Do They Ever Grow Up? :-( - Page 3

Re the toy destruction, I have found they're either destroyers or cherishers and it's set for life. This is usually separate from other chewing behavior. One of mine was so bad she was only allowed 2 toys a 3 inch solid rubber Cressite ball and a metal garbage can cover(her frisbee). After about a year the garbage can cover would be FOLDED down to the size of a large wallet and it was time for a new one. I still have stainless steel dog dishes with HOLES in them from her carrying them around that also look like someone took a sledgehammer to - medieval art deco. Yet toys was the only place she was destructive.

She did however have a daughter.... The only truly dedicated chewer I've had thank god. Found out later her sire was known as the 65 pound termite growing up ( they could've warned me). Thank god she also had the constitution of a goat. Just some of her adventures - a couch, 3 rugs, and my sister's 8ft Dracena I was taking care of -lopped off in foot segments until it finally gave up the ghost and died( yes I know poisonous - never affected her), an entire can of flea powder(when I called my vet in a panic to find out what might happen he said "we'll see"), so many pairs of panthose and underwear I lost count. Around 3 she slowed down but her entire life periodically she would return to the chewing - usually the underwear.

My service dog Remy has always been fine in the hosue but recently because of some personal issues I had to leave her behind much more than she was used to. Combined unfortunately with a time of little or no exercise and a break in our Sch training. She started to trash the strangest things. She also did the perfect unscrew of the PB jar top and ate an entire large jar of PB. Ate a book, got flax seed and grass seed all over the family room. Her house privileges have been temporatily suspended needless to say.  But talk about a guitly concious - I'd walk in the door and KNOW immediately because did nto greet me at the door she would be hiding in the bedroom.  This one day came home and and greeted by Nemo the little dwarf who proceeds to have the clearest communication with me that I've ever had with a dog and this was the story - "Oh Mom, you can not believe how bad it is. She's been very very bad. It's really really bad...and so on in this vein for about 3 minutes at the end of which there was a quick "and I didn't have anything to do with it"  :) And you know he was right - it was very very bad. That was the day I decided to suspend house privileges for awhile.

Good luck. Remember that's why God made puppies so darn cute - so we'd forget what hard work civilizing them is.

I also had a gsd that loved to open my dryer and take all the nice warm clothes out and then scrunch them up as a nice bed for herself. She also chewed the dryer hose off, then chewed the hot water heater valve off and drained it completely of water which flooded the laundry room and my family room. Good news, apparently that is covered under homeowners insurance. It was certainly fun describing to the adjuster what Reno had done. Her best trick was taking the bottle of tide, twisting off the cap and then running through my house shaking liquid tide all over the carpets. At least that was the nicest smelling mess I ever opened my front door to... Hard lesson learned, not enough exercise for my gsds. They never get into anything when I take the time to give them a 45 minute walk. Cheryl

I have an article entitled "The Twenty Thousand Dollar German Shepherd" Its a story by a teenager to AKC about the pup the family left in the bathroom , with food and water, every day to go to work and school....One day , the teen came home, entered the house, to about 3 foot of water all over the floors,,,,she ran to the bathroom., opened the door and the pup ,who was about 9 mos. old, had eaten the water line in half, to the toilet....water ran all over the bottom floor of their home and it cost them , about , in leau of the insurance policy, $20,000.00 to put their house back together..... I make a copy of this and I give it to every puppy owner....a lesson from another person....may help prevent it from happening........MAYBE>>>>>

allaboutthedawgs- LMAO, I seriously was thinking the same thing! How funny!

She did however have a daughter.... The only truly dedicated chewer I've had thank god. Found out later her sire was known as the 65 pound termite growing up ( they could've warned me). I told Star's breeder about her antics. He e-mailed me back: Like mother, like daughter! Uh-oh...maybe if I DO ever breed her, I'll make sure the sire isn't also a chewer!

I started leaving Nenz in the house loose when I found out he didn't chew stuffed animals or shred pillows. I seriously reconsidered crating him after he destroyed 2 remotes. The second one should have been safe since it was on the couch and he never ever went on the couch (or so I thought). Found out he would jump on the couch as soon as I shut the door..... Well I really hope he never gets hold of the universal remote and he seems content with the rhino Nylabone and retriever rawhide rolls I got him. Spunky somehow managed to get her $20 hot pink reflective paw print walking harness off herself when I forgot to take it off her one day and totally destroyed it. I was not happy. She is crated while in the house or there would be total chaos with those jaws at work! Everybody I know thinks it's mean to crate her but both dogs walk 2 to 8 miles with me every day so they get plenty of exercise. I let her work off energy several times a week by backpacking 2 two liters of pop a mile and a half from Super One to our house. She sleeps real good then!

Blitz has never destroyed anything - honestly. He did take a bite out of the TV remote when he was young, but put it back on the table where he got it, so, I didn't count that against him. He is still playing with the first toys we bought him. Otherwise, he's a big pain in the butt LOL.

My boy also seems to have a fettish for a remote too. But that hasn't happened in a while. We also try to remember to not leave it on the couch, as he may have a momentary lapse. :) My 2 1/2 year old still gets crated when we go to work. Though I really think that she'll be fine. I'm just not comfortable leaving all 3 in the house alone while we are at work. Too long of a day. I've left her out a few times with her sister and all has been well. We should just do it! We've left them all for a few hours, just never the long work day.

The only thing I've found my two will not chew are the stainless steel buckets in their kennels. They'll chew clothing, jewelry, remotes, sofas, beds, pillows, blankets, toys (theirs and the kids'), video games, rugs, kennel flooring, dogloo dog houses, chain link kennels...the list goes on. But, they've never chewed their stainless steel buckets! Ha...lucky me. However, they have managed to "twist" the 3 gallon buckets (even filled with water) to the point the big latches will come unhooked and the bucket will be tossed around all day as a form of entertainment. Oh, and they've never chewed us humans...yet! ;)

One of mine chewed the remote for the combination light/ceiling fan on our cathedral ceiling. Now it comes on and off at will. Watching tv and the light comes on. Light goes off then fan comes on. Mind you the remote is in the drawer and you can't make it work. I can't explain it. All I can say is it never did that before. ??? Sunsilver sent you a p.m. explaining the above confusing post.