He's lucky I still love him after this. We had movers here that were bringing in our boxes so we had to lock him in my bedroom. This door was original to the house. I had planned to strip the paint off of the wood of the door and frame. Not so much anymore.
Edit: just to be clear this dog isn't mine. Mine is about 20 pounds and is totally crate trained.
Some of y'all really are assholes for no reason and nosey AF. My living situation is none of your business so stop asking.
The dog is 15 years old and belongs to my mother.
He's terrified of crates and has been since he was a puppy. He had one for years and refused to ever go inside of it. The only crate he was ever willing to go inside of was my old dogs crate (75lb doberman mix) while she was inside of it.
I don't actually blame him for ruining my door, that and me calling him a monster was the fucking joke.
He still spends half the day laying in my bed and yes I am working on training him. My mom seems convinced that because of his age there's no point in 'trying to change who he is' as she put it.
There's no lead in the paint. Flippers painted every bit of original wood about 10 years ago with this bright white latex paint. We do have lead in our floors and walls but not the doors, doorframes or window frames. Also I will be repairing this door, it's not getting thrown out over what I would call minor damage.
The dog has seen the vet since this incident and has been confirmed to be fine. We were more worried about possible impaction than actual lead since this is latex paint.
The moment I opened this door he bolted out into the neighborhood and chased several wild/feral animals for damn near a half hour. I managed to catch him and get him back in the house. The photo of him was taken right after he was back inside safe and sound. He's a good dog 98% of the time, he just doesn't like having barriers between him and people who could be giving him love.
My dog actually did the same thing to our door in our old house. Don’t throw that door out! It’s real wood. Use wood filler paste to fill up the gouges and deep scratches, and then sand it down smooth. It’s absolutely repairable, you’re not dealing with particle board.
She planned to strip it. Wood filler is great if youre going to repaint, but it will show with that much damage. It is still worth it if you don't care if it looks really nice.
To be perfectly honest, OP is not going to have really nice things with a dog that cause this kinda damage in such a short time. One of the sacrifices of having certain animals and no crating.
My only issue is that he's not my dog and he's never had proper training. I've been working with him for months now and he's doing 'better' but I still worry about him doing this again.
Everyone in the comments is being kinda snooty so I hope you see this comment: there's anti-scratch plastic sheets that you can use on the lower portion of the door while the elder dog is still with you (in whatever capacity that is). They come in different thicknesses, I'd recommend a thick one for sure. It should help prevent further gouging and will at least preserve the surface til you're ready to restore.
The snootiness wouldn't be an issue if these people weren't bullying me into sharing my personal life situation, it's an embarrassing situation to be trapped in without randoms on the internet making it worse.
Thank you so much for this. I didn't realize that was a thing. I may end up painting the door and doing that while he's still with us and then try to actually strip all the paint off after hes gone. He likely only has a year or two left with us.
If you want nice things such as door frames, doors, baseboards, and legs of furniture in tact, you are going to have to crate the dog when it's left alone.
That is some nasty and severe separation anxiety or pent up energy that dog displayed on the door. Imagine what would happen to the house if you left for an afternoon.
He's fine when he's 'alone' (he's always with my dog) as long as he's not locked in a single bedroom. Plus a huge part of it was he could hear people but couldn't get to them. We've left for many afternoons and come back to zero damage.
I had a dog that was the same way. He would dig at the carpet at the base of the door. Was very anxious being left in a room, but would chill in the house by himself. Only happened once and I never tested him again.
I had a dog that was the same way. He would dig at the carpet at the base of the door. Was very anxious being left in a room, but would chill in the house by himself. Only happened once and I never tested him again.
Get a crate for the dog and crate train it. It gives them their own space to be in and it works wonders on their anxiety. Never put them in the crate as a means of discipline because then it turns into a bad place. Put toys in there, some water, and a comfy blanket to sleep on.
So you share a home with a dog, also being affected by its lack of training, yet you have no rights or say over its raising? That's a breakup or rehoming waiting to happen
Ngl idk how to feel with “why is it allowed in your home if it isn’t properly trained” a lot of people have animals but don’t focus hardcore on training. Some behaviors are extremely hard to work with especially anxiety where you have to pay a lot of money to see a professional behaviorist not just a trainer. Not saying to not train your dog but “allowed in the house?” Is the dog not allowed to have a home?
