How do I stop him Scratching the doors?

Hi there,

Would anyone have any tips on how to stop Brinkley 5mths from scratching the wooden doors in our new home.He has done considerably damage over the last few mths.(dep scratches in the wood).

It's mostly my utility door as he sleeps in this room,he is very good at night and usually settles very quickly with no scratching.He is only left alone in the utility if we both have to out(2hrs max) or if we are having dinner etc.

I have tried tiring him out with long walks and games before i have to go out.I'd be Interested if anyone has any other ideas.

I would definitely suggest getting a crate.
I bought one when we first got Holly (she's 7 months now), but we never used it! We got it out though when she began scratching at the door early early in the morning! It was waking us up when there was no need.... and it wasnt because she needed the toilet, she just wanted to be with us.
So we set the crate up in the living room, and left it up and open for a couple of days until she went in and out on her own, then at night we started closing it over!
Having one is great. She doesnt do the toilet during the night (so its been great for toilet training) and she doesnt scratch in the mornings (which is protecting our wooden doors in our new home!).

I know crates dont appeal to everyone, and they didnt sound too good to me at first! But they are great! Now she goes in there when we are eating, she just knows to stay out of the way - it is her safe place.. with all her comfortable bedding!

Hope that helps! x

PS: When crate training though, never put the dog in there.... or put the dog there if they have misbehaved. Dont use it as a punishment! Give treats in the crate only for a while, and they'll get the idea!

Hi Noelle, I wholeheartedly agree with Ashley. Dottie LOVES her crate. We keep it downstairs in the family room during the day with cozy blankets for occasional naps, (door open, I am in room/she goes in on her own) and for when I have to leave for an hour or two during the day (door closed) I play music on low and give her a small treat to start and a frozen kong to keep her busy. She is usually asleep when I return. She also sleeps in her crate next to our bed at night, and gets quite upset if we don't go up directly at 9pm to settle her in for the night.

I also have an identical crate, a hard plastic vari-kennel #200 strapped into the backseat of our car, so she is easy and safe to travel with. In my ignorant days, I thought crates were like a prison, but used properly and sparingly during the day, (and at night if you want them in their own bed) can be a wonderful safe cozy house for your pup!

hbmama said:

In my ignorant days, I thought crates were like a prison, but used properly and sparingly during the day, (and at night if you want them in their own bed) can be a wonderful safe cozy house for your pup!

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I was the exact same in my thinking! But they are brilliant! And you can get one relatively cheap. I got ours from Ebay!

We say "Go to your house"... and off she goes!

Thanks

Thanks a lot,sounds good.i'll definetly give it a try,i'll pick one up at the weekend

We have a cage for Chester but he never really took to sleeping in it over night so sleeps in the kitchen.

If you can not get him used to a crate, could you try putting a baby gate up? We do this to keep Chester in the kitchen at nighttime. We push the door to so he doesnt get woken by people walking past but when he lets us know he is awake is just paws at the gate.

Just another idea for you.

We had a problem with the door between our living room and the dog's room and were never able to reliably stop them from jumping on the door; it was also the door they had to go through to get to the door that goes outside. When I remodeled the dog's room and put new oak doors on, I put a piece of 1/4" thick clear plexiglass over the lower 1/2 of the door. I attached it with 4 small brass screws. It doesn't look too bad, certainly better than the scratches we had on the old door, and when we move, we can just take the plxiglass off and fill the holes with matching wood putty.

If you would like, I can take a picture of it so you can see what it looks like.

Editted: OK, found the post I made about the remodeling http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=21781&highlight=dogs+room. The picture of the oak doors shows what the plexi looks like, although in person it is a bit more noticeable than that. I would also say that crating is the way to go at night or when you're away. We had to do this because whenwe called for "All dogs outside" or "Time for bed", they would get all excited and bounce off the door.

Yes baby gates are the business....argos and most hardware and baby shops have them.

When we first got our pups I hated the thought of putting them in the crate. Only after they had practically destroyed the kitchen did I put them in whenever I had to go out or at night time. They actually enjoy going in. It goes in the kitchen at night and during the day its in the living room. When they are tired or just want a bit of peace from the others thats where they go of their own accord. MARVELLOUS

Harry was crate trained, he has never damaged my home, and now sleeps in the kitchen but not in the crate.
Heidi is now being crate trained and LOVES to go in there, if she wants a treat she'll sit in there and look at me as if to say "well where is it" lol

Thanks

Thanks everyone, im going to try the crate this weekend and i'll sand down the utility door(if its possible at this stage), the plexiglass sounds like a great idea,it will protect the door after i sand it down.

I am so relieved to see your post. We're having the same problem with Milly. She has being doing it for months to let us know she is awake but now she is waking up at 4 in the morning so we haven't been too happy. She doesn't give up until we eventually get up and let her come up to our bed. I like the plexiglass idea so i know what we will be doing this weekend!

Millys Mummy said:

I am so relieved to see your post. We're having the same problem with Milly. She has being doing it for months to let us know she is awake but now she is waking up at 4 in the morning so we haven't been too happy. She doesn't give up until we eventually get up and let her come up to our bed. I like the plexiglass idea so i know what we will be doing this weekend!

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This is EXACTLY what happened with our Holly...

CRATE to the rescue!!!

Qwebble almost turns 2 and she always sleeps in her crate!
At first she had a large crate we borrowed from my mom to put her in during the day, but now she's together with qwick behind the baby gate whenever we're at work or out of the house..

But still she sleeps in her crate with the door closed.. it's how she's used to it.. Qwick sleeps in his basket but Qwebble always in her crate and she doesn't mind.. she likes it cause she knows when she goes in there, she gets her bedtime treat and it's all good

also it's a big help to potty train them cause they normally won't pee in their crates as it's their bed