He's on a mission and noone can stop him.....

KirbysPops

New member
May 14, 2013
4
0
Orange Park, Florida
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Kirby
We adopted Kirby when he was 1 from what had to have been a "mean" family to say the least. He was covered in Georgia clay like he had been outside his whole life and at the sight of food ate it so fast it was unbelievableā€¦hence his name "Kirby" (like the vacuum..lol) He was very skittish and didnā€™t like to be around people, it seemed like his "house" was his only "safe place." For that matter we kept the house he loved just so he would feel more comfortable and brought him home to Florida. My girlfriend and I have had him now for 5 years and in July my baby is turning 6! I can't believe it...he is now tenfold different, he loves people and especially babies (on TV mostly). He has really impressed us with how much he was able to adapt and we now have his trust after much positive reinforcement.

Recently my girlfriend and I have graduated college and started full time jobs.
This has introduced us to a whole new attitude for Kirby. He loves going into his "house" and has never given us problems when its time to go "night night." Now that we aren't at the house during the days I have started to leave him out and "barricade" the kitchen so he can have room to walk around and stretch his legs as well as get a drink or eat. (If he has an accident it'll be on the tile and not in his house) I have my mom come by in the middle of the day to let him outside to play and go potty so we figured it wouldn't be a problem.

The past two days we've came home to a destroyed house of sorts...it seems like his only goal for the day is to break free and do everything he knows he shouldnā€™t. Yesterday, he got out and decided to "perch" himself on all of the pillows for the couch as well as the bed...leaving lovely remnants of you know what.

I would hate for him to be in his house all day, but Iā€™m afraid he might hurt himself with all the madness he causes. I don't want to show him any negative reinforcement because I think he relates that to his life before us and I don't want that at all. Should I continue to leave him out and try some other sort of "barricade" or would it be best if he just stayed in his house until my Mom comes by?

Any personal feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!


~Sorry for the lengthy post, I just wanted to be sure I gave a proper background on him.~
 

Baconator

.........
Apr 12, 2012
2,969
127
Northern NJ
Bulldog(s) Names
Bacon
We had the same issue with Bacon although he is much younger. In the beginning when we left him out he knocked pillows on the floor but wasn't destructive. Then he had about a week where he was a perfect angel, followed by two days of him being a complete terror tearing apart couch cushions. Needless to say he is back in his day pen setup again. We found as long as he was tired he wasn't that destructive, but after a few days and plenty of catch up sleep he would cause problems. Sorry for not being too much help at all. Are you leaving toys our for Kirby to play with while you are gone?
 
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KirbysPops

KirbysPops

New member
May 14, 2013
4
0
Orange Park, Florida
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Kirby
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
Thanks for the quick response!....yes I usually leave his favorite toys out but he doesn't seem to play with them until we get home and he gets really excited. I've put up a "nanny cam" to see what is actually happening when we're gone and he waits until the garage door has closed and then the game is on. I have watched him escape and try to reinforce those weak points, but he always seems to find something that he can move with his big ol head :excited:
 

dalmatina38

The Stripe Wearing, Broom Wielding, Voodoo Prieste
Community Veteran
Jul 13, 2012
1,145
66
Sierra Vista Arizona
Bulldog(s) Names
Amber and Ruby
Lol; Kirby sounds like a hoot. Amber can be destructive at times. We give her free roam of the front side of the house and on occassion come home to something torn up. We have a kennel and put her back in the kennel for sometime and then let her out for a few days to see if anything is destroyed. Knock on wood, so far she has been out for almost a month and has been an angel but we are always on guard to have to put her back in the kennel until we get home. She made it for a few months at first but got board one day and destroyed her bed so back in the kennel she went. I think she is getting the hang of it, anyway we can only hope. Good luck but I recommend keeping the kennel close by.
 

rksuski

New member
Jul 2, 2012
62
2
Madison, Wi
Bulldog(s) Names
Guinness
We were so happy when I came across a grate pen for Guinness at a garage sale. After getting it set up & patting ourself on the back for a great hang out during the day we quickly determined that his palace was too big...we made his prison smaller which seems a bit better. We have learned to only leave his crate (no soft comfy beds....6 are in various states of ruin), a few toys which have withstood the test of time and his deer antler. Opposite days he gets his treat ball..which gets gobbled end up the second we leave and his kong which is stuffed with frozen peanut butter. He gets a little freedom these days maybe 2 hours when we know he'll sleep. We also do daycare once a week which he takes a day or two to recover from. If you look closely in the back ground you can see my hubby is never one to waste...those are my boys old hockey shin guards...strong plastic on the outside to discourage further chewing of the trim, the wall, the outlets...
 

