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Old dog acting out with new baby
Our 11 year old Australian Shepherd has been a pain in the butt lately. Our daughter was born in September and we made sure to keep the dog active and involved. He is fine around the baby and was fine while I was home, but now that I am back to work, he is getting into everything.
He is not a penned dog and I don't really want to pen him now, I think that would be cruel. So we decided to keep him in the finished basement, far away from the kitchen and the garbage can! He has broken 2 baby gates trying to get over or through them. Destroyed our kitchen cabinets trying to get to the garbage, broken 3 different types of baby locks (that were used to keep the cabinet holding the garbage closed), and scratched the bathroom door to high holy hell (where we put the can after he destroyed the cabinet.)
So what do I do? He still gets plenty of exercise during the day, attention from us when we are home, and generally seems happy. Would a toy that takes a while to get the treat out keep him entertained long enough? Any other suggestions to keep him in my basement and occupied enough to stay away from my garbage can.
ETA - he goes after the can even when it is empty, just to check. This is all new in the last 2 months since going back to work.
Re: Old dog acting out with new baby
Have you seen my monkey?
Thanks. I just assumed it was cruel since he was so old. I wouldn't have any problem with it if he were young.
I didn't think of anxiety. Thank you both.
Ditto the anxiety - that sounds like a strong possibility. I do think something to keep him busy while you're gone could help - maybe a frozen, stuffed Kong or similar? If you don't already provide mental stimulation in addition to physical exercise, I would add some to his routine - tricks, training, games, puzzle toys, etc. are all great options.
Also, on the crate issue, as long as you introduce the crate properly (gradually, making it a safe, happy place), I don't think the age of the dog matters. I crate trained my second dog who was 4-years-old when I adopted him (granted, that's nowhere near a senior) even though he had never been crate trained before. He was perfectly happy in his crate and eventually earned his freedom once I knew I could trust him not to be destructive or potty in the house. GL!