2yr old German Shepherd acting out :(

by Jolie
(Houston, TX )

Kane Culpepper

Kane Culpepper







Help!!!!! My husband and I adopted our male GSD when he was 6mths old from animal control. Long story short – He was owned by a military guy who got sent over seas and did not come back. His family did not want to keep him so the brought him to animal control.

My husband and I had been looking for one and fell in love with him at first sight. Anywho, he will be 2 yrs old this coming Feb. and I am 7mths pregnant!

He has ALWAYS been the BEST dog! His training was sooooo easy. He is smart and LOVES everyone. My husband and I have always been very active with him, but now with both of us working on top of me being in my 3rd trimester, we don’t have time to do anything with him during the week. Due to this, he is acting out!

He has NEVER destroyed anything before, but recently he has been! He started just moving things around the house and now he is starting to destroy things! I don’t know what to do…….. I will be quitting work in 9 more weeks, but until then I don’t know what to do! Has anyone dealt with this before? Is it my pregnancy or the lack of activity????

Thank you,
JOlie Culpepper

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Feb 20, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		exercise is doggie Prosac
by: Anonymous

Ditto on the exercise/play/training. At two, your shepherd needs A LOT of exercise, and while trick training is a whole lot better than nothing, I think you owe it to him to find a way to let him burn off some real energy.

Maybe you could hire a dog walker to take him out during the day, or a neighboring kid to walk, jog, or throw balls for him?

Dogs, especially young ones, who don't get enough exercise have a really hard time being calm and content. For them it's like a hunger or nagging anxiety. The destructiveness that often results is not malicious but just a means of soothing themselves -- chewing reduces anxiety for dogs, and if they start to gnaw the couch or rug or whatever and realize they feel a little better while doing it, they keep doing it.

But what they really want is to just go for a run. Tired dogs are hardly ever destructive unless it's an ingrained habit.

Find some way to get your dog some daily exercise -- it's right up there with food and water in maintaining his well being.
Jan 21, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		acting out
by: wendy

I agree with Jen. Gsd's need exercise or a job, or they become bored & find one on their own. Usually it is destructive! Training is a great way to tire out their minds.

Teach a new trick every couple of days & maintain a daily obedience training session. You can even do this while sitting on the couch. Practice sit, stay, come, down. GSD's mature more slowly than some other breeds, so they need the reinforcing of basic commands & novelty of learning new things.

Maybe teach the dog to take off your socks (haha) or fetch things from another room,(a diaper?) or open the fridge & get you a juice box. Hide treats around the house to find, or fill a kong with peanut butter/bananas & freeze it before letting him have it. Maybe hire a neighbourhood kid to walk him once a day for you. Good luck & Congratulations!
Jan 13, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		German Shepherd acting out - Possibly both
by: Jenn

I think it's the lack of exersize as large breeds need to play and GSDs especially will get destructive if they don't get enough work or play time.

Your GSD may also sense another life coming into the household. Your dog might just be nervous. Or it may think that the coming baby is the reason you're not spending as much time with your dog.
Either one really. Congrats by the way!

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