# destructive beagle



## lexie2010 (Jun 7, 2010)

lexie our 11mth old beagle bitch has taken to wrecking her beds recently, to be precise she has pulled stuffing out of 5 in last 10days. this mostly happens the bed in her kennel in her run, and it isnt just when she has been in there for few hours when im at work, this morning when she went out to her run she pulled stuffing out of new bed within 15mins of being out there! she has toys and chew bones in her run and shouldnt have done it out of boredom as it was such a short time. she just seems to want to destroy things recently! she loves chewing but this is just a tearing match that seems to be over in a matter of minutes!
i dont want to leave her in a bare kennel but she is wrecking all i give her! is it just a phase? i left her in her run today with NOTHING in it just a bare kennel and no toys or anything for few hours today to teach her its not nice with no bed (maybe that was not the best way of teaching her but i didnt know what else to do!!)
do we leave her with nothing for few days?


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## JessiesGirl (May 8, 2010)

lexie2010 said:


> lexie our 11mth old beagle bitch has taken to wrecking her beds recently, to be precise she has pulled stuffing out of 5 in last 10days. this mostly happens the bed in her kennel in her run, and it isnt just when she has been in there for few hours when im at work, this morning when she went out to her run she pulled stuffing out of new bed within 15mins of being out there! she has toys and chew bones in her run and shouldnt have done it out of boredom as it was such a short time. she just seems to want to destroy things recently! she loves chewing but this is just a tearing match that seems to be over in a matter of minutes!
> i dont want to leave her in a bare kennel but she is wrecking all i give her! is it just a phase? i left her in her run today with NOTHING in it just a bare kennel and no toys or anything for few hours today to teach her its not nice with no bed (maybe that was not the best way of teaching her but i didnt know what else to do!!)
> do we leave her with nothing for few days?


First things first: there is absolutely no chance that this bitch is pregnant, correct? (I hope!)

Most young dogs like nothing more than to destroy a dog bed. They see them as very large stuffed toys and go to town. 

She does not need a bed. If you feel she must have something, get a sheepskin mat which she can not destroy.

How much exercise and stimulation does Lexie get? This is a smart, energetic breed. If you are relying on a kennel run to give her adequate exercise and mental stimulation, this may be your problem. It's not going to come close to giving her enough exercise and stimulation. (I am not familiar with you, so perhaps she gets regular outings and exercise- just pointing out it's a possible factor.)

Removing the bed doesn't teach her anything, it just prevents a new one from being destroyed. Why did you also remove the toys? She doesn't understand that, I promise you.


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## fifimcq (Oct 14, 2010)

I have to say our BC x springer started to destroy beds & I eventually worked out that she was not getting enough mental stimulation,so I have varied her walks so she never knows which out of many routes we will take thus keeping them fresh & exciting as there is constant change......not saying this will work for other dogs but it did for me.


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## ZeusBeagle (Oct 11, 2010)

Zeus has destroyed about 3 beds in 6 months - it gets expensive lol! So we went to Petsmart yesterday and get a rigid plastic bed with a big cushion in. Replacing the cushion will be cheaper than replacing beds everytime. I agree that they just see their beds as an extra toy because Zeus will play with it even when he couldn't possibly be bored! As long as she is getting plenty of exercise and stimulation which i'm sure she is, then i think it's just that she likes to chew. Zeus has already ripped apart all the toys we brought him yesterday, i think he just likes stuffing-less toys :thumbup:


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

lexie2010 said:


> lexie our 11mth old beagle bitch has taken to wrecking her beds recently, to be precise she has pulled stuffing out of 5 in last 10days. this mostly happens the bed in her kennel in her run, and it isnt just when she has been in there for few hours when im at work, this morning when she went out to her run she pulled stuffing out of new bed within 15mins of being out there! she has toys and chew bones in her run and shouldnt have done it out of boredom as it was such a short time. she just seems to want to destroy things recently! she loves chewing but this is just a tearing match that seems to be over in a matter of minutes!
> i dont want to leave her in a bare kennel but she is wrecking all i give her! is it just a phase? i left her in her run today with NOTHING in it just a bare kennel and no toys or anything for few hours today to teach her its not nice with no bed (maybe that was not the best way of teaching her but i didnt know what else to do!!)
> do we leave her with nothing for few days?


