I'm in dire need of some tips or some suggestions as to a big issue at my hands right now. Ruby's been acting up and been awfully destructive at night lately.

Just ONE example: SHE BIT A HOLE INTO MY WALL!!! Its not even a small hole! It's as big as a water bottle... She did this one night, and I swear I'm usually not a heavy sleeper, but I slept right through it! Henceforth my surprised reaction in the a.m.

So, while my boyfriend takes care of that issue for me, can you guys give me some tips or suggest some things I can do that would help?

How much exercise is she getting? Also, are you doing any sort of training with her? If they're bored they're more likely to be destructive. A great way to wear them out as puppies is mental stimulation, so the more training the better. Treat puzzles and little mind games are awesome too.

If it's happening at night, you may want to seriously look into crate training as well.

I could honestly say she's not getting enough exercise as She should be. I've been exercising more with her lately. As far as training, I'm teaching her whats bad and whats good. And if she does anything bad, I'll quickly tell her. And if she's continues, she's in time out. (Making her stay put until I say so)

I mean, she's normally not that bad at night, but within the past week maybe? She's been quite destructive like I said. Are there any toys that could keep her occupied when bored so she's not as destructive? And what do you mean by puzzles exactly? Thanks for the reply!

There are toys that the dogs have to work at to get treats out, and it exercises their minds. Another great option is a frozen stuffed kong. We do a one for one mixture of canned pumpkin and plain greek yogurt with the ends capped with peanut butter. That's usually good for close to an hour of quiet, which is nice.

On the training, the good and bad is a good start, but start working on things like sit, down, stay, leave it, wait, stuff like that. Stay and leave it are important, because she's going to want to bolt out doors and try to eat stuff off the ground. Little 5 minute training sessions throughout the day will really do wonders for her mind.

I think the big thing is you have a puppy who is getting older and more secure with her surroundings, and she's not getting enough stimulation. If you don't get things under control now, you're really going to have a hard time in another 3-4 months when she hits the teenage stage.

The Kong sounds great. My boyfriend accidently threw hers away. So I'll have to go out and purchase her one. I'll definitely try that.

Ruby knows her stay, sit, down, up, head down, and wait really well. There's not a problem with that. But I'll be sure to exercise this few with her more when She wants certain things like treats. :-)

Thanks a bunch!

Even though Cally knows sit, paw, other paw, lay down and roll over and has since she was 7 weeks old, I still continue to work with her every single day for anywhere between 5-20 minutes. Even though your dog already knows the motions, as Meredith (or Aaron) said above it is really a great mental stimulation.

Something I find works really well to keep Cally entertained is deer antlers! They last for weeks and she absolutely loves them! Not as much stimulation but it does keep her occupied :p

Goodluck with getting Ruby sorted out!!

Hey Robin!
I've heard if deer antlers and considered (still considering) getting them for Ruby after readingthat rawhide is bad for dogs but I haven't gotten around to actually purchasing them. I was actually just now shopping on Amazon because I've heard of Kong having something called a Wobbler. It's pretty neat, and I'm thinking about getting it for Ruby to keep her occupied around the house and not so destructive. :-)

It's definitely a good start!!

withlovejP wrote:

Hey Robin!
I've heard if deer antlers and considered (still considering) getting them for Ruby after readingthat rawhide is bad for dogs but I haven't gotten around to actually purchasing them. I was actually just now shopping on Amazon because I've heard of Kong having something called a Wobbler. It's pretty neat, and I'm thinking about getting it for Ruby to keep her occupied around the house and not so destructive. :-)

before you try and buy it off amazon, someone posted a link yesterday to a site that was having an at least 25% off sale

http://www.dogsupplies.com/ using the code "moving25" I used them yesterday for some new toys too.

Deer antlers are great!! Just make sure you start off with the smaller sized ones, as I made the mistake of buying a variety of sizes, and the larger ones don't really keep them interested as they are so hard to chomp down and my little guy gets bored of that!

Thanks John! I'll check out the link once I have the chance to. I love sales! :-)

Hey Erinc! Where could I get deer antlers really? I see it on doggyloot.com sometimes. But are there any stores or sites you buy from?

withlovejP wrote:

Thanks John! I'll check out the link once I have the chance to. I love sales! :-)

Hey Erinc! Where could I get deer antlers really? I see it on doggyloot.com sometimes. But are there any stores or sites you buy from?

Jessica, I live in the UK, and I buy mine online, I checked the website I order from and they do deliver to the states for a small fee.

http://www.puredog.co.uk - this is the website I normally order from.
http://www.myitchydog.co.uk - I came across this website just now and it seems to be cheaper!

Sorry but I'm no help with stores, unless you fancy a trip over the pond!

Deer antlers you can purchase in pretty much any stores! Petsmart, petvalu, pretty much any pet stores, just ask around!

Hey you guys!! Sorry for the super late reply. I was able to get this awesome "GetMyPerks" voucher for New Orleans. Pay 15$ for a 30$ value to get whatever you want at this locally owned petstore. So I decided to get some deer antlers and Taste of the Wild food! She seems to love both! So thanks for suggesting the antlers!

Since I still consider myself as a new husky owner, I'm entitled to ask 101 questions. Heheh, not really. But I'm always concerned about my pup. Well here's some recent questions and concerns of mine.

1. Ruby loves her new food, but I noticed her stool has lessen. Is this normal? I mean, it's still firm, not loose. But it's a bit less then what she'd normal poop out.

2. Another thing is, she's still so very hyper and still very mouthy.. idk if it's because the food she's on that's making her hyperactive because I exercise with her everyday after I get off work, some mornings both before and after work. It's starting to get frustrating for me because I am firm with her, or so I think. And She doesn't cooperate well with me like She does with my boyfriend.

3. One last question / issue. She did not sleep one bit last night!! Everything I woke up in the middle of the night, which was often.. she was up playing. Its now 7:51 a.m. and she's still up. Seems as if she's been up since yesterday at 12 p.m. Her eyes are sometimes red also. So I would just assume this would be lack of rest?

Any thoughts or suggestions of what could help?

1. I'd say that the looser stool is completely normal for a puppy switching foods. If you are worrued about it though, just add a little bit of pure pumpkin to her food!

2. The mouthing and hyperactive is probably just part of a phase, if you are exercising her all the time and she is getting a good amount then it is likely she is just being a husky. Keep being patient and consistent with your training and I'm sure she will catch on!

3. This one I'll leave up to someone else! I wouldn't exactly worry as she's a puppy and if she needs to sleep then she will!

I know that sometimes Char gets himself wound up and he gets very mouthy and loud. Often if we put him in his crate for a time out he will crash and fall asleep. sometimes he just can't seem to turn thing off even though he is tired.