injured crated for 8 weeks

Question
My Shepherd was injured with a fractured growth plate in 2 places front right. He was crated for 8 weeks...he has healed fine. He now jumps on us and is out of control. He also tears up the house if he is left outside while we are at work. He has a house that is insulated for warmth. Was the untimely crating a factor and what can I do?

Answer
Everything you read about dog training says a lack of exercise will lead to behavior problems.  It is not surprising the prolonged, excessive crating lead to problems.  I thing you need to go back to crating when you aren't around and work at giving him as much exercise as possible when you aren't around.  You will need to avoid excessive exercise and high impact things such as running and jumping.  Slowly build up both freedom and exercise, and he should get back to normal.  This should include obedience training.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

I doubt many people have the time for the 3 hours walk many professionals suggest.  You could look into doggy day care.  It is possible he may still be too much for one.  

Along with the general obedience, you need to work on the jumping.  Consistently is very important in correcting jumping and other problems. Quickly correcting him each and every time he jumps on somebody is very important. He must never get the affection he wants. A number of things have been used. One of the most gentle is to grab his front paws and hold him up. The traditional knee to the chest or step on his paws are fading from use. As part of the the trend away from negative methods, just step backwards leaving his front feet to fall to the floor. After a few tries, the dog may just stand there looking confused.