TLDR: Old dog is exhibiting new destructive/anxious behaviors in the last 2 months.
We've had our beagle/pug mix since he was 12 weeks old. He's had a great life with constant companionship from our family and our other dogs that he's outlived. In the last couple of years he's slowed down some, and he's almost completely deaf now so he doesn't bark much anymore.
He's nosy and loves food, but he never had any interest in chewing anything non-food other than tissues (all wastebaskets are hidden from him). We used to crate him and our first rescue dog, but stopped crating when we adopted our second dog who had major anxiety over crates. The second rescue died 2 years ago, and we never went back to crating. No problems ensued.
Until the last couple of months, when our youngest child moved out. Now the dog has to keep my husband in his sight at all times. If he's left alone, he'll pull the placemats off the dining table, unroll the toilet paper and chew on it, grab socks out of the laundry, and yesterday he tore apart the computer paper (which has been in the same place his whole life), ripped up a manual, and gnawed on my eyeglasses case for a while before bringing it to my husband.
I think he's bored and anxious and needs more company. We give him treat puzzles, which are fine for about 90 seconds until he's finished. It's not always feasible to take him for a walk (we have a fenced yard but he's lost interest in being out there since his ears and nose are kind of useless). We've started taking him to daycare (sometimes overnight) a couple of times a week, which he likes and gives us a break, but the next day we are right back where we started.
I don't want to medicate. Getting another dog for companionship is off the table. I think we should bring back the crate for when we leave the house to keep him away from temptation. What else can I do to help an old, deaf, anxious, still hyper alert dog have a happier life?
submitted by /u/megapaxer
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