As others have said 3 weeks is very early days .
It can take up to 6 months for a rescued dog to settle, in my experience .
It won't always be like this and you just have to find ways of doing things that suit you and him by trial and error .
Some good suggestions here . But what works for one dog may not be the best idea for others .

I do wish that all breed rescues would not assign breeds to dogs of unknown origins. It is highly unlikely that he is a Rough Collie X JRT, he is much more likely simply a mongrel of unknown parentage.

Have you done any training with him at all ? Such as clicker/reward training to leave, watch, settle etc ? If you've done no training than he will not be able to learn what is & what isn't allowed.

Crate training may only prevent the behaviour in your eyes, but it will stop the destruction & done correctly will mean you can leave him in his crate feeling safe & secure whilst you are out of sight.

He may be attantion seeking the only way he knows from previous experiences with his first owners. Dogs do not do "guilt""remorse"they are far better at reading our body langauge than we mere humans are at reading theirs.

I would recommend Gwen Bailey's Rescue Dog Book

Actually he came into the Dogs Trust with his full brother after they were handed in by their previous owner, rather than from 'unknown origins'. To look at him, the cross is pretty obvious.


Thanks for the responses all, I'll do some more experimenting with his Kong, do some more research into crate training and think about putting some high shelves up.

id suggest crate training.

at the end of the day it keeps him safe, keeps your stuff safe and dogs dont get stressed by crates providing training to them is done properly. can shut mine in their crates when i go out and they just sleep. so much less myther and i know they are safe.

So he looks like a RC cross JRT ?? Sorry to go OT but the mating between the two is highly unlikely given the huge size difference, far more likely is Shetland Sheepdog(totally different breed to the RC which is directly related to the BC) X JRT. Did the DT see both his parents ? Was the previous owner the person who bred them ? How big is he ? There is a company that will do a DNA test to find breed indicator genes(they cannot state for definite that specific breeds are behind any dog)

My smooth coated BC has been described by a Labrador breeder/judge as a Lab X-he is the image of his mother-who like his father is a ISDS pedigree BC. Most of the Gen Public don't even realise the difference between a SS & RC I've heard them being called miniature"Lassie"dogs which they are most definitely not.

I agree that you are expecting too much. He might grow out of it but equally, he might not. Some dogs just like chewing.

One of my dogs will be three years old in May and she is still a chewer. In fact, she destroyed one my hats today and I also caught her gnawing on the edge of one of our sofas.

It is a management issue ultimately. I do spend a lot of time moving items that would be attractive to her. On the plus side I guess, it encourages you to be tidy! when they have destroyed expensive shoes, glasses, watches, etc., like mine has, you start being very aware of where you put things.

That's alright, I know it sounds pretty weird! I assume, since he had both brothers, that his previous owner was also his breeder. Rogan's brother, Reilly, can be seen here - http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/reilly1082366.aspx. They're rather similar only Reilly is much taller. I know the differences between a RC and a Sheltie, though I thought the latter was a rather scarce, unpopular breed at the minute? Certainly not the sort of dog I'd think to find in rural Ballymena!

Rogan weighs about 15kgs, from the floor to the top of his shoulder is 45cm, from the base of his tail to the tip of his nose is just under a metre, and he is 60cm around the barrel.

I snapped a few pics for you, though it's hard to get an accurate impression of his height -

One cute headshot, and I'll link the others to save everyone's sanity

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/DSC00846.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/DSC00849.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/DSC00850.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/DSC00838.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/DSC00816.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/IMG_0443.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/DSC00853.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/DSC00852.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...0/DSC00851.jpg

Wow , he is gorgeous

What a lovely looking dog. His behaviour would be considered pretty normal for my breed, some dogs can be more destructive than others, they do sometimes grow out of it.

He is still a baby and it must be quite stressful to be uprooted from your home and get passed around, give him time to settle down, crates are good for popping the dog in for a short time or even to sleep in at night to keep them out of trouble.

My new rescue dog who I have now had for 6 months is a bit destructive still and she is 9!!

If the postman makes the mistake of putting the post through our letter box rather than the postbox outside then I have to be very quick to make sure I get it before she does as it will be shredded otherwise.

I make sure I do not leave anything about that she may decide needs shredding and when I leave her to go to my part-time work she is left in our main bedroom upstairs where there is nothing in jaws' reach for her and the bin is moved out of the bedroom too.

Prevention is better than a cure so they say!