[Chasney Butcher]

My sweet Benji is 8 months in a few days and is usually super good and listens to basic commands but at night, when we sleep, sometimes it's different. Hes has chewed up 2 remotes and chewed up my carpet in 2 different places, chewed holes in at least 3 blankets, 2 or 3 barbie dolls and we have went though 5 ropes!! He has never slept in a crate at night so that's out of the question cause he will be barking all night and tbh, I just cant handle all that. Is he still teething or is it just that maybe we aren't running him enough? It's hard when we both work a 9 to 6, kids have after school stuff for 2 hours twice a week, we usually eat over at a family's house twice a week. In the little time we get with him a day, we spend pretty much ever minute giving him more love than he can handle. Moral of the story is I legit need immediate help with my dogs chewing problem before I have to get a 2nd job. ( p.s, anything misspelled- like the title - it was auto correct ?)

 

[CometDog]

What does he have that he CAN chew?

 

[Stevenzachsmom]

I never understand why people refuse to crate train their dogs. I train mine, as very young puppies. They cry for a few days. Each night, they cry for a shorter period of time. Soon, they don't cry at all. The crate protects your things, when you can't watch the dog. The crate protects your dog from swallowing something that could make him sick, or kill him.

If you refuse to crate your dog, you need to find some way to confine him, where he cannot be destructive.

Editing to add - giving your dog tons of love is not going to solve the problem. You don't have very much time for him. He needs more exercise and more obedience. You need to exercise his mind and body. A tired puppy is a good puppy.

 

[Suzy25]

How much exercise is he getting daily? not just a stroll around the block but actual exercise suitable for a energetic, young GSD?
Is he crated during the day when everyone is gone?

Up his daily exercise and training time, I noticed you said "running time" do you take him out running for long periods of time?
At 8 months old he shouldn't be running constantly or long periods of time, especially on hard surfaces. Make sure he is getting mental exercise, you can run him all you want but nothing is going to be as good as tiring him out both mentally and physically. Give him plenty of suitable chew toys, of different flavours, brands etc.. If you can't provide this, look into getting a dog walker to come and help get some extra energy out during the day while everyone is gone. (not as his only exercise he gets though)

I dont know what to tell you other than crate him during the night, it is an option, the only thing stopping it from being an option is you not being able to handle it. He will catch on that he goes in the crate at night after his last trip outside, that it is time to sleep and be quite. Just completely ignore him and have suitable safe chew toys for him in the crate. If he is getting the proper exercise and training, he will be mentally and physically fulfilled enough to be able to settle down and sleep. He is a puppy, of an energetic breed who requires lots of exercise and attention to be healthy and happy mentally and physically. It is great that he is getting lots of love from you and your family, but exercise and training is just as important, if not more important for a young crazy puppy.

hes a pup, if he isn't given the right stimulation and exercise he will be bored and energetic, he will look for something to do, chewing the carpets and the rest of your house is something to do. Pups are like young kids that always need to be watched or given something fun to do, or else they take it upon themselves to find something fun to do, usually that is ruining the house. If he isn't being watched and isn't fulfilled he MUST be crated, it is dangerous to leave a known chewer out of the crate at night, could very easily eat something else and end up with foreign body. A major vet bill and surgery is much more stressful and expensive than putting up with a few nights of no sleep and listening to crying and barking, or replacing a carpet.

Not trying to judge you or anything so please dont take anything that way, but you seem to be a very busy family, what brought you to the decision to bring a puppy into the family?

 

[Chasney Butcher]

We have a few Kong balls. So far that's all I can find that he will play with and not chew up. If anyone has any recommendations as to what TOYS he can have please let me know cause these 6 or 8 or 9 dollar toys that we have that don't get touched is getting old. I also am very aware that giving him lots of love doesn't change the fact that he needs lots of attention as well as plenty of stimulation. When I say "running him" what I mean is playing, exercising, running around with an 8 and 4 year old. He gets plenty of exercise. We added a dog to our family because we wanted to. My dog might as well be my 3rd child. I see my kids about 10 min longer than I do my dog. I don't crate my dog unless I have to due to the very simple fact that I wouldnt want to be in a cage. As far as being confined at night, it has never been a problem. The chewing started about 3 weeks ago. We aren't doing anything less than what we was doing 3 weeks ago. And yes I COULD handle his barking if I put him in the crate but I don't think anyone else in my house would.

 

[Sabis mom]

My sweet Benji is 8 months in a few days and is usually super good and listens to basic commands but at night, when we sleep, sometimes it's different. Hes has chewed up 2 remotes and chewed up my carpet in 2 different places, chewed holes in at least 3 blankets, 2 or 3 barbie dolls and we have went though 5 ropes!! He has never slept in a crate at night so that's out of the question cause he will be barking all night and tbh, I just cant handle all that. Is he still teething or is it just that maybe we aren't running him enough? It's hard when we both work a 9 to 6, kids have after school stuff for 2 hours twice a week, we usually eat over at a family's house twice a week. In the little time we get with him a day, we spend pretty much ever minute giving him more love than he can handle. Moral of the story is I legit need immediate help with my dogs chewing problem before I have to get a 2nd job. ( p.s, anything misspelled- like the title - it was auto correct ?)

So you went and got a puppy that you had no time or patience for, failed to train it, and now you need help immediately? Sorry but this post makes me angry.