My Malamute was like that with beds and soft toys, he would "kill" them and then progress to pulling all the stuffing "guts" out and the same with any beds that had stuffing in them. Once they realise they can destuff them it begins to become a habit. I got round it by buying cheap bound rugs from pound stretcher just the carpet type ones rather than anything with a fluffy texture. They are only about a fiver each if they still do them. He actually left those alone. If you want a bit of extra thickness then you can buy 2 or 3 and put them on top of each other. Might be worth just buying one to try first and see how he gets on with it.


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## lexie2010 (Jun 7, 2010)

thanks for the replies. she was spayed in sept so def not pregnant. she gets walked about 3miles a day and we have a big garden that she spends hours exploring and chasing birds and sniffing and playing frizbee, and then she has her time in the house where she watches the goings on out the window and potters about. tonight she will sleep in her run with just her fleece blankets in her kennel and i'll see if i can get her some mats next day im out, i did buy her a mat for her plastic basket that is in her run for when shes lying out sunning herself but she has already chewed the edges and bit a hole in the middle, but it was only 50p in Ikea!!!thankfully shes sleeping in one of her new beds that she hasnt destroyed (yet!) in front of the fire!!!!


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## sarybeagle (Nov 4, 2009)

Bella hit about the year mark and destroyed 3 beds and every single toy including one she had from first coming home  

It also tied in with the peak of her teenage phase and im pleased to say she now owns a very nice bed which she hasn't so much as dug in which comapred to previous beds which lasted 2 days MAX is a massive improvement. 

I still cant give her a stuffed toy now or its gutted within minutes-I recently bought an "indestructible" life like toy fox and within 5 mins he was in pieces and totally destroyed and in the bin :frown: 

She is trained several times a day has lots of long walks and sleeps most of the day now but thankfully like I say it happened around the teen phase when her behaviour was testing to say the least :lol: Lexi will get through it I promise xx


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## theevos5 (Dec 24, 2009)

Agree with sarybeagle,our beagles are the same age and they have come out the other end
Have a look at our teenage thread we had going last year,to show how frustrated we both were 

for now don't buy anything special bedwise,vetbed is good,monitor the toything,so that she has toys as part of a game,fetch etc so she sees them as a game rather than a destroying thing,alf likes to play with empty pop bottles and we put treats in them for him.fetch with the ball launcher for teaching drop,apart from that the very best of luck,but you have to go through this horrible time to get your little angel,that will very soon be calm and relaxed


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## sarybeagle (Nov 4, 2009)

Oh god yes the teenage thread lol!!! I'll try and find it. I very nearly posted the other day an update on the teen phase to see how we are all doing now. :thumbup:


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## sarybeagle (Nov 4, 2009)

Link to teen thread http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/104946-teenage-kicks-3.html


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## theevos5 (Dec 24, 2009)

sarybeagle said:


> Link to teen thread http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/104946-teenage-kicks-3.html


Wow,that brought back some memories,thank god those days are gone,alf is quite happy with his walk and evening play and he sleeps the whole time inbetween he is a proper cuddle monster now


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## tiny (Feb 1, 2011)

hi there. ive got a 12 week old beagle pup who hasnt reached teenage years yet. however, when i leave her in her crate to even nip to the loo she will "kill" her bed or wee on it as an attention seeker because i have left her. i just clean up the mess n put her back in her crate to show her attention seeking doesnt work. best bet - as already suggested - buy something that she cant "kill". im going back to work shortly and my beagle will have to be in her run for a few hours each day until my hubby comes home.i'll leave her a meaty bone to chomp on but she will probably wreck her box n bed etc because i have left her alone. beagles really dont like to be on their own.

good luck in finding an indestructable bed - lol


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## lexie2010 (Jun 7, 2010)

thanks for all the advice, im off to PAH to get vetbed, stuff to stop her digging garden (yes shes at that again too, nice muck weather for it!!) and a new rope toy as she has shredded one she has. have to say Nylabones are the business! something she cant wreck at last! she even tore a kong apart yesterday, well it was the puppy one she had from start so not to shocked by that!! but after all that i still love my beagle!


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