I would be - but if you've been working with him for months, this shouldn't be happening. Let's be realistic, if this isn't your dog but you are training it, then he should be getting to a point where he is properly trained to deal with stressors. That includes visitors or movers. This dog, in your care, was under so much duress that he felt it was absolutely necessary to do this. Probably, because its a new home, he's in unfamiliar territory, and feels very insecure. He likely was either trying to get to the movers, or protect you: becuase new people, new smells, new environment, are all major stressors on a untrained dog. So they do this. He was that stressed. Now you know that you probably need to crate train/room train this dog, and help identify his stressors so this doesn't happen again. Poor pup was so scared he tried tearing off the damn door.
Unhinge the door, get some wood filler, and then sand it all flush, then repaint. Then get the dog trained properly to handle his stressors and build up his confidence.
This happened when we first moved in months ago. I have been working with him since moving in because I didn't used to live with him. He was trying to get to the movers for love. He's just a huge baby who doesn't like being separated from any people he can see or hear. We have no need to ever lock him away again. The only reason we did was because the front and side door had to be wide open for the movers. He doesn't even have a crate because 13 years ago when he was 2 years old you couldn't convince him to get in a crate if his life depended on it. Crates are meant to be their safe spaces so it made zero sense to keep a crate for a dog that doesn't feel safe in a crate. Plus the fact that he literally isn't my dog so I don't make decisions about his care.
Arguably, if the dog is being trained by you, lives in your home, then yes. You can and should be making decisions about his care. It sounds like he has been in your care for a considerable amount of time. I would have had him on a leash, in view, so he could still see the movers and be a part of things. I am guessing this was a one off for him either way. So you didn't think he would do this. As far as the crate, it could be you may need to retry, but instead, create more of a "cozy hole" for him.
Perhaps you could put up a gate or get a play pen for dogs so he can't access the door when he's alone. Instead of putting him in a room you can put him in the play pen and if he bites or scratches at the material it's not a big deal. It might also be less stressful for him because he can see through it and won't feel as separated from the family
Like staining to show the grain? You can still do that, and being it's not a focal point, nobody would really notice. Adds character and a little tribute to the dog
Don't fret, I'm not throwing out the door. I'll fill it and paint it instead of stripping all the paint off. I just love the look of the old growth fir that this place is built out of.
I would stick with your original plan of striping and staining. It's at the bottom and I doubt most people would even notice it - especially since it's on the inside of the door and I'm guessing the door will be open most of the time. Think of it as adding your own "history" to the house.
I might honestly try doing that first, thank you for the suggestion. Strip the entire door and see how it looks before committing to repainting it or not. You're right though, most of the time my door is wide open. My mom's dog has made a habit of kicking my door open every morning to join me in my bed. He basically punches the door with his front paw, which would be funny if it wasn't so annoying. The house settled and now my door doesn't even latch so it just swings right open 😭
I missed the part where it was your bedroom. It's not even like it's a guest room or an office where other people would be going in and out. Only you will see the damage and I bet the front of the door will look beautiful stripped and stained! However, if the dog regularly punches the door open - you may consider putting some temporary plexiglass or something on the bottom half to protect the door from the dog. Good luck! Would love to see an "after" pic one day!
Oh yeah that's the inside of my bedroom door unfortunately. Kinda wish it had been my mom's room since it is her dog. I know how to fix the door not latching but I don't want to until he's gone because of the punching. Thankfully since the door just opens when he does that there isn't any damage so far.
The door repair and painting my bedroom are next on my list. We just replaced the rotten wood in the garage so I finally have time to actually do that. I'll try to remember to share an after once it's done.
You could if you can find out the wood type, trim and find another piece cut to reattach at the bottom and match the grain, a lot of work but its literally only doable cause its a solid door and it'll make it look like it never happened
How artistic are you? You could strip the door - put in wood filler and faux paint the grain- that’s what a talented friend did for me in an wood trim area that was damaged in my Victorian
Lead paint tastes sweet, usage peaked in 1922. Should check your walls to make sure they don't contain any. There's a chance that if the house is from 1915 & wasn't stripped of it (just painted over with a protective layer) - the layers underneath contain lead.
Yeah I'm having to lead test all my floors even though they aren't painted at all. Just because there's only one layer of paint doesn't mean there wasn't lead.
FYI, as someone in a house as old, that door is still very much restorable. Wood filler/wood epoxy exists and works well for such repairs. It takes a bit of work and sanding, but it’s worth it. I’ve done a lot of putting-things-back-together around here.
We had one of those dogs at our first house. She taught me some of my first lessons in century home woodworking and painting. Luckily it was newer woodwork of an add-on. It really does look completely fixable, you might even consider splicing in matched wood. Or not depending on how much other work you have to do! The dog looks so sweet in the rainbow dog bed photo. I'm encouraged to see so many people who know it's not the dog's fault.