It's a dog! They chew stuff, which is why we need to train them what they can and can't chew on. It is your responsibility to MAKE time to train your dog that you chose to bring into your home.
Here is the really bad news, if you don't deal with this eventually he will eat something he shouldn't and the vet bill will far exceed the price of your carpet. Crate train your dog, and free up time to exercise him properly.

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

I don't crate my dog unless I have to due to the very simple fact that I wouldnt want to be in a cage.

Yes, but dogs aren't people. People aren't dogs, and dogs do like dens, which is basically what a crate is. You wouldn't be leaving him in there all the time, just at night while everyone sleeps - your puppy included.

As Stevenzachsmom mentioned, he may cry a bit at first but he will settle down, especially if you can put his crate near your bed. At 8 months old he's perfectly capable of sleeping through the night. My puppy is 7 months old and was sleeping through the night when we got her at 4-1/2 months old. All of our dogs have gone into their crates at night and wait for me to come close the door. Even Keefer who will be 13 in a couple of weeks goes to his crate at night. He's becoming incontinent lately and I no longer close his door, so he can let himself out if he needs to go, but that's just the past couple of months. I give Cava, the puppy, a small biscuit each night in her crate before I close the door so Keef gets one too. He will sometimes go in his crate for a nap during the day, especially if she's being too rowdy and he doesn't want to be pestered.

There is no magic chew toy that will fix this, he just needs to be confined in a crate or some other chewproof area when nobody is able to supervise him.

 

[tim_s_adams]

You might also slow up on the 8 or 10 dollar toys that your dog doesn't play with and give him some recyclables instead. My puppy loved to chase and chew on soda or juice bottles. One gallon milk jugs worked too when she was little, after removing the little plastic rings that stay on the jug when you open them, because she'd painstakingly remove and eat rhem if they weren't! And once she got older she'd start shredding the lighter plastic jugs pretty quickly, so I switched to heavier plastic bottles like soda or juice containers. But even cardboard boxes provide good entertainment, just remove any staples or other stuff like tape that you don't want them to consume! The great thing is that we all generate an endless supply of these toys, and when they start to get shredded they're still recyclable! It makes your house a bit messy for a bit, but I brought my puppy home at 12 weeks, I don't own a crate, and she never destroyed anything that wasn't hers because she had plenty of stuff around to chew on.

Of course adequate mental and physical exercise is also crucial >

 

[MineAreWorkingline]

If you take a little time and actually condition your dog to a crate, there should be no crying or carrying on when crated. IME, my dogs took about a year to be trustworthy outside of a crate BUT they were not allowed to practice bad behaviors prior to that.

Crate training can be beneficial in many ways. It is better to condition him now to a crate than trying to do it if he ever gets sick or injured and must be crated for a period of time.

 

[McGloomy]

Mine chewed up my a part of my carpet too. Why? Because I dozed off for 13 hours after a long week at work, and he was in the room with me doing NOTHING. Was I angry? No. It was completely my fault. He didn't have anything TO DO. So give your dog things to do: walk him, exercise him, fetch with him, mental exercises like puzzle toys or learning tricks. GSDs' minds are almost always active. They will need mental stimulation everyday. He is in the crate when no one is home. Why? He's a baby. He would get into trouble without supervision. Crate training is almost never a smooth sail, mine cried for a whole week at night. Even my neighbour expressed their concern. But each night as everyone said here, he cried less. Now he LOVES his crate. I keep it open and he will get in there and sleep and chill because it's his SAFE PLACE. Crate training is not cruel, only people with lack of knowledge would think that. It's a valuable long term training tool.

 

[Sunsilver]

Both my dogs go to their crates of their own accord just to chill and relax. I leave the doors open all the time so they can come and go as they please. The younger dog gets shut in her crate at night because she thinks it's fun to chase the cat in the wee hours, and I value my sleep.

Stop anthropomorphizing your dog, and TRAIN IT. Dogs don't obey out of love, they obey because it's what they have been trained to do. If you don't know how to train your dog, find a trainer who's used to working with large dogs like GSDs and not just lap dogs. The whole family should go to the classes, so the kids learn too. That way the training at home can be consistent, and the dog realizes it can't pick and choose who to obey and who to ignore.

Also, when I get a puppy, I expect a few things are going to get chewed up. It comes with the territory: rugs, remote controls, books. My most recent pup totally ruined a coffee table that was only a couple of years old.
Next time I get a puppy I will know better. I'll get the old teak coffee table I got at a second hand store out of the garage, and put it in the living room instead!

If you don't want your rug chewed, you will have to find a way to keep your dog separated from it. My older GSD chewed up any sort of fabric when she was a pup. I couldn't even put bedding in her crate, because she would chew it and swallow it, which could have caused her to get an intestinal obstruction. I hired a handyman to put up doors to the living room to keep her away from my good rugs. The one in my study was second hand, so I didn't worry about it. I also spent a lot of time in my study, so was able to watch her and keep her from chewing on it, though she did damage it slightly in one spot.

It took several years before I could trust her not to destroy rugs, and even now in her old age, she is still a very heavy chewer and still demolishes toys now and then.

 

[Jenny720]

I agree with confining for awhile they do not get the run of the house until they are trusted. I had a brief relapse when Luna was one years old she chewed part of the carpet. I crated her when I was not around temporarily and it has not happened since and If it does the refresher course (confining)seem to come in handy. Lamb horns last awhile and get soft so not as harsh on their teeth. Keeps them busy