1-year-old Jack Russell has suddenly started destroying everything - please help
Hi everyone, I’m really struggling with my 1-year-old Jack Russell and I’m hoping someone might have some advice.
She has only recently starting destroying things, which is really confusing because she never did this as a puppy. Over the last few weeks she has suddenly started eating/destroying things like people’s shoes and the skirting boards. She seems to completely ignore me when I tell her to stop, and no matter how many times I tell her off, she goes back to doing it.
I’m especially stressed because I live with my boyfriend’s parents and it’s their house, so I feel awful about her damaging their things.
I’ve tried:
- Shouting/telling her off when I catch her doing it
- Putting her in her crate after she’s done it
- Muzzling her for around 10 minutes after she’s done it
- Giving her lots of toys and things she’s actually allowed to chew
She gets around an hour of walking every day, and she has plenty of bones, toys and Yak chews available to her, but she still chooses to destroy things she shouldn’t.
What I really don’t understand is why this has suddenly started when she never used to do it. Nothing obvious has changed as far as I’m aware.
I know some of the things I’ve tried probably aren’t the best way of dealing with it, but I honestly don’t know what else to do and I’m getting really overwhelmed by it.
Has anyone experienced this with a young Jack Russell? Could this be boredom, adolescence, anxiety, or something else? What actually worked for you?
I’d really appreciate any advice because I’m genuinely struggling with this and don’t want the situation to get any worse. Thank you!