My dog is destroying my screens! Help!

[DixyDoodle]

Arghhhhh! Once again, my black lab has destroyed a window screen! What is it with her lately? Within the last month, she has gored four screens, two of which have a good three inch gap in them. If I didn't love her so much, she would be at the shelter right now!

Last night, I had to go into the field to bring in my mini who for whatever reason wanted to poke around instead of coming into the paddock. I had to call her and immediately, my lab was at the screen barking. Next thing I know, she is scratching at the screen (imagine a terrier digging up a gopher? Yeah, that frantic type of digging). I could do nothing but holler at her, since I was in the middle of the field with a horse in hand. I kept walking and got outta sight but by then, the damage had been done.

Getting rid of her is not an option. I love her dearly. I am hoping that I don't have to crate her every single time I go outside. But it's getting to the point that I can't have a repairman in the yard or play outside with the kids, that she is not either scratching a screen or demolishing a blind.

I guess she must have some insecurity issues or something. Am I asking too much that she behave indoors without being crated? What other methods can I use to get her to stop?

I would love to be able to leave her loose in the house (HA! Not likely to ever happen), and here's the problem: to correct her, I must be in the house; however, she only does it when I am not. My niece suggested the 'zapper'. She used it on her sheltie, who would not stop barking. After two corrections, she stopped barking. She said, perhaps the remote-controlled one, that they use for hunting dogs? Not sure I want to go that route, though, but then again, if the alternative is to send her to the shelter (and who would buy a destructive dog)......?

I heard that there are things called window guards (to protect children from falling out of windows). Would they work to keep her off? Not even sure what they look like, are they ugly? I was also referred to anti-scratch screens for dogs which apparently cost a lot, but IF they work.....

HELP!

DD

[kitaye]

My dog freaked when we went to work and ended up going out the second story window. We tried closing the windows but he damaged the frame and glass. In the end we had to get a radio fence and put it around all the windows to keep him away from them. It was expensive but less so than broken windows, screens, and trips to the vet.

[NCGirl]

I am a believer in crates. Pop them in one when you have a time when problem behavior happens, let them out afterwards. We have 4 housedogs and 4 crates in the house. Our dogs love thier crates, we leave the doors open all the time and often a dog will go get into their crate when they want some "quiet time" It's their own personal space.

[Tracy]

Home Depot sells window gaurds. Having 4 large dogs we had to put them on our screens. Not that the dogs were being malicious but these are Great Danes and just looking out the window and leaning on the sreens would ruin them. The window guards work.

[mary,tx]

We trained our dog with a squirt bottle of water. Whenever she jumped up, she got squirted in the face, timed of course, with a stern 'no'. Obviously you can't do that from across the field, but you know she's going to scratch, so be waiting for her to do it a few times.

Until she learns, the crate is not a bad idea.

My dad at one point actually made chickenwire frames to put over screens to protect them. (I think it was from grandkids. lol.)

mary

[Windy_jem]

We turned our screen doors insert upside down. Take the screen/glass insert part out and flip it over so the glass is on the bottom and the screen is on the top. If she breaks the glass, just replace it with plexiglass and it will be ok for years! If my Rottweilers haven't broken it, your Lab won't either!
Good luck!

[Slev]

...I thought those screen guards only attached to the outside of the window? I guess if they go on the inside, make sure your window can remain in working order.

I like crates as well. My wife refused to crate our first Border Collie, she ruined everything in our home, as soon as we crated her, PROPERLY we hd no problems. Don't just toss the dog in whenever you don't want to mess with it.

squirt gun trick sounds like it should work.

[WisJim]

Years ago I worked in a lumber yard/hardware store and we did window and screen repairs. Dogs and screens was a frequent problem (actually, a good source of income for a screen repair business). One solution was to use stainless steel screen on the screen door, but since stainless steel screen is hard to find, expensive, and hard to work with, you would need to start with a very sturdy screen door that could have the screen nailed or stapled in place, so that probably means a wood door (stainless screen is too stiff, in my experience, to roll into the groove on an aluminum door, where the screen is held in by a rubber spline). Then the problem might be that the dog would destroy the rest of the door.

[MorrisonCorner]

If the dog has seperation anxiety it could well tear a crate apart. If a golden retriever can, I imagine a lab, which is a more powerful dog, could too. How old it this dog?

[Pony]

You ask, "What is it with her lately?" -- which makes me wonder, what's happened lately? Has there been a change in the family? Does it only happen when you go out to the field?

Has she gone out with you before? Is there a reason she does not go now?

I believe that a crate trained pet is a happy pet, but the training has to be consistent and apart from the inappropriate behavior. Just popping the dog in the crate when she's out of line is not going to work. Proper crate training gives the dog a sense of security; the crate is "home" to her, and she is happy to be there.

You might ask about this over on the Pet Forum.

In the meantime, I switched out my screens from bottom to top as well, like Windy Jem did. Buster wasn't frantic, he just likes to lean in and bark REAL LOUD at passers-by. Goofy dog!

Pony!

[tiffnzacsmom]

My lab was like that when we first moved to my new place so between her and my shephard mix who thinks the world is a giant chew toy they are kennelled whenever I have to leave the yard area. In my case though, she went out a window because there were strange people in the yard and house.

[SteveD(TX)]

Yes, our dog destroyed our downstairs window screens. But the birds are destroying our upstairs window screens. They are stealing the material to build nests with. Grrrrrrrr......

