Help With GSD
 

As some of you know, I have found a dog. I have a 9 month old german shepard. Anyways, I try to keep him very busy, we take long walks and i am looking to get him into agility classes, but no matter what i do with him, he keeps eating my couch. What can i do to stop this. I have bought new treats and chewtoys galore, but nothing tears him away from eating my couch. I play with him constantly sometimes for about a good two hours before i get wore out and go for a walk, but as soon as we get back in, hes right back to the couch and eating it. Please help.

Kong?
 

Have you tried a Kong filled with Cheez Whiz or Peanut Butter, then frozen? This gives the dog several hours of frenzied gnawing. Also, to save your couches you may want to consider kennelling him?

Is he crate trained? Have you had him in obedience classes yet? If you are tellin him no and he is not listening to you, then you are not alpha in your house. Training classes will teach both of you quite a bit.

we start obediance classes next wednesday. But i have never heard of a kong. What are they??

kong
 

Here's a photo of them. They are amazing or at least my 110lb destructo dog thinks so for a few hours at a time!

bitter apple
 

alot of pet supply stores sell 'bitter apple' spray. You spray it on the part of the funiture your dog particularly likes to chew on, after one taste, he won't go back for more. When I was young our bichons realy likes my parents antique furniture, they thought it was the most tasty things in the world (that and their poo...but that's a different story!!!)
Once my parents discovered this spray, all of our funiture was safe!
I agree with BMDlover...you should get a kong (or many)...dogs go wild for that toy!!
Good luck, keep us posted

Could you gate him somewhere, like the kitchen or laundry room when you're not home?

My dog won't touch Kongs if they're empty, but a real meaty marrow bone keeps her busy for quite awhile and seems to really satisfy her chewing urge.:)

Ok, i tried the bitter apple spray, but he ate through it. He seems to love the stuff. Go figure :rolleyes: . I do have him locked in my kitchen when i am not hime but if i turn my back for 1 minuit, hes right at it chewing the dang couch. :mad: I just think i am going to have to get rid of the couch

I knew someone with this problem and she solved the problem with pots and pans. :rolleyes: I know , I know, it's sounds dumb but the dog was afraid of the noise they made when clanged together, so when she would leave for work she'd leave pots and pans strewn across the couches....

(just say the word and I'll stop... :D )



but seriously!! It worked for her, saved her leather couches, I just figured I'd pass it on, who knows it just might work for you too. ;)

You could leave his leash on him and leash him to your belt-loop. This keeps him close at hand where you have control over his every move.

My guess would be.... something may have been spilled on the couch awhile back & the scent is intriguing him.

The crate is great for when you aren't home - just make sure you have trained him to it completely before you just leave him in it for hours at a time.
Next is to teach him not to chew on your things. Distractions, exhausting him or new chew toys can help but they do not teach.
He needs to understand the direction "leave it" and you need to use it through out the day with lots of different objects - mostly the couch!. He will leave things alone out of respect for you, but if he does not respect you then chewing on the couch could be a symptom of that. He is saying "hey, see? I can chew the couch cause it's mine to chew and you aren't fast enough to stop me." He has not learned that the couch is not a chew toy and that it belongs to you.
So we would encourage you to create an opportunity for learning. You need to pressure his bad choices and reward the good ones.
Pressures are things like: getting closer to him (decreasing the space between you), irritations (little snappy dinks on the collar with the leash), your firm tone of voice, or a startle (clapping your hands or stomping a foot). These pressures are used in different levels of energy according to your dogs sensitivity, stubborness and respect for you.
This means that when you see him even thinking about going to the couch you are going to pressure him. This could be stomping your foot as you say 'leave it', it could be you rushing at him with a firm sounding 'leave it', it could be having him on the leash and giving him a correction of little 'dinks' on the collar until he backs away on his own and then praise him for backing away. He needs to make his own decision about leaving the couch alone otherwise he is not learning. AND you need to be sure that you praise him highly for leaving it. There has to be a pay off from you for making a good choice - your warm voice should do. Pressure the bad choices - release the pressure and praise the good ones.
Simply distracting him with other toys does not work unless he understands that the couch is not a toy to chew on. In fact he could percieve the couch as a means to get a cheese filled kong. "I chew on the couch, he comes running with a tasty toy - hum...chewing on the couch gets me good stuff!"