I need help with my wall-eating dog!

Question:
 :( I have a 7-8 month old springer/border collie mix. My husband and I adopted her from a rescue center here in MN about 2 months ago. We have a house and a large kitchen that we keep her in during the day while we are at work. I fill it with toys, food, water and plenty of pillows and blankets. I came home yesterday and she had chewed thru the kitchen wall. This wall is solid sheet-rock. I swear she has jaws of steel or something because I cannot even make a mark with my finger nail. This is very upsetting to me considering we bought the "new" house in July of this year. I do not know what to do. Why would she do this? She had numerous other things she could of chosen to chew on and she choose a 4 inch thick, solid wall. It's like concrete. What was she thinking? Anyway after that my husband was in his office and she had come in (like she usually does and lays down) and she started licking the wall next to him and was about to go to town on it. Okay so now I'm worried. Does she have a mental issue? I've never known an animal to enjoy walls. Please help if you have any suggestions. Thanks ???
Answer:
 8) Oh good luck! My Rottie did that for the first week we had her, when she was 6 months. What worked for us was showing her the wall and giving a stern “NO” and then I sprayed the area with water and sprinkled cayenne pepper on the wall. She only chewed one other time and then that was it. We keep her toys to 2 and one of them is a KONG filled with treats and organic peanut butter. One thing with border collies is they get bored very fast. They need activity. If you can’t have her run during the day maybe look into a dog walking service in your area, just to break her monotony. Try different things, cayenne has certain oils that may stain your walls (ours are dark and didn’t affect it). Set your boundaries and let her know who is the Alpha in the house.... not her!.
Answer:
 Destructive behavior is most often caused by a couple things: Dog has too much energy and you have a dog that has an exercise requirement (and this means combined walks, playing fetch/swimming/agility, and interacting with other dogs in a safe manner for play times) of approximately three hours a day. Seriously. Boder Collies are one of the HIGHEST energy breds known to man and were developed to work sun up to sun down - lors of running, etc. And unlike many other breeds bred to work, they have not had this drive or energy need tempered down. Border Collie crosses are very high energy as well. Dogs not getting enough energy releases will get destructive out of sheer boredom and the need for a PHYSICAL release. You also have an adolescent who should not have house freedoms and needs to be safely crated. Dogs are adolescents until about 24 months of age for a dog this size - though the other breed in her may drag it out longer... Not enough adequate supervision. Again, a crate when you are not home or awake to monitor her is a necessity. If she gets enough exercise, she will sleep when crated. Confusion - if a dog does something wrong and the stopping of the behavior is not immediate and then the dog redirected to something appropriate, the dog will get confused as to if the behavior is good or not. In a dog's mind, a behavior not stopped is almost the same as a behavior praised. Also, many dogs will not be deterred by hot or foul tasting things - so again, crate and remove the ability of the dog to get to the walls or whatever when you are not there. One of my dogs LOVES wasabe (hot horse radish - that green stuff at Asian restaraunts) - that was my last hope to stop him from trash and diaper barrel raiding. So, I put the barrels in a secured closet or shut the door to a nursery (I have a young son who is now five and child #2 on the way). I recommend for a higher to high energy dog the following exercise regimen: 45 - sixty minute walk every morning or half an hour to 45 min at a dog park (IF THE DOG IS TEMPERAMENTALLY SUITED FOR A DOG PARK - many dogs are not able to handle the stress level of a dog park). If half an hour playing fetch. Repeat this every evening - unless that evening you are taking in a higher energy sport like Agility or Flyball... Three times a day between these longer sessions you need to stop and play ball or something for at least 15 minutes - something active. If you work during the day, hire a dog walker for a solid midday walk. Weekends - go hiking, get together with friends for play dates, etc. Get involved with an activity that uses the body and brain: Tracking, Flyball, Agility, Freestyle Obedience, Rally-O, etc. I live with higher to high energy dogs (well three of my four) and addressing their physical and mental needs is a lot of work. Even harder when I used to work outside the home and had to seriously adjust my schedule to accomodate them and their needs. Addressing physical needs, understanding that adolescent phase (the dog is still mentally very much a puppy until about 18 months of age and then he starts to settles out around 24 months - or older for some breds or crosses), is one of great testing, action and learning/reinforcing good manners, as well as understanding that the vast majority of destructivness in dogs comes directly from the human not giving what is needed, and you can stop this behavior.