[SMArcher]

Hello all!

I have a 6.5 month old Aussie. Or he may be a border collie, but that's a different story! He's a wonderful little boy, he likes to please and learns very fast.

Recently I've started some very time consuming training for work, but it will only last a few weeks. I understand that if Aussies get bored, they can become a little destructive. I still get the chance to take him to run around and play with other dogs til he's worn out about every other day and I provide him with plenty of bones and toys to chew on. He also gets plenty of attention However, he's been targeting multiple pairs of my very expensive running shoes. Mainly I think for the laces as he likes to pull and rip with his front teeth. And he knows he's being very bad too! I even sprayed them down quite well with fooey extra bitter anti-chew spray. I realize that a simple solution to this would be to just put all the shoes away in a closet... However, I would like to get to the root of the problem. I can't pinpoint it as being caused by my extra time at work since he's also just getting older in general and has always really liked laying on shoes/eating treats on top of shoes. In addition, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions/help for anything that could satisfy his needs? As you can imagine I'm very frustrated having to spend hundreds of dollars on new running shoes.

 

[SMArcher]

Unfortunately with the extra time at work I really have difficulty finding more free time/time to give him for the next 3 more weeks. We have been to nature trails but it is so far away it isn't ideal for my current situation. But definitely noted for after that. We also walk about 1.25 miles every day in a highly dog populated area, so he gets to stop at all the bushes and poles.

I also got him an IQ ball and I used to put half his meals in there along with a decent amount of treats. He seemed to become disinterested after a while. I'll try using different shapes like a bottle, maybe that'll help. And yes, I do obedience work, I pretty much ran out of tricks to teach him but I'll try to think of some more now and I guess just keep practicing what he knows over and over. Thanks so much for the advice, I wasn't even thinking about mental stimulation!

 

[SMArcher]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

I tried finding a doggy day care but the earliest ones open up at 630 am across town and I usually have to be at work by then. And I haven't been able to find a dog walker with a known reputation that I can give my spare key to. As much as I would've liked to :/ Don't get me wrong, he gets walked 4 times a day (sometimes we go for runs) and the biggest gap never really exceeds 8 hours. If it even comes close to that, I leave a puppy pad for him to relieve himself if needed. If I was intending to put my dog on the back burner, I wouldn't have even taken the time to seek advice here. I've read about the breed, and although I know it isn't exactly the perfect fit for every aspect of my lifestyle, I rescued him from very poor living conditions and I am definitely trying to make it work and make as many accommodations to him as I can.

We've been learning some new tricks I'd never even thought of teaching before and I've got a another puzzle toy for him that he seems to like and we play hide and seek games with treats. Looking into that squirrel toy, thanks I'm definitely going to try rotating toys, especially bones that he gets bored of chewing after a bit.

The shoes have all been safe, except for an already chewed training/bait shoe that he actually hasn't touched. I do feel very bad that he's bored but it's temporary and halfway done... Although it is Navy pilot training so I'm sure there will be more periods of short, high intensity training from time to time so I am learning from this experience. Also, I think he's even putting on a just little weight too. But I'm doing what I can to combat that without straying too far from the guidelines provided from the dog food company (mainly just trying to run with him more). We haven't been able to go to the dog park/beach because he's had an eye infection from our last visit and I just don't want it to get worse. Other than that he seems to be doing OK