Have you ever returned home and found trash and paper from your garbage shredded and strewn across the floor, courtesy of your dog? Maddening, yes, but is your dog’s destructive behavior a sign of spitefulness? Is he trying to get back at you for leaving her behind? The answer is, probably not.

Dogs can get stressed or bored when their owners leave them home alone and sometimes this can result in chewing your favorite pair of shoes, leaving a puddle of piddle, or emptying the contents of your garbage across the floor. But this doesn’t mean they are trying to get revenge or teach you a lesson for leaving them home alone. According to research, dogs are probably incapable of making such a connection or having these thought patterns.

So even if your dog is not being spiteful, what can you do to avoid coming home to an unwelcome surprise? One thing we do with our dog is whenever we leave her home alone, we give her a small, yummy treat right before we go out the door and tell her, “we’ll be right back.” Now it is doubtful that she knows what “we’ll be right back” means, but by consistently making her staying home a positive experience, it reduces negative behavior. We also make sure she has access to her bed and her favorite chew toys because a bored dog can be a destructive dog.

Other measures you can take is to make sure your garbage is secured where your dog cannot get to it and close the doors to rooms for which your dog doesn’t need access. It goes without saying that you should pick up any stray shoes or other inviting items, if your dog is a chewer, and make sure your dog empties his bladder just before you leave.