Beginning to lose hope.....chewing

[shermantank]

Sherman is getting ready to turn 9 months old, and I would love to trust him more.....but I can't. Having him loose in the house requires more supervision than my 2 yr old human child. That is fine, I keep an eye on him at all times, or keep him tethered. We did not train K in a crate as a puppy.....and I do not remember it being this hard Today I went to shower...I thought I would let him have the entry way, so I gated him with his kong and jolly ball (brand new no punctures, etc) I get out of the shower and the jolly ball is missing it's handle!! Where was it? Well minutes later S threw up all the pieces all over my feet!!! I am beginning to lose hope of him ever being able to free roam!!

Do you think crating him slows down his learning...since he is not given constant access and redirection? Are some dogs just chewers? DO THEY EVER GROW OUT OF IT? Thanks for any help....ray:

 

[Tunride]

I use real, beef bones(not pork or ham they splinter), from pet shop (Feeders Supply, Superpetz, even Krogers). The puppies (we have 2 now) get them every time they start chewing on something. Take the bad chew thing, tell them no (mean) and give them a bone with (happy yes). We have had dogs for over 36 yrs. We have lost shoes, remotes, coffee table, doors, bar stools, you name it! Also Bitter Apple if they have a favorite wood item you want to keep, like woodwork. They do learn, it just takes a while. When you lock Sherman in, make sure he has a supply of bones. Draw back- looks like we have bodies all over the house!

 

[shermantank]

Thank you for your reply. Sherman is funny with bones....he seems to be on guard with those, but nothing else. So he gets those when he is confined in a crate. He does however love his antlers and feels no need to "guard" those so he has those available to him. Maybe I need to keep them and only give them when he is out? As far as guarding the bones....weirdest thing our 9.5 yr old German Shepherd does the same thing. Never been "aggressive" but gets obviously uncomfortable if you approach him while chewing...since I have 3 kids we keep those to closed crate only times to avoid any problems. Some issues you can fix, the others you just learn to manage