Destructive Behavior, help!

[luvofallhorses]

first of all welcome!

you need to keep them in their crates until they get older when you're not able to watch them. I have been very lucky with my dogs having free roam of the house and they have never destroyed things. crating is a good tool but do NOT punish them when they do things wrong. they don't know what they do wrong. make the crating expierience a positive thing, not a negative thing. put a kong/favorite toy in with them when you leave and they shouldn't want to destroy things if they are occupied in their crates. maybe they do it because they are bored so enroll them into obdience classes or something and keep them active and wear them out.

[Lunalu]

As most advice states, I would keep them in the crate. Even when they get older, they might have days that they feel like tearing up the house. You never know what you can come home too. I have a 13 year old Lhasa and she to this day will chew on the corner of a pillow, clothing(if on the floor), bedding whatever she feels like at that time and day. It is so random with her, I do wish I had just kept her crate that I got rid of at about 3 years of age. I sometimes give her a treat that I think will tire out her jaw and that seems to work for long days gone, that and not letting her into the bedrooms and not leaving pillows on the couch. So you see she has us trained!

The 8 mth old mix we are fostering is for sure using the crate with great success!!

Good luck!