door frame and shredded it to bits!!

Hi, My staffie is called Charlie, he is a brindle staffie whom i rescued from rspca in june of this year, after some settling in problems he has been fine.

when we are out he settles in our hallway where he has his bed, toys, water etc and couple of days ago i came home to my Lounge door frame totally wrecked, (the door itself has not been touched). I had bolts fitted to top of all doors off the hallway and this was done around 2 months ago and we had expected to come home to some scratches just after we introduced this, but he was really good not a scratch!

After i told him off (by pointing at the door frame and firmly saying NO NO NO Charlie) he repeated the same thing the following day.

There is nothing i can pinpoint that has changed in his day to day routine, he is left only a few days a week for few hours in the mornings when i go home from work at lunch time to spend an hour with him, play, walk etc but i really cant explain it.

Thing is i think he knows he has done wrong as his head was down and tail curled in when i opened the front door to see him, he wasnt his usually jumping up happy greeeting self!

I am hosting xmas this year i need to get this fixed by a joiner but then he may do it again!!! any advise is appreciated staffy friends??

Sounds like Charlie is bored when he is left alone. At 18 months, staffies have an abundance of energy coupled to a lovely set of gnashers to do the damage with.

My only suggestion would be to take him for a long walk before you leave him in the morning to go to work. Maybe take a ball with you and run the excess energy out of him. Then repeat at lunchtime.

There are substances available that you spray around the place to 'deter' chewing dogs, but I never found these to have any effect whatsoever. My dogs seemed to enjoy the taste.

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It definitely sounds like boredom. How much exercise does he get? Also what is he fed?

A suggestion to keep him occupied while you are out would be a stuffed Kong.

Also I'm afraid there is no point telling him off after the fact as they just don't make the association. He know your upset with him but no idea why!

i would definitely up his walks,at that age they have a huge amount of energy and the more tired he is the less he would chew things   

Hello! Okay firstly; don't tell him off after he's done something, even pointing at said object will not register an association with him and he'll have no idea what he's in trouble for. If you catch him in the act, a firm NO will suffice, give him something appropriate to chew on and feel free to take your frustration out elsewhere at this point He won't know that he's done wrong, dogs don't have the same thought processes as us, but he may have already been experiencing some anxiety which would have resulted in the destructive behaviour.

As you have stated there have been no changes to his daily routine, have you been a little stressed or busier what with is coming up to xmas? How much exercise does he get and what is he currently fed on? No health problems? Is he left with anything to keep him occupied/chew on when you're out?

Well our staffy is from a rescue and we have had her for nearly 6months so she is around 18 months old now.I believe she has some mild form of separation anxiety .She has ripped 8 soft beds so far...She will chew anything like a cushion or tissues . I solved the bed situation , we bought one of those doggy beds on an iron frame with a nylon mesh base, on this we put a mat, sure she takes the mat off but doesnt tear it. All this happens when we go out..I find that vicks vapour rub can be a deterrent.She just chews certain things.I dont know if giving something to chew solves the problem..We give our dog three kongs, stuffed with goodies, which she eats with relish, so much so I think once the kongs are down she wants us to go out.lol Hoping its just going to be a wait and see this..Oh and yes we have an old small dog here too...

Vicks on the things Tip chews. It really helps

Worth a shot at least, this week I've been putting Vicks on my screen door since Koda (13 wks) decided to eat it - so far so good ! Give it a whirl. Good luck

Do you leave a radio on for him while you are out ? Just something quiet like a talky station (Radio 4 is great for this) It sounds like something may be distrubing him and then he cannot settle again. Leaving a stuffed Kong for him is a great idea as is having a good long walk then some playtime before you go out.

Have you ever heard of Bitter Apple spray, just apply to any furniture you do not want chewed:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grannicks-118AT-Bitter-Apple-Spray/dp/B0002DHPRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390042549&sr=8-1&keywords=bitter+apple+spray