Long term separation issues

We have persevered with our little dogs issues but really need some help so I am going to share our experience, it is going to be a long story but maybe I will get some sound advice. We have a terrier cross that was found wandering near to where we lived in France. As he was going to be taken to the pound where they only get 24 hours before being put down and efforts had already been made to find his owners we took him home with us. Casper (as we called him) is a lovely dog, he’s friendly with other dogs, great with the kids, the cats etc. When we are all at home he is a happy and independent little boy. All except for when we go out….He is an accomplished escape artist; we have collected him from all over France and more recently from the UK. He has eaten through plaster board walls, window frames, metal panels on doors and climbed fences and jumped out of upstairs windows. He also ate the interior of a 5 series BMW (his first offence). He regularly scavenges for food but that is another story. We have sought help and advice from vets and behavioural specialists and we have tried, and continue to try to follow all the advice. Crating is an absolute must to avoid the escaping, he has trashed every cage we have bought apart from an airline transit cage, although recently he did manage to very slightly move a bit of the grid and impale his chin on it. We do not make a fuss when we go in or out, we have tried DAP, Kongs, leaving him for short periods and lengthening them, and we even got him another dog. This behaviour has been going on for 6 years now and shows no sign of improving. He is not a velcro dog, any human will do although he does prefer the family. We really love Casper, I think you would have to to keep trying to help him as we do but things will be getting worse soon. We both work full time and one of our daughters goes to school fairly locally so she is able to get home pretty promptly, let him out of his cage and take him for a walk. However she is off to uni next year and Casper’s length of time in his cage, which he hates, will get longer. We cannot afford doggy day care although that would be his preferred option, is there anything we have not tried? One vet who knew Casper well (he has seen several in his little life) did actually offer euthanasia although was visibly relieved when we said no. Does anyone have any advice not already given in this forum posting?

WELCOME TO DOGSEY
Hopefully you'll be able to get some answers,unfortunately I have no experience,or advice to give.I wish I did
Casper sounds like he keeps you on your toes Well done to you for taking him in.Really hope you can get some help((hugs))

My first thoughts were that if he has to be kept caged indoors because of his destructive behaviour if allowed free - wouldn't it be better to have secure warm dry OUTDOOR housing for him when you cannot be at home? Something with a housing and a run?

Was just thinking the same thing Tang

After so much time is it possible to make him something purpose built that he cannot harm himself on but is secure?

Our foster boy had a hard time with "space" and the only crate we had was the one he flew in (really didn't like that) the only place he seems happy to be left is the downstairs loo, it's small but not too small, no windows he can see out of but one high enough to give him natural light, nothing he can damage but also nothing to damage him, since we figured that out he has blossomed

We did give him an outside space, we had a small stone barn near the house and we fenced between this and the house so that he had the outbuilding, the outside space and the run of the large bedroom which led out to this area. He escaped many times, by climbing over the fence and by digging under the fence! If he was in a kennel outside I think he would freak and escape and although he is not a very noisy dog he would disturb the neighbours, which now we live in town in the UK would be a problem. We did think recently we had cracked it as we had started to not cage him and let him have run of the house including beds and settees (normally banned) but after a couple of months he broke out of the back door and made a run for it. I think we really have run out of ideas....

Hello, and may I offer you my heartfelt sympathy because we have suffered very much the same thing with our rescue terrier.

Your chap and ours are similar, in that they are not velcro dogs, and providing someone is around somewhere they are perfectly happy to do their own thing. The problem only arises when they are locked in and left alone.

I wish that I could give you advice and hope, but the fact is, we now accept that we can never go out and leave Jimmi - not even for half an hour. We are lucky in that we are both retired, so we either take him with us in the car if we go out, or one of us stays at home. If we both need to go out or away, then we are lucky in that our daughter and her family who live close by, move in to look after him. Again, like Casper, Jimmi doesn't actually care who is there, as long as someone is! This is clearly restricting, and sometimes I do feel rather hemmed in!! Obviously it is not an acceptable solution for everyone, but for us it was the only way.

We tried every method under the sun - although shutting him in a crate was not an option due to his having very dodgy paws, which I have no doubt he would have scraped raw in no time at all - all to no avail.

Like Casper, Jimmi is a lovely little dog who is brilliant with children and very easy to have around (unless a cat appears on the horizon!), but something in his previous life has made him terrified of being shut in alone. He cannot actually escape from the house, but is very destructive and so stressed that he poops and wees.

I really hope that you can find a solution for Casper, but if you can't then like us you might have to change your own lifestyle a little if possible although I realise that is well nigh impossible if you both work.

All I can think of is if possibly there is an elderly person nearby who might be glad of some company during the day - perhaps if you advertised in the vets and elsewhere, with the promise of lunch and coffee and biccies provided each day?

Well of course the problem can be solved with escape proof kennelling and dig prevention stuff and special flooring. But cost will be a big factor.

Boarding Kennels have to have escape proof housing for all sorts of dogs left with them - usually tough metal.

Zoos too have to have VERY secure housing units for all sorts and sizes of animals.

http://strongdogz.com/kennels/

http://strongdogz.com/shop/kennels-2...st&order=price

I have wondered about finding someone who stays at home in the day and I think I may try this route next, I will investigate further I think

Wish I lived near you, I'd take him