German Shepherd is eating up my house!

Question
My husband and I have a year and a half old german shepherd. She was crate-trained for the first 8 months but started escaping the pin everyday. We bought a different type of pin but my husband refused to allow me to put the dog in the pin after that. She ate furniture, got in the trash, and just generally ripped our house to shreads. We just moved to a new home and I wanted to make sure that these things wouldn't happen again. Yesterday, the first day in the new house, we put her in the smaller bedroom with losts of toys, new and old, and plenty of food and water, a bed & opened the blinds for her. We came home to her out of the room, with the carpet ripped up! I can't take it anymore, what should we do??

Answer
I put this question into the pool so others may also reply. You have a common problem in that you have an active breed dog in an environment that does not allow it to be well behaved activity.  All breeds have a range of temperment from lethargic to hyper active. You happen to have one that is toward the high activity end of the scale.

You didn't mention if the dog has been obedience trained. TRaining helps curb this issue and gives the dog a "job" to do. It helps reduce the mental tension and stress of the dog. Second, the dog has no companion to be social with and play with. In Europe most countries require pets to be adopted/purchased in pairs. The dogs keep each other company. If you choose this route,find one that is quieter in personality. Then arrange a space where they can play and not destroy anything.

Next, as part of obedience, you need a nothing for free program. The dog gets nothing without working for it. It can be as simple as a sit command, shake, whatever you choose. The dog gets its food, treat or toy only after it obeys. The dog soon learns that you are in control of its environment and will want to please you by performng the "work" to get its food, toy, attention.

As for escaping the pen. many dogs quickly figure out how to open the door. One of my previous German Short Hair Pointers was an escape artist. He would open the crate faster than you could lock it, and race upstairs past you. One day I turned around and he had picked out a can of dog foor from the shelves of human and dog foods, got a dish from the sink, put the food in the dish and brought it to me in the bedroom.

YOur dog needs 2-3 hrs per day in outdoor exercise. Enough that it is panting when done playing. When the dog comes in, let it have a drink of water, then a potty break, then back in.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind Kennels LLC