[PyrNet-L] Destructive chewing

[LynmaloneB@aol.com]

Hello all-
I could use your advice. Bridger is a wonderful 10 month old male Pyr. He's
done well in obedience training, he's the star of his Good Manners class, he
is outgoing and friendly to everyone he meets, and he is totally non-
aggressive towards dogs or other animals. (He's afraid of cats and play bows
to my cockatiel!). I sometimes refer to him as Baby Huey.....he was 100 lb. at
9 months. He was neutered at four months. 

Here's the problem. It's probably been coming on gradually, but in the last
two weeks it has really come to a head. Recently he has destroyed two shirts,
a sweater (a favorite, of course), a towel, at least one pencil, and a glove.
One time I even caught him with a plastic bottle of prescription pain killers
which he was in the process of splintering. I've saved many more articles than
that just because I've had to start watching him like a hawk. He takes these
items from tabletops, from the hamper, from a drawer left ajar, from a desk,
you name it. Sometimes he walks into a room and searches for something he can
take....like he's cruising. At other times he races into a room and grabs the
first thing available. There are times, though, when he's the picture of
decorum and doesn't take anything at all. When he was younger he did all the
normal puppy chewing, but between his crate, baby gates, and supervision, he
never did anything really terrible. Between six and nine months he pretty much
stopped chewing - he'd do the cute steal-the-socks-from-the-hamper routine
that you all describe so well, but I interpreted that as attention-getting
behavior rather than chewing. Next month my husband and I will be out of town
for five or six days. I had arranged for a house sitter, but now I've got
serious doubts about that. I don't think it's fair to her (the sitter) to
leave her with Bridger while is in this mode. He could do something really
destructive and she'd feel responsible. I don't want to do it, but I'm
thinking I'll have to board him while we're away. 

Is this just adolescence? I'd love to hear your experiences with similar
situations and welcome any suggestions. Thanks.

Lyn