Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hank is just 8 months old now and is so well behaved in every area, except when he is left unattended outside for even a minute. We have a very large fenced in back yard and would like to be able to let him run, roam, sniff unsupervised at some point. As soon as we leave him out there he finds something to destroy, he's pulled the lattice off from the side of the deck, bitten through 3 regulators on our gas grill, tried pulling the siding off the house,chewed on the deck and furniture and his newest thing is to find any type of wires (cable,phone,security) that run along the house and yank them out. He manages to do this in just a few minutes unsupervised, like he has a plan to do it as soon as we walk inside.

He is excercised thoroughly and trained every day, he's currently working on agility training, he gets regular walks and he's got a TON of toys to play with outside as well as inside. He has never done anything like this inside the house, even when left unsupervised for a few minutes. So far we have tried spraying things with bitters which he licked off and seemed like he was looking for more because he liked the taste. We then moved on to a hot sauce/cayenne pepper combo with no luck. I really dont know what to do at this point, and I dont want to put him on a runner or tether. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks

I'm sure this isn't the answer you're hoping for, but you simply can not allow him to practice these behaviors.

At 8 months, he's still a puppy, and still learning what's right and wrong. So, your job is to be out there with him so you can prevent him from getting into any mischief. If you don't have a solid "leave it" yet, get one, and also, keep him on a long drag line so you can stop him from doing anything destructive.

If you're sure he's getting enough exercise, then just take him out to potty, and bring him back inside. Don't give him the opportunity to get into trouble. And, don't send him out alone to do his business, especially at nite (he could run into a skunk, which is no fun to deal with before bedtime ).

When he's a lot older and more responsible, he may be able to remain outdoors by himself, but it depends on his temperament/personality, and your current training. My DS has no interest in being outside by herself.

I had to watch Sadie like a hawk, Sometimes I still dont trust her at 2. Keep a long line on her for quick corrections. Depending on the weather, she will stay out or come in , but I have to watch, if she gets board she will find something to eat.

leih merigian wrote:I'm sure this isn't the answer you're hoping for, but you simply can not allow him to practice these behaviors.

At 8 months, he's still a puppy, and still learning what's right and wrong. So, your job is to be out there with him so you can prevent him from getting into any mischief. If you don't have a solid "leave it" yet, get one, and also, keep him on a long drag line so you can stop him from doing anything destructive.

I know now that he just cannot be left alone outside at all, at least for now. He ALWAYS has his collar and drag line on, even when outside with us, so he does get corrected when he acts destructive. He knows the "leave it" or "drop" command very well and will listen when one of us is out there. He just loves to be outside so much, when we bring him in even after lots of play or excercise he lays at the backdoor looking wistfully outside, then turns and gives me this look that says "oh please let me out, I'll be good" lol

Markay wrote:

leih merigian wrote:I know now that he just cannot be left alone outside at all, at least for now. He ALWAYS has his collar and drag line on, even when outside with us, so he does get corrected when he acts destructive. He knows the "leave it" or "drop" command very well and will listen when one of us is out there. He just loves to be outside so much, when we bring him in even after lots of play or excercise he lays at the backdoor looking wistfully outside, then turns and gives me this look that says "oh please let me out, I'll be good" lol

It's great that he listens to you when you're out there with him!

My dog loves to lie on the floor by a door/window and look outside, watching the world. I think you may be anthropomorphizing a bit tho, about his pining to be out there.

Wait until he's about 18 months old (yes, another 10 months ), during which time you can tell him "leave it" whenever he's heading for trouble, or otherwise prevent him from doing so. When he's older, let him out but stay by a window or door and watch him like a hawk, for like 5 minutes. See how he behaves. Gradually increase the time, but always watch him and be ever ready to correct him if he misbehaves (the fun stops, he has to come in). If he can do 5 minutes but not 10, then let him have 5 minutes outside, and try longer again in a week or so. He'll get there.

My DS is now 2 years old. At your guy's age, she'd be digging in the yard within 5 minutes if left out alone, or eating acorns, shells and all . Now, she'll just explore the yard some, maybe chew on a stick for a while, but then she wants to be back inside with me.

You'll get there, if you don't allow him to practice these behaviors now.

Ya, there is a difference between knowing to stop when being told to (Listening to the leave it command), and not doing something you don't want them to do on their own (leaving the dirt in the ground, or renovating your deck....)and from my experience its been something that just takes time for them to really get it. Like Leih said, keep being consistent with not allowing the unwanted behaviours and eventually you'll get there.

I am actually having the same problems with my DS. She's good as gold when with us its when she is out on her own its like a totally different dog. My grass is all ripped up things are dragged all over the yard and anything my kids happen to forget outside forget it it is shredded to nothing. I was also wondering what to do. She seems happiest being with us and is content to just be with you. So thank you for the posts this helps.....maybe not the part about having to stay out with her especially on mornings when I need to get ready for work. A pen outside is not a option or tied up we have a huge back yard so the dogs can run free.

They are too smart. They are bored.

I know you have given them many alternatives to vent their boredom on, but clearly they think the other activities that the yard has to offer are much more entertaining. So right now, you really only have 3 options - don't let him be outside unsupervised, provide better alternatives that your dog actually seeks out, or limit his ability to interact with everything.

