3 legged German shepherd (9 months old) chews up every blanket or bed I give her

[cflowers87]

My German shepherd puppy keeps chewing up anything I give her to lay on. She's put a big hole in my older dogs bed and is always putting her nose in the hole pulling out more stuffing..she is kennel trained but she destroys any towel or blanket I put in for her. She has left one bed alone ..my boyfriend got her one to keep at his house. She goes with me when I stay the night. What can I do about this?

 

[mkelly1075]

@cflowers87 Some dogs enjoy destroying soft things. Most puppies go through this stage for several months, and you simply can't leave them unsupervised with blankets, towels, beds, or soft toys. Many of them grow out of it, some do not.

Does she have other things that are appropriate and satisfying to chew? Bully sticks can be great under supervision, stuffed frozen Kongs are good, my youngest dog loves just laying and chewing on her Bionic Urban Stick or similar firm-not-hard bone/stick shaped toys. Does she get lots of time to explore and play? Is her brain getting stimulation/training every day? A thinking and tired puppy is a good puppy.

My dogs all go through a phase around 3 - 9 months where they don't get any bedding in their crates at all. Once they've grown out of it and haven't shredded anything in a couple months, they get a nice bed that will last them for years. One of my dogs is a reactive dog, and one of her ways of dealing with stress is to shred her bedding, so when she is crated at events or in the car where she will be stressed out, I give her cheap towels/blankets from Goodwill to shred to help her cope. She doesn't eat any of the shreds or stuffing, however, so this is safe for her and may not be safe for all dogs. All of my dogs take GREAT delight in destuffing and destroying soft toys, so they don't get those except when I am ready to let them do that (my oldest usually gets one to play with and destroy all by herself on her birthday). The toys out in my house are generally of the indestructible or tug variety.

Good luck!

 

[zach17]

@mkelly1075 Walmart sells $2.50 thin fleece blankets (sometimes with cute holiday or doggy patterns) that I get for my 2 year old lab mix. After spending probably a few hundred on dog beds and soft toys when she was a puppy, we took everything soft away. She now (at 2 years old) has a bed in my office that she sleeps in when I’m working, and has only torn 1 hole in it. I imagine it’s that she isn’t anxious when I’m home with her. When I leave she gets crated with 2 of the Walmart fleece blankets, which I haven’t had to replace in a while as I think she’s slowing down.

Soft dog toys are special treats (hit up petsmart after holidays and they usually have soft holiday-themed toys super cheap) that last about 3.5 seconds. Every house we visit/she stays at has to be cleansed of any beloved soft toys on the floor. Such is life.

 

[coffeeprince]

@cflowers87 I don't think the missing leg is the cause of this. It's just a young dog thing. I've heard good things about this style (not this particular product) of dog bed that will prevent chewing, but I'll let others confirm.

http://carlsonpetproducts.com/large-portable-dog-cot-red/

 

[itsmepippy]

@cflowers87 I dont think the number of legs is relevant

 

[cflowers87]

@itsmepippy Well..she's frustrated because the vet recommended I not take her in long walks to keep from wearing her leg out..and she gets antsy.

 

[inhisgrip5]

@cflowers87 Mental stimulation will tire out your dog far more than physical exercise will. Do training sessions, nose work, puzzle feeders, etc.

 

[catdance5]

@inhisgrip5 Mental stimulation can only go so far, especially with a puppy from a high energy breed. Sure, it helps and she should be doing lots, but not being able to physically wear down a dog is maddening.

Little kids are the same way. Sure, you can wear them out making them think about things, but at a certain point they just need to run around.

Edit: oh, where I was going with this is that she should probably look into other ways to tire the dog out if she's going to need to deal with this long term.

 

[mkelly1075]

@cflowers87 There are lots of things that a dog with three legs can do, up to and including many dog sports. Unless the amputation is very recent and she's still healing, your dog still needs physical movement and training just like a four-legged dog. She would benefit from a few sessions with a rehab vet, if she hasn't had any already, and then some work with a canine fitness trainer to help you build a training program to keep her strong and minimize the strain on her body from the missing leg.

Mental work is also important - training, feeding in puzzle toys, doing snuffle mats or nosework, all of that helps to occupy the dog's mind and keep them busy. A GSD is meant to work and to move, even the poorly bred American ones, and needs that stimulation to remain physically and mentally healthy.

 

[ctilly]

@cflowers87 When did she lose the leg? Once my boy was fully recovered from his amputation we basically exercised him the same as a 4 legged dog, just built up slowly

 

[catdance5]

@ctilly Yeah, unless there is some special consideration, it doesn't make much sense to me either. If the amputation isn't recent, I'd probably get a second opinion. Keeping a german shepherd puppy cooped up doesn't sound fun.

She's probably right that it is causing some of the behavioral issues.

 

[catdance5]

@cflowers87 Keeping a pup cooped up like that is a pretty hard ask. Obviously the vet knows better, but not wearing out a German shepherd is rough. Did he recently lose the leg?

Is this like a temporary thing or does the vet think, in general, you should limit his exercise?