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Davidh

Head Pooper Scooper
Staff member
Mar 21, 2011
13,407
848
Katy, Texas
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri, & Katie
He is getting bored, and wants something to do. We crate ours during the day when we are gone and feel this is the safest place for them. They do fine in there and we keep water in there for them. The girls we use the water bottles that hang on the side of the crates and that works pretty well for them. Buddy, we leave a bowl of water for him, because he will not spill it.
 

bluesteelapd

New member
May 1, 2010
1,316
56
New Jersey
Bulldog(s) Names
Mona Lisa and Leonardo
I have to agree with [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] - Kirby is either bored or has anxiety that ya'll are gone. There could be noises he's reacting to thinking that he has to protect his world. I don't crate Mona at home but when we travel I do crate her in the hotel room. The crate is her safe place. She is safe in the crate and the hotel room is safe from her. It might seem cruel but I'm telling you, I really think it's the best think you can do for Kirby.

Good Luck, keep us posted. I love your avatar picture
 

Walter323

Member
Jun 11, 2012
68
9
Minnesota
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Gus
We had the same problems with Walter. I felt bad for putting him in his crate so we gated off a room. After multiple tv remotes and cables were chewed through Walter went back to his pen (a fenced in area a little bigger than a crate). He did fine in there but I still felt bad and he had ALOT of energy at night. We then decided to use on the the spare bedrooms for Walter's own room. We put and old day bed in there with some steps so he can get up and look out the window and mounted a tv and put Animal Planet on for him each day.
Walter loves his new room. He goes in there if he needs a nap or wants to hang out and look out the window, and he's not so much of a terror at night now that he is awake more during the day looking out the window or watching TV.
IMG_20130424_102451_906.jpg2013-02-01_07-25-51_378.jpg
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
A good pup is a tired pup. Take the boy for a walk before you leave him and Provide a "project" when you leave (frozen kong with peanut butter is a good one). I agree with David....he just sounds bored. When you leave, don't make a production out of it. You will be back. Just leave. Sometimes all that "bye bye" stuff makes dogs anxious.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
You received some good advice from the others.... I have been VERY lucky with all ours, no damage done for the most part and they always had free roam of the hosue once potty trained.
 
OP
KirbysPops

KirbysPops

New member
May 14, 2013
4
0
Orange Park, Florida
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Kirby
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #11
Thank you everyone for the awesome advice! I will try a few new things everyone suggested and let you know how it goes!

@dalmatina38 - Thanks for the suggestions I really like that idea, I will be trying it.

@rksuski - I envy your setup! Kirby would love that, I am going to try to find a fencing/cage similar to that I believe he'd get into a whole lot less trouble.

@Davidh / @bluesteelapd - I never thought about just the simple fact of boredom taking over, I know a few times i've caused a destruction when boredom was the culprit.:) I'm going to break out the kong and freeze some pb and see if he loosens up a little bit....he sleeps all day long and won't move a muscle...until he's alone and rules his domain lol. As of now he's back in his house for the daytime because like you said @bluesteelapd, I think its the safest alternative, but we shall see how his behavior changes with the new changes.

@Walter323 - I can tell we are the same when it comes to our babies, I would love to make him up his own room (all kids need their own room :) ) but unfortunately the space I'm working with isn't too big so his setup is usually the kitchen because of the tile... Walter has it made, I love it!! (I thought I was the only one that turned on animal planet when I left..lol :excited:)

@Vicaroo1000 - He definately needs a project!...I'll try out his Kong and see how it goes!



thanks again everyone, i'm very glad I came across this forum, awesome insight!
 

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