I know you would rather not limit his area, but that may be your best option. Find a 10x10 kennel and have that be his unsupervised area. It may seem cruel to you because you have the vision of him enjoying the whole yard, but how is that different then him being crated in the house? Also, when he goes out, try to have some special REALLY interactive toys for him to engage. Freeze some treats in a baking pan of water and let him work on getting them out. Put his whole meal in a buster cube and let him interact with that object to eat.

At the end of the day, when they chew or destroy something, if there is not immediate feedback then it is a self rewarded behavior. I give my dogs quite a bit of freedom to engage in many of these activities. They have a place to dig in the yard. They eat small trees. LOL. But who cares? They were bored and as long as they aren't killing themselves, I'm OK with them entertaining themselves vs. just being crated or in a down-stay with boring me. Obviously we puppy proof and make sure they really can't kill themselves. But you really only have those few options right now. Puppy proof and suck it up, or more confinement, or direct supervision.

Just think, free garderners !!! 2' tall trimmers LOL. Mine trim the bushes for me. I forgot to tell Sadie not to trim the new plants, I planted an azaila last summer and its only an 1" nub now.

I gave Sadie an old tire from my bike, she loved it !! She ran around the yard so proud and her and Thalie played tug o war with it. I had the other one at my dads and he put it around a tree and Sadie played tug o war by herself, it pooped her right out.

I do love the idea of freezing treats in muffin tins!!! On the top of my list tomorrow!!! I dont remember if bones were mentioned, mine love moose antlers and that keeps them busy for hours.

Dutchringgirl wrote: I do love the idea of freezing treats in muffin tins!!! On the top of my list tomorrow!!! I dont remember if bones were mentioned, mine love moose antlers and that keeps them busy for hours.

We have a slaughter house that sells the refuse for $0.10 per pound. There are huge femurs in there and all kinds of stuff. I know that technically they aren't supposed to have weight bearing bones, but so far none of our 10 have had an issue. I think they are more likely to break a tooth on nylabone.

My daily pet peeve was my neighbor today. They have 5 Bostons and a German Shepherd that are never contained. Their dogs come into our yard at night, into our fence and steal the bones that get taken outside. Today she called to bitch because her husband was pissed that he had to get up and move the bones that they steal when he mows so he doesn't break the mower. Somehow that's MY fault.....they they come over here and steal my dogs stuff and then they have to deal with it. I politely took them over information about underground fences and offered to let her buy it at my dealer cost. All this after listening to her yell at me for 20 minutes. UG.

ugh, dont you just love that!!!

Christie M wrote: Today she called to bitch because her husband was pissed that he had to get up and move the bones that they steal when he mows so he doesn't break the mower. Somehow that's MY fault

Truly mind bending...

What's that saying...good fences make good neighbors, something like that?

I had this issue too although they would attack my plants and rip them out of the ground along with our sprinkler wiring and anything else they could reach. They even ate an entire apple tree once. I tried everything from the bitter spray to pepper to the water hose. I finally had enough after the tree and the next time I caught them near any landscaping I walked out and told the dogs it was "MINE" and pointed at the plants. I didn't yell I just used an "I mean business" tone and kept on until they dropped tails and cowered around a bit. Every once in a while I do it again just to reiterate but I haven't lost a single plant since and have even managed to grow some decent looking flowers.

So, your neighbors may laugh (mine did) but its worth a shot.

AFronhei wrote:I had this issue too although they would attack my plants and rip them out of the ground along with our sprinkler wiring and anything else they could reach. They even ate an entire apple tree once. I tried everything from the bitter spray to pepper to the water hose. I finally had enough after the tree and the next time I caught them near any landscaping I walked out and told the dogs it was "MINE" and pointed at the plants. I didn't yell I just used an "I mean business" tone and kept on until they dropped tails and cowered around a bit. Every once in a while I do it again just to reiterate but I haven't lost a single plant since and have even managed to grow some decent looking flowers.

So, your neighbors may laugh (mine did) but its worth a shot.

We would need a video of Christie doing this !!! "leave it!!" works well too

Radar too!



That's a palm frond Radar jumped up, grabbed, and ripped off the tree.

Dutchringgirl wrote:We would need a video of Christie doing this !!! "leave it!!" works well too

I tried "leave it" and it never worked with the plants. She loved eating them too much. She'll listen to it for anything else but the plants. lol. My neighbor laughed hysterically so I'm sure a video would become an internet sensation.

I also took a 5 gallon water jug (like the ones used for the dispenser) and put some kibble inside it. They roll it around the yard and knock the kibble out...keeps them occupied and its sturdy enough they don't destroy it in a day (I initially tried milk jugs).

Thankfully Hank is much better being outside now, whew! I figured out that if i leave the door or screen door open enough for him to come in and out as he pleases he behaves perfectly. He gets 2-3 unsupervised romps in the yard each day, of course I'm always watching him like a hawk just in case.

I used to scatter a cup of dry kibbles around the yard. It kept the dogs busy for about an hour, sniffing around to find them. I'm not sure if this would be appropriate for dogs being trained for drug or bomb detection though.

I did the ice cube trick Christie mentioned. I froze kibble in ice cubes. Thalie found all of them but Sadie, well.........no.