Advice on boredom, AT NIGHT!

Recently Maddy has became bored during the ever so long hours of the night She just can't sleep like any normal dog, oh no!

She has chewed one of my kitchen cupboard doors, she has chewed up the skirting and door frame, she has WRECKED the table and chairs.

NOTHING can be left on the worktops.

She has even chewed the washing machine handle

She is 10 months old, she's got all her 'big teeth'.

She doesn't chew anything during the day, then again she has free roam of the kitchen/living room and hall when i'm at home (usually just lazing on the sofa mind )

I've came to the conclusion that she gets bored during the night. She usually is put to bed any time around 11pm at the earliest, to around 1:30, basically whenever I go to bed, but usually around 11:30 - midnight.

She gets up at 7:30 every morning, WITHOUT FAIL, like an alarm clock!

She has 2 walks a day, sometimes more, but she always has at least 2. One on lead and a long run on the evening.

I have tried EVERYTHING!

Kongs, bones, toys, deterent sprays, calming sprays, crate (she was crated 'till she was 6 months old, but she never took to it very well in that time, so that was abandoned when she was housetrained).

She hasn't been doing this for very long, she started a little on the table at first, then recently she's just went wild on everything wooden.

It's worrying me now as i'm finding she has been sick due to the chewing of the wood.

I'm just out of ideas, thanks for reading this far, sorry it's so long!

Just wanted to add, for anyone doesn't already know, she's a weimaraner.

are the other dogs locked in with her kel?the easy answer wud be have her with you lol BUT thats not really an answer i know.i saw the chewed up quilt pic aswell lol but so not funny really

Hiya cat

Yep the other 2 are in with her, they just sleep and ignore her I expect

I can't have her in with me as she is SUCH a light and fidgety sleeper. I had to sleep with her when I spent a few nights in Scotland for SKC, OMG, NEVER AGAIN! She's worse than a baby!

Also the cats sleep in my room at night, she does get on with them but they like to play about with each other at night, they are quiet so it's ok, but she'd only mess with them.

She'd probably gloat to the others when she came down, I can imagine it, "I slept upstairs and YOU never" She's like that :smt043

I can laugh when it's just a blanket or a quilt, but the whole kitchen...

how recently after your trip to scotland did she start this?my old smelly neighbours dog destroyed 2 washing machines and 2 kitchens,the last kitchen was only 2 months old!!

She did it before Scotland Cat, that was the first time she'd slept away from home, but she's always been a light sleeper since day one.

She has only recently started going on the kitchen bigstyle, about a 2 weeks ago.

I can't believe the washing machine I came downstairs and couldn't believe it, the handle is blimmin flush with the door, I dunno how she's done it

Years ago, I had this very same scenario with a young Irish Setter. He just couldn't be trusted not to be destructive. Like Maddie, Cassidy was partial to door frames, skirting boards and appliance knobs. So there was only one option.


I bought the biggest crate I could afford at the time, and voi la. Everybody's happy. Luckily for me he took to the crate like a duck to water, and I only needed to use it for about 9 months.

Dawn R.

Hmmm. A tricky one! I think I would start by aiming for a more regular bedtime routine. Even if you're staying up late, try to put the dogs to bed at the same time each night. That might mean turning the lights off in the kitchen before you're ready to go to bed, and ignoring the dogs totally if you do have to go in there. Dogs are creatures of habit, and you might find that some of her wakefulness is at times when she's used to being awake with you.

If she's persistently destroying things, and eating things that make her ill, then it could be time to reconsider crating her. I'm sure there's some good info on the web about getting your dog acustomed to it. She might not much like it, but she will get used to it, and it sounds like it could be for her own benefit.

Finally, be aware that she is still a pup, and might just be going through a bit of a phase...

Actually, I'm going to add a bit more!

How about getting her to do a bit more during the day. Doesn't have to be more walks, but maybe working for her dinner and that kind of thing. My mum got me onto those puzzle balls that dispense food, and it seems to use a lot of mental energy. I also, for a bit of variation, sometimes make Bongo search for her dinner by scattering it out on the lawn, or wrap it up in a bit of newspaper for her to disect. Are you still doing lots of training with maddy? That's going to help tire her out. And games like tug of war are good ways burning energy without being time- or space-intensive.