[Kadysmom]

Hello, my 6 month old female boxer has recently been scratching and clawing the wall.  I recently quit crating her as she is fully potty trained and we are gone to work during the day and are also out in the evenings with my kids sports activities.  She and my 22 month old male are gated in the kitchen.  I don't know what to do to get her to quit ruing the walls.  I have pressed bones and toys in their area for them to play.  Advise?

 

[lillyzmomma]

take them with you in the evenings to the sports stuff if you can...they are bored and confined...there may also be somethinginside the wall that they are trying to get...they need more activity and they miss their ppl...theres a saying that a lot of boxer ownersgo by...a bored boxer is a destructive boxer...

good luck...

 

[sumyasmom]

i agree, i would take them with if you could. sumya hade her first test at being home alone and it did not go well.boxers seem to get bored very easily, even with toys. i decided that from now on, she is crated when we are not home.

 

[Suchagirl]

All I can say is the boxer I had for 9 Years always needed crated.  He could not be trusted.  He got into everything.

 

[AbbyandBrady]

I agree to take her wherever you can, sounds like she may have some long days with no release of much energy. When we first got Abby, we learned quickly that her crate had to be on a non-skid mat far from any walls....she would paw and chew the wall between the wires in her crate and even move her crate to get at something she could chew on.  I gave it some time as it was just her first and second week of being crated, plus she had giardia when we got her and I am sure she was just agonizing with her belly and trying to release her stress....She no longer does this and while we still have to crate her unfortunately, I keep her crate right next to a window in their playroom where she has easy access to the wall and moulding, and she never touches it. We also started almost immediately giving kongs with peanut butter frozen in them..this occupied her time and by the time she is done, she has calmed about the fact that we have left the house and she goes right off to sleep. I agree though, you have to keep her occupied and maybe not crating her is not a good idea yet.

I know that it is difficult to take them places as most places you must go to simply don't allow dogs unless they are service dogs and unfortunately, there are occassions when they must be left alone twice in one day....we try to minimize that as much as possible...we no longer make dinner plans during the week, we often say "no" to plans or just one goes while the other stays behind with the pups.   But, if you can't take her with you to the activities and must leave her alone again in the evening  do you have time to take her for a walk in between or play frisbee or ball in the yard for a while to give her some activity and tire her? Give her extra time before work also to run around...

 

[Mom2BoNLaila]

I agree with what everyone else has said.  It would be good to get her out and let her release some energy.

 

[sully]

Not to sound harsh but you're gone during the day, gone during the night.....why did you get a dog?  You'd be scratching the walls too!

I'd say get her into doggy daycare.

 

[samsonsmom]

You may also have to go back to crating her if it gets really bad, hate to say it..Boxers do crave their Skin Peeps, I'd try and take them with you as much as you can....Heck we've been known just to jump in the car and take ours for rides for no reason.... :lol: One last thing, she is a puppy still, that kind of behavior isn't that uncommon, but it does sound like she's bored. Even having "big brother" there isn't enuf to keep that behavior from happening