Doggie Destruction

As you may know, I'm a huge animal lover. As a child, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but somewhere along the line the "radio bug" bit me and I gave up on becoming a horse doctor. (no regrets) So to appease this inner dream, I have always surrounded myself with lots of pets...to date: 5-dogs, 2 cats and a pony (my daughter's). The pet in the spotlight today is our newest addition, Bella, a 7-month old Great Dane. I have endured many puppy antics in my life, but Bella apparently wants to be the record holder. Sure, she does the usual puppy stuff: digs holes, chases the cat, rough-houses with the other dogs, but in recent times she has tried to claim first place in bad behavior. In the past 3-weeks, Bella has gone on a 1-dog destruction path. It started with the leather couch in the family room. I came home to find it armless! Bella had eaten the arms right off the couch...right down to the wood.....not 1, but both arms. There were pieces of leather, wood and foam everywhere.. When she was scolded for her behavior, she looked at me with those big, brown, puppy dogs eyes and pleaded for forgiveness. I forgave her instantly. A few days later, she attacked my beautiful upholstered chair in the living room! Again, I came home to fine pieces of my favorite chair strewn around the house. And yes, again, Bella was scolded and disciplined for her bad behaviour. But being the softy I am, she was once again forgiven. How could I be mad with this adorable animal? One that's so loving and cuddly? Over the next few days, Bella continued her eating frenzy, munching though a leather love seat, 3-feather pillows, 2 area rugs, 3 shoes (of course the most expensive ones!) and a cocktail table! To date, our living room has 1-chair , the family room is down to 1-couch and I've replaced the other items. New furniture will wait until Bella grows up! So the question is: when is enough, enough? When do you say, okay, I can't handle this destruction anymore...you're out of here!! I've pulled my hair out trying to train this beast and we've tried every method (I'm not a big proponent of caging an animal for 8-hours a day) to stop her from eating the furniture. There are chew toys galore in my house, ranging in every shape, size and material....she's played with constantly, she always has companionship from the other dogs and she's doted on by the entire family. And just when I think I'm at wits end, ready to ship her out to some other loving family, she comes and sits down next to me, puts her head on my shoulder and covers me with kisses. Or she lays down next to me in bed, snuggles up and cuddles like a small child. The ultimate in unconditional love. To me, that's priceless. I figure by Christmas, we'll be sitting on the floor because Bella has eaten the rest of the furniture. My Christmas wish list will then contain just one item......a big cage for Bella!