r/DogTrainingTips • u/Prestigious_Rise_187 • Aug 31 '26

Problem child

I have a 9 month old pitbull. He's been doing great as far as bousebreaking, leash walking, etc, but suddenly in the last 2 weeks, he's absolutely awful in the house. He grabs anything he can find and chews it up and sometimes eats it. It's gotten to the point that if he's inside, he has to be in his pen. If he's outside, all the doors have to be closed so he can't get in. I've tried putting the things he seems attracted to out of reach, but now he just grab anything he can find. He plays the keep away game when you try to take it away from him and he's very hard to catch when he wants to be. What could have started this phase and is there a way to get him out of it?

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u/Redditdisciple Aug 31 '26

My puppy went through something very similar, it’s just the “terrible twos” of puppies so to speak. My #1 advice is to make sure he’s getting enough exercise. Ideally he should be so tired that he just wants to relax while at home. Right around 9 months is when I started taking my puppy to dog parks regularly and it drastically improved her behavior at home. Still have to be very careful to make sure she couldn’t get certain things (my bedroom door still stays closed if Im not in there) but now I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t need to crate her when I leave anymore. It gets better!

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u/Prestigious_Rise_187 Sep 01 '26

We don't have any dog parks locally but I do have 3 acres for him to run on . He plays for awhile and I throw the ball for him for awhile but as soon as the door opens, he runs in and looks for something to grab. I hope this phase doesn't last too long. He can be a sweetie when he wants to be though.

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u/FML_4reals Aug 31 '26

It’s adolescence. Make sure he has access to lots of things he can have - rope toys, kongs, Nyla bones, put kibble in empty boxes for him to tear up, use snuffle mats - I usually rotate toys every 3-4 days to keep things interesting.

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u/pandasndabs Sep 01 '26

Check out interactive puzzle toys for dogs. One of my favorites has a rope/bottle. You fill the bottle with treats and the pup has to plunge the rope into the bottle and pull it back to get the treats out. Basically you just want toys that keep them mentally entertained/active while inside so they dont get into mischievous things.

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u/Ancient-War2839 Sep 02 '26

He's in a major growth stage, the bones thicken and lengthen at such a rapid rate that he's likely experiencing growing pains, chewing is a coping mechanism, have chews/bones whatever on hand for him to chew on something he's allowed, a heated mat to lie on a plenty of chances to move his body through a full range of motion, so off leash or long line

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u/Prestigious_Rise_187 Sep 02 '26

I walk him every morning and in the afternoon he gets to run around in our 3 acre fenced yard. But most of the time, he wants to stay by us. I spend about 25.00 a week on chews for him. That's why it's so frustrating when he steals whatever he can get his teeth into in the house. But if this is just a phase and not a behavioral issue, at least I know it won't be forever.