[Maura]

Is there some reason that you can't let the dog outside? Labs are known for requiring a lot of exercise and they often become destructive if they aren't given it. I'm sure you can teach her to heel beside you while you attend to business around the farm. If the horses are afraid of her, she can be taught to go to a specific area where she won't bother them.

[Peacock]

My sympathies - my lab mix has destroyed every screen in our solarium and is working on the one looking into our family room too. He's also scratching up the wooden french doors in the back and has almost figured out how to turn the handle and let himself in. I'm not kidding.

I've found that if he can't see in or out, he won't scratch -- I have to keep the blind closed on the family room window.

I agree with the crate. If he can't behave in the house when you're not there, into the crate he goes. If it's not the screens, it might be your couch, your rugs, the kids' toys...mine can be super destructive, even though he's a sweetheart and we love him to bits.

I'm not sure I'd bother with the "shocker" - I've heard from other dog owners that Labs don't seem to mind being zapped as much as other breeds, so things like shock collars and invisible fences don't work with them. I can vouch for the uselessness of the invisible fence for the black Lab down the street in our old neighborhood; we brought her home at least a dozen times till her owner figured out the zap-thingy didn't bug her.

[Little Quacker in OR]

I think you are dealing with a complicated problem here and it's something that the dog just can't handle emotionally on it's own. I would like to see you get to the bottom of the behavior and then find a way to correct it.

Many times a whole lot of "work" together with you will help...structured work like obedience classes, working on field training, water retrieving etc. These things use up a lot of frustrated energy in the dog and make time for you to spend quality time with the dog too. During these times you are enforcing the "terms" you use with the dog and then in many cases this will translate to the dog being more self assured and it will get over the fright, frustration or whatever it is that brings this behavior on.

Do you have a second person who can help with this? That makes things much easier if so. you can set up scenarios where you go do what triggers this behavior and the second person can deal with the dog. Giving treats, reassurance, going through obedience routines..anythng to distract the dog and change the way it looks at what is going on.

I don't believe anyone has to go through any kind of distruction by a dog like this. It just takes some thought and action to figure out what is going on. Many people find it worth the trouble to get professional help with this and they find all at once they have a new dog! LOL

Good luck with things...LQ

[DixyDoodle]

Some good tips, thank you!

I suppose I should clarify: my dog IS crated already. She has been since she was a puppy (she is 2 now). We crate her when we go out---as in out to go to town or whatever. It is the metal kind, so she can't destroy it---she does however tend to shred her blankets in there! Generally we leave our dogs loose in the house when we are just in the yard. Obviously this will have to stop in her case! My other dog is a border collie.

No, she has always had a bit of an anxiety problem, it's not just now. It just seems she is more destructive than usual lately!

I don't have a second person inside to help out when I am outdoors. Dh works long hours so it's me or nobody.

My dog does go out with me sometimes but she does tend to get underfoot or tease the horses into running, so it's easier just to keep her out of the way sometimes. Bringing the horses in at night is NOT a good time to have her running around!

The window company says they sell "dog proof" screening. It is guaranteed not to rip or tear from a dog's scratching. It costs $1.99 a square foot which I consider a bargain if the alternative is replacing regular screens on a frequent basis.

I will also check into those window guards at our Home Depot and see what they look like, and then make my decision.

Thanks again!

DD

Reminds me of my Black Lab..Max..he just couldn't tolerate being "in" when we were "out"..anyway, problem was solved when we purchased screens especially made for slightly neurotic dogs..
heavy-duty things..you can have a look at them at:
www.petscreen.com

we also put them on the bottom half of our screened in porch, along with inside lattice work..Max had difficulty seeing that screens were there at all. No more torn screens..just a few hummingbirds getting stuck now and again and needing a gentle push backwards.

[Rowenna7]

My problem is the exact opposite. I have a fenced yard, so I let the dogs out to run for a while on and off each day. When they decide they are ready to come in, our Saint Bernard bangs on our back door with his paw. We had a brand new door put on last fall...first the screen shredded, now the screen is GONE and the door itself looks like its about 20 years old with all the dings and dents and scratches. DH is not amused.... *LOL*

[Windy in Kansas]

What type of screening do you have? Nylon, wire, stainless wire????? The latter two are more costly but should hold off a pawing dog while nylon screening would yield to tears. Perhaps just put a layer of hail screen (1/4 inch grid) on top of the regular screen material.

[DixyDoodle]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

What type of screening do you have? Nylon, wire, stainless wire????? The latter two are more costly but should hold off a pawing dog

Riiiiight! LOL We have stainless. I thought it would repel her too---several window screens that were nylon were replaced with wire; guess we bought it for nothing!

The lady at the window place said this dog-proof stuff is guaranteed not to rip or tear from digging. She said you can poke pencils, etc through it and it will reform its shape in seconds, but it is resilient enough to keep bugs from coming through it. I will be checking it out on Friday. Maybe I should bring my lab for a test run? LOL

What is it with black labs anyhow? Sure, other dogs are destructive, but the black labs seem to be extra naughty? I used to help out at a shelter, I should have known better, it was almost always the black labs that were left there because of damage issues. Hmmmmm????

What mine has done so far: stolen food off the counter, stolen and chewed up socks (still does), ate up a curtain, shredded a floor mat, scratched screens, pulled the stuffing out of a corner of our old bed's boxspring, chewed numerous toys, crushed a few marbles (!), and of course, broken an uncountable number of vinyl window blinds (this usually to get at the cat that teases her from behind them).

In comparison, what has my energetic border collie destroyed in the house? Zilch.

DD