This is why you should always crate train your dog and have a collapsable crate that can be set up. It creates a safe space for them and your property.
Crate training helped all of our dogs substantially. The reduction in separation anxiety alone was well worth it. Now they have their own spaces they’ll just go in and chill whenever they want. We only close when needed.
Yeah crate training my parents' two Dobermen was vital. They are really good boys, but sometimes you do need to have the 80lbs of excitable muscle to go chill somewhere out of the way.
They genuinely enjoy their crates too, they'll drag their blankets in and out of them depending on where they want to nap, but generally they do enjoy the cozy space they have and they see it not as a place of punishment, but a place to relax... and hide the toy they don't want their brother having at the moment.
Our dogs are crate trained too. They go in at nighttime and when we leave them alone, or if we have small children at the house (they’re not aggressive, but they’re also 80lbs+ and sometimes I don’t think neither they themselves nor small children understand how big they really are).
Our female just goes in there to nap during the day, she loves her crate. My boy likes to carry around his blankie from place to place as well, he drags it out, plops down on it and passes out for his naps.
Their crates should be their safe space— it’s where they go chill out if they’re anxious or scared during fireworks shows. That’s their bed. It’s not a punishment for them.
It took my pup a while before he was safe but he had HORRIBLE anxiety prior due to abuse from past owners. Id put him in his crate to leave and he would just scream, like literally scream. Now when we leave they both put themselves in the kennel even if we're home and they're just annoyed
Mine is a rescue that was abandoned by a backyard breeder. He seems to have spent the majority of his time in a crate. He will scream like a banshee if he’s put in a crate, and yes, we’ve tried all the ways.
ETA: Only on Reddit would I be downvoted for sharing my experience with a traumatized rescue dog
It’s much too easy for humans to end up using the crate as a jail for dogs, believing they can just forget about the dog and not worry about any doggie messes because they’ll all happen in the dog jail. All mobile living beings have a natural tendency for freedom. A crate used to create coziness for dogs sometimes should never be used as a jail for dogs; it’s inhumane and evil.
Totally agree. Thankfully mine is basically a perfect angel in the house so we don’t have to worry about the crate. We tried it for sleeping when he first got here but he immediately said NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO! NO! NONONO! Lol
I follow a dog trainer that says she'll take her toughest clients to a vet for meds, when she believes that the training itself won't be enough. This is for very anxious dogs, though, since she is really good in training dogs with all kinds of background.
But a severely traumatized dog certainly might fit the "extra difficult" category.
Either way, I'm sure you do your best to make your dog feel safe.
Thank you for the suggestion! Thankfully we don’t need the crate, he’s basically a perfect angel in the house and will just sleep on the couch when we leave.
My rescue hated the crate. I started feeding meals in the crate. He loves it now. He runs into the crate for breakfast and dinner, and chills in there during the day. No battle at bedtime he goes straight in there. Maybe you can try doing meals in the crate.
You know, that is one thing we didn’t try. Fortunately we don’t need the crate as Bob is pretty much a perfect angel with the run of the house but I’ll keep this in mind for the future! Thank you for sharing!
We tried crate training our dog when he was a brand new puppy with no trauma to speak of. He still screamed like a banshee. No matter how cozy the bed or plentiful the treats, if that door closed, he lost his shit. Not every technique is a good fit for every dog.
He's had his full run of the house his whole life and it's never been a problem unless someone leaves a door ajar and he traps himself in a bathroom (the inside of my son's bathroom door looks a lot like the OP's above except it's a hollow core piece of crap) because he got trapped in there and freaked out. Also pooped everywhere when that happened.
But he has zero separation anxiety, lots of cozy safe spots in the house (beds in every room practically AND he's the king of the couch). He doesn't run away if the door is left open, etc. You just have to find what works for your dog and as long as everyone is safe and happy, you're doing great.
I got a rescue from the humane society a month ago. I'm in the unique position of knowing the now young adult who was a teenager in the home with this dog for the first couple years of her life, both were being abused by the male parent. As a result I know the details of my sweet girl's abuse, she was among other things locked in a crate for a week with no food and left to sit in her own feces.
Yeah, we're not even attempting to crate. Fortunately, she's shown no destructive behaviors but even if she had I wouldn't consider crating a real option for her.
Its also great for house training. Last two dogs I had that I crate trained had maybe 4-5 accidents between them as pups, though one of them had trouble in her senior years due to health.
In retrospect, bringing an untrained dog to a new place, and having them there for the move-in with all the accompanying commotion, in addition to closing them in a room wasn't the brightest idea ever.
