Help! Ok this may be a bit of a long one. So, I'm a primary teacher who has been off for 7 weeks. I have made a real effort to leave Barney alone for at least 2 hours every day so that he doesn't get used to a full time mummy. He is 10 months. For the last 2 months he has been left during the day and at night with his crate door open and has NEVER chewed anything. We have left little temptations for him but he has never been interested. We were so pleased! I went to work last week and he was a bit unwell, being sick a lot over the weekend and the first few days back at work, but still didn't chew anything (except grass outside and his meals). He was a bit moochy but he had cut his foot so couldn't get long country walks as usual. The vet gave us 3 different kinds of pills for his tummy and his cut. Anyway, OH came back from work on Friday lunchtime to a complete pile of shredded lino. He hadn't even peeled it up from the corner, just gnawed at it from the middle until he made a hole, then worked outwards!!! He ahs never done anyhing like this before and now he is back in his crate with the door shut, which I hate now that he is bigger. This week he is feeling much better and is back to his regular walking heaven, so he gets a good long beach walk before I go to work in the morning, a wee one at lunchtime and a super one in the evening.
What I want to know is do you think he was chewing the lino because he was upset at being left, bored, or just because he was 'out of sorts'? He does have lots of toys to keep him busy and has never done it before. I need some reassurance that he is not going to develop the dreaded separation anxiety!
