Hi all

I normally post in the cat section but we also have a German Shepherd.

Me & my partner work all day and the dog used to chew anything he could get his hands on. This includes fixtures too such as flooring, skirting board, window sills etc. He also destroyed a bed setee. It drove us up the wall.
This caused so much tension between me & my partner and we used to argue over it.
It got to the point where we were seriously considering sending him to my parents to live.

So we decided to introduce walks in the morning to see if this improved. We get up an hour early before work to take him for an hour.
Since we have done this he has stopped the chewing (but there is nothing left for him to chew now anyway - i dont doubt he would still chew given the chance).
I did a lot of research on the net about what was causing this problem.

So after a few months of being good and being taken for walks he now decides to wee and poo in his room (conservatory).
He has done it when we get up in the morning, also at lunch time when we go home to let him out and also at night when we get home from work.
He has also done it while we have been there too.

Most of the time when we have been out we dont tell him off for the simple reason he cannot tell us that he needs the loo. But there are no excuses for it when we are there!
We always make sure he goes in the garden for at least half an hour before we go out or go to bed.
But we do tell him off sometimes because we believe if we dont then he thinks its ok to do it in the house rather than hang on till we get home.

Now the chewing did affect my relationship with the dog, but then we started to build it back up again when he started being good. But I feel its going down hill again and i dont know what to do.
It makes me feel like I hate him. And it puts me in an awful mood when he has been bad (which at the moment is eveytime we go into his room).

Sorry for the long post - please help!!!!

well from what i understand its because hes missing you. i have a border terrier and he used to do the same, well he still does. He used to be kept in the spare room when we went out and he used to chew so we told him off and he stopped, then he started goin 2 the toilet everywhere even though he was house broken. From what iv been told its because he knows he cant chew so he does this, its not to be naughty its because he thinks that you are his subbordants and is makes him panic that you have left him and so the soiling is to let you know that he wants you to stay in that area with him. shouting hasn't done anything to our dog and he now gets kept outside, but if you want him to stay inside then the only option i can think of is to make him understand that your not leaving him ex. leave a tape of your voice running so he thinks your still there, put old clothes that smell of you in his bed so he can feel reasured etc. things like that.

hope this helps

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Keep Dreaming Smudge! HAHAHA

Thanks for the advice.
We are going to build him a run down the side of the house with a kennel when the weather is better but we were hoping to have him in the house at night time - but if he carries on like this he will be in his own house outside.

I find it harder to deal with than my partner cos he was originally my partners dog before we lived together. Also I am not really a dog lover so i think thats why i find it extra hard.

well keeping him outside is better anyway i think, our dog is alot better behaved in the house now he's outside and has calmed down alot, i couldn't stop him form chewing or soiling and i have tried everything even tried stuff off tele but nothing has worked so me and my partner went and bought him a lovely kennel and now he has the run of the garden and he loves it

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Keep Dreaming Smudge! HAHAHA

Ok great thanks hun - i just didnt know if i was missing something (especially as I am not used to dogs)

It sounds very much like seperation anxiety,Dogs don't think in the same way as we do,so shouting at him when you return home is pointless and he doesn't know what he's been shouted at for.

A link to seperation anxiety,
Separation Anxiety in Dogs

In my opinion your in need of a cage
(1) when hes in a cage he cant chew!
(2)when hes in a cage hes less likely to wee or poo! cause thats where he sleeps!
(3)when hes caged you know hes safe! and wont come to any harm!
Most dog owners that cage their dogs dont suffer what your suffering!

We do have a cage but i personally felt cruel shutting him in that all the time??

Sounds like seperation anxiety to me too, we had simular problems with Milo a while back, we followed a simular treatment method as mentioned on that link and we can now leave him for 4-5 hours without problems.

I took this from the link as it seemed to be particularly effective for us:

Departure and return should be made as quiet and uneventful as possible to avoid overstimulating the dog. The dog should not be given attention prior to departures nor given attention and praise upon returns. Excessive attention prior to departure and upon return seem to increase the anxiety during separation and it does NOT make it easier on the dog as most people suspect.

dont be silly a cage is like their natural den,its where they feel safe etc etc, most responsible dog owners use cages its the only way your gonna kerb what hes donig!
I use them...and love my dogs as much as anyone!

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