Disciplining your dog when you return to find your home has been ravaged will probably only make your dog feel bad about one thing: you coming home.
A few tactics to deter destructive behavior:
- Limit access to the future your dog may want to chew. You can do this with a baby gate, pen or crate if your dog is comfortable in a crate.
- Give your dog their dinner/snack in a work to eat bowl when you leave. This will help occupy their mouth and brain, and help your dog associate your departure with good things like food.
- Also make sure that there are lots of appropriate things for your dog to chew when you’re out, and that inappropriate chewable things aren’t accessible.
Furthermore, your dog may have to learn to be alone. How long can your dog be alone without freaking out? Figure that out and then try not leaving them longer than that for two weeks. If, after two weeks of daily practice, you can leave them for that amount of time without them stressing out, you can try increasing the amount of time by five or ten percent. It can help to see if friends or family or neighbors can sit with them when you have to go out for longer periods. The goal should be to set your dog up for success when you leave.