Hello GSD forum - this is my first post and i'm have some trouble with my 1 year old boy. He's a great dog .. very friendly around people and other dogs - except people with dogs get scared as he's huge!
I'm single and work 9-5.
I got him at 4 months .. he was crated when I lived in the suburbs up until 3 months ago when I moved to the city.
I moved to an apartment building with 12 people, so I didn't want to crate him due to being scared of people working night shifts, sleeping during the day and him barking all day.
He was very destructive of my personal stuff, but also destructive of the apartment (i.e. he chewed on the door frame and window ledge)
The result was my landlord ending our lease - which was ok because I got to find a bigger place.
I figured with a bigger place, he would be ok - he could roam around the apartment. The result was him ripping up and destroying the carpets on the steps, which my new landlord saw.
I have now vowed to never let him out of his crate again while i'm not in the house.
City life is great, i take him to a dog park every night, or doggie day care, so he gets great interaction with people and other dogs. 45min at the dog park at night and he's ran about 5 miles (tennis balls, chasing around other dogs, etc..)
So I give him a good life and a ton of exercise .. but living his life in a crate is not the way to live. However I work 9-5, and can't be there during the day to watch him. When he's with me, he is NOT destructive at all, but when i'm gone, he is very destructive.
I'm not sure what to do - sorry for the novel
I'm single and work 9-5.
I got him at 4 months .. he was crated when I lived in the suburbs up until 3 months ago when I moved to the city.
I moved to an apartment building with 12 people, so I didn't want to crate him due to being scared of people working night shifts, sleeping during the day and him barking all day.
He was very destructive of my personal stuff, but also destructive of the apartment (i.e. he chewed on the door frame and window ledge)
The result was my landlord ending our lease - which was ok because I got to find a bigger place.
I figured with a bigger place, he would be ok - he could roam around the apartment. The result was him ripping up and destroying the carpets on the steps, which my new landlord saw.
I have now vowed to never let him out of his crate again while i'm not in the house.
City life is great, i take him to a dog park every night, or doggie day care, so he gets great interaction with people and other dogs. 45min at the dog park at night and he's ran about 5 miles (tennis balls, chasing around other dogs, etc..)
So I give him a good life and a ton of exercise .. but living his life in a crate is not the way to live. However I work 9-5, and can't be there during the day to watch him. When he's with me, he is NOT destructive at all, but when i'm gone, he is very destructive.
I'm not sure what to do - sorry for the novel