I never believed in crate training until I actually got a dog. Had a room set up for her and she tore holes in the wall and destroyed what she could get. The crate has been a lifesaver and she chooses to go in it and sleep even with the door open.
Not all dogs can be crate trained. Not everyone gets a dog as an 8 week old puppy with no previous trauma. My neighbors got a dog at about 8 months who’d already had surgery after a rescue for being hit by a car. He will bite the crates and scratch until he weakens them enough to break out. It doesn’t matter if it’s plastic or wire, he cannot be in it alone.
This! Your pup has separation anxiety and is going to feel safest in a crate. I can't believe how many people think it's cruel and simply refuse to give the animal what they really need.
Unfortunately he doesn't feel safe in a crate. My mom tried to buy him a crate when she first got him, he was about 2 years old (13 years ago) but he was terrified of the thing and wouldn't go in it.
I had a rescue who wasn't crate trained and wasn't comfortable being left alone.
One day I had no choice but to leave him. So I locked him in the bathroom thinking he couldn't do much harm there. When I came home he had ripped up the entire floor.
I will never forget that devastation.
No further incidents in the 13 years afterwards though.
Why tf do people post online and expect only positive responses? You posted a dog fucking your house up and then expect everyone to just KNOW the dog is 15 and not yours and not crate trained instead of being mildly infuriated and talking shit like they are
OP posted a wrecked door by a dog in r/mildlyinfuriating, and expects people to know it's a "joke" from that alone. Then gets pissy when people aren't reading their thoughts.
If it's a joke, you shouldn't need to say it's a joke. Simple as that.
It's okay, the dog isn't actually to blame here. We have window clings that cause it to cast rainbows all over the house when the sun comes in. The neighbor kids kept yelling Hiiiiii at us through our windows so we put the privacy cling up. It just happens to make him look fabulous.
No excuse to not train your dog from the beginning, take it for a walk during moving, board it during moving, etc. There were many preventative solutions here.
So many dog owners literally do nothing for their dog and wonder why this happens.
My ex randomly got a German Shepherd with 0 experience with dogs. Her apartment interior doors were the flimsy plywood frame situations. That adorable floof ripped a hole through the middle in an hour. It's annoying (tho not as annoying as this lol) but you really should crate train a puppo. It's not 'cruel' as some false-hippies suggest, it's more like a/the way to acclimate the dog to a strange new place. Benefits your furniture, but also makes doggo comfortable in your home which he is clearly not
My dog did this years ago. I used a wood filler and putty to fill the areas that were damaged and painted over it. Did alot of sanding before and after the putty/filler but before painting. Not that hard to do.
Our German Shepherd did something very similar in our home. A few days later she got terribly sick from lead poisoning. You might want to test the paint.
This happened a month ago. Also theres only one layer of white paint and it was done in the last 10 years. Trust me I was worried about the same thing at first.
Old dogs can learn new tricks. Just matter of training. Some basic things are far harder to traon unless you do it early in life, socializing is one, not impossible but not easy.
Our "rescue" was a bit over a year when we got him, first time we met him he pooped on our floor and chewed our base boards. Stress and fear is most of it. Once he got settled with us and we got his chewing dealt with he's a great dog. Bully sticks he begs for when he feel stressed now, not going after other things to chew. They are afterall dogs with the mentality of a toddler at best.
Oh yeah he used to be a nightmare on a leash. The last two months of strict training with me has completely changed that. He's not quite the dream my dog is yet but we're working on it. We just tend not to lock him in a single room after this. The only reason he was to begin with was so the movers could have all the exterior doors wide open. He does just fine being left alone as long as he's not locked in a small room.
I’ve grown to love it, but it wasn’t my dog. If it was I would probably be angry when I see it! I just know there was an angry little canine in here at some point.
Watch him for lead poisoning. That kind of peneled door is likely original and since it's painted, it likely had lead paint under it that was, until knawed on, encapsulated.
Also, repaint that suckered quickish if you have small children around.
The white paint was the only layer and it was done by a flipper about 10 years ago. That's the only reason I'm not worried about lead currently. Now the paint on the floors and the walls? Absolutely has lead paint. They stupidly painted all the original wood bright white when they flipped it. We are encapsulating every bit of paint that we know has lead and we don't have any small children around, unless the neighbor kids count 🤣
My mom's response about the lead paint was "Well he's already 15 and dumber than a box of rocks, should we be worried about him getting dumber?" 🤣😭
Mine has some ptsd from rain. You’re lowkey lucky it’s just the bottom! Wood filler, you’re going to sand and repaint anyway. There’s nothing you need to do other than fill the hole. Now the door frame idk. Here’s my support photo. You’re not alone 🫶
I truly thought I was posting something so light hearted and funny. I never expected this many people to be this upset about it when I'm not even mad, I should have known better.
I saw the title and figured the next slide was some adorable picture which would solidify the (implied) sarcastic "monster" in the title. Proven correct, and then read the edit. Knowing what I know about Reddit, this is par for the course.
This is on you tbh. Surely you know your dog well enough to know how he responds to stressful situations and could have prepared for this? Was there no one who could check in on him? How long was he locked in there for?
I'm sorry OP, but to play off this post as a joke is just rediculous
In no way did you incline at all that there was humor at all in the post, if it was satire, it wasn't done well either
What might seem funny in your head needs to be translated into text, because we don't have your perspective and text alone with no context can be very difficult to read
Hilarious how up in arms some of the comments are at OP, like OP didn’t also share a photo of the dog colored in a literal rainbow. OP obviously loves this dog lol.
The entire point of crate training is to create a positive association with the crate- the dog is supposed to feel safe and be able to calmly settle in the crate.
If a dog is panicking, fearful, non stop barking, trying to escape, etc. then it’s not crate trained.
Gets aggressive bloodsport dog known for high anxiety. Complains when said aggressive bloodsport dog expressed said anxiety through property destruction.
I know it’s not your fault, but your mom should know better and pay for any repairs. There are videos of these dogs tearing steel panels off cars, that is how destructive they are. It’s genetics, not any past abuse or lack of training and shows how much the dog is suffering mentally. Please hold your mom accountable and make sure you take steps to protect your smaller dog so it doesn’t wind up like this door or possibly dead.
My dog is fully trained, including crate training. Her dog is 15 years old and bullheaded. They do have a yard? It's just not fenced in yet. We're working on one thing at a time. Right now we're working on fixing the garage that has rotted out boards at the bottom that will let bugs in.
I saw OP say its her mom's dog somewhere in all these replies. And because its old (14 I think she said?) mom doesn't think its worth training or something along those lines.
It is mother’s dog. It’s a situation where the dog is being cared for by OP for months (presumably due to the mother having the inability to care for the dog.)
It hasn’t been mentioned, but like perhaps a rental situation that doesn’t permit dogs or god-forbid a medical emergency.
I’ll add that these doors are often for sale. I managed to get a screen door for the add on kitchen (old summer kitchen) that matches the existing one on the front.
I had a cat that stripped the framing on all our doors 🚪 over a decade (she lived to be 20) because she wanted to go outside but once you opened the door she would sniff the air and then not go outside 😅
I will say, it might be difficult to get that style door anymore, but there are some places that will carry them if you're lucky. tIwould suggest contacting (depending on your area) like boise cascade and see if anyone near you sells that style door anymore.
I had to sit down my mom and my grandparents to not give too many treats to my little man. He's so cute that he almost looks like a stuffed animal so it's REALLY HARD to say no to him. His breed means he has to stay lean and active though so it was a struggle. He went from being 19lbs to being 23lbs after spending time with my family 🙃🙃
"He's not my dog" "He's not my dog" "He's not my dog" "He's not my dog" "He's not my dog" "He's not my dog"
Okay, well then whose bloody dog is it then? You've been apparently training a dog that's not yours for months and decided to keep him in the house during a move where there's lots going on and lots of strange people coming in and out. Is it your partners? Because then that's your dog. Is it a family members? Friends? Some randos who paid you to train their dog? A foster youre training? Because honestly it looks like you put your dog in a room while it wasn't properly trained (after months) and were then surprised something happened.
There's zero indication in the og post that it's not your dog and almost all your replies are foisting responsibility away from you and claiming your actual dog is trained great and would never, yet you won't say who's dog it is or why you've been looking after a dog that's not yours for months who apparently gets destructive when he wants out for attention
It's always a little concerning to see people getting so mad at a stranger, asking info that has been plastered all over the post, and then still getting mad at op, it's like they've been personally insulted. A little freaky to see.
I used to have this gorgeous little baby that never destroyed anything. She never even killed anything. She watched as a rat ate her food and did nothing. She would bring me chunks of moss from the carport instead. She lived to 19 and passed a few years ago.
Lol why do people think this is the right sub for "i was just joking! i'm not actually mad!" posts. If you don't want people to take you seriously and think you're *mildly infuriated* then post somewhere else
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u/SquishyBanana23 1d ago
My dog actually did the same thing to our door in our old house. Don’t throw that door out! It’s real wood. Use wood filler paste to fill up the gouges and deep scratches, and then sand it down smooth. It’s absolutely repairable, you’re not dealing with particle board.