Road Dogs

Hello, new to this site. Found it in need of help. My husband is a driver, gone 6days a week. My oldest boy, Patron 11yr old German Shepherd, is no longer able to go on the road. We have a pup now, also GS, and the potty training, chewing of cords, is getting unbearable. While on the road and at home. I have decided to keep him this week, being that it's DOT blitz anyway. But does anyone have advice for us? I will say it is not TERRIBLE. Our great Dane we gave up on, that was terrible. But I think it's the fact of on truck off truck. Plus a big ball of curiously playful energy. Are there training recommendation? Toy recommendation?

Sarah, welcome to the site. You may have better luck on a pet-specific site, but stick around. Lots of folks on here have four-legged family members. I have had several GSDs over the years and can sympathize with you. When I go back on the road, I will be taking an 11 month old co-pilot with me. He likes to chew things, too.

Kong toys you put treats in. I used to put peanut butter in them and freeze it. It takes forever to lick it out and will get out their energy.

There are "slow feeding bowls" which have angles in them. it makes it harder to gulp food and they will burn off energy getting it out.

you can spray the no no items with Bitter Apple, and when he chews on his toys pet him or give him treats. this put a "good" feeling with his toys and a "bad" feeling with your stuff.

You can also squirt him with a water bottle when he is actuallt being naughty...not after. It needs to be immediate for him to associate the chewing with the water.

You can also fill a can with pennies or beans to make noise then throw it in his direction when chewing. after a few times you will only need to shake the can.

potty training.... get a crate and when he pees in the house sop of the urine with a paper towel then put him in the cage. place the urine soaked towel.outside the crate door. Dogs hate laying in their urine. You are supposed to start with 5 minutes, then increase each time it continues. My 5 yr dalmatian drove me nuts and after trying this repeatedly, i put her in the crate, left the urine paper by the gate, and put a blanket over the crate most of the night. She never went in the house again..... but she understood she did it out of spite and would pretend to pee in the yard then pee in the house

when they go outside give them a treat right after they finish and pet them. again... pee outside equals good and urine towel trapped in crate is bad.

Well I went thru the chewing phase, but it wasn’t to that extreme. I noticed once his teeth where all in, he stopped. Different breed of dogs, but something I always tried to remind myself, if it’s in his view or he is able to get it, that’s my fault. I forgot shoes many times, and he would gather them up and remind me.

My dog, a 7 month of Golden is awesome. The breed doesn’t generally like to be yelled at or such. So when I would take something from him, I would redirect and hand him something that was his. I just remember being consistent with the training. A GS is an intelligent animal and might be looking for either attention or more activity. Just have to remember, most dogs are looking for your approval and to make you happy.

Again, I feel lucky, my guy only soiled in the house about 5 times, and only slept in his kennel a couple of times.

Good luck

Thanks for some input!! I'll look into it! I will try putting the urine paper outside the crate to start. Maybe it will help.

Kong toys you put treats in. I used to put peanut butter in them and freeze it. It takes forever to lick it out and will get out their energy.

There are "slow feeding bowls" which have angles in them. it makes it harder to gulp food and they will burn off energy getting it out.

you can spray the no no items with Bitter Apple, and when he chews on his toys pet him or give him treats. this put a "good" feeling with his toys and a "bad" feeling with your stuff.

You can also squirt him with a water bottle when he is actuallt being naughty...not after. It needs to be immediate for him to associate the chewing with the water.

You can also fill a can with pennies or beans to make noise then throw it in his direction when chewing. after a few times you will only need to shake the can.

potty training.... get a crate and when he pees in the house sop of the urine with a paper towel then put him in the cage. place the urine soaked towel.outside the crate door. Dogs hate laying in their urine. You are supposed to start with 5 minutes, then increase each time it continues. My 5 yr dalmatian drove me nuts and after trying this repeatedly, i put her in the crate, left the urine paper by the gate, and put a blanket over the crate most of the night. She never went in the house again..... but she understood she did it out of spite and would pretend to pee in the yard then pee in the house

when they go outside give them a treat right after they finish and pet them. again... pee outside equals good and urine towel trapped in crate is bad.

The KONG with treats, and the pee papers work. Leme tell ya. i learned this thru Trucking Fur Babies on f/b. When I ride w/ the hubby, we take our pittie....have been since he was a puppers~!!

A lot of times repeatedly negative behavior is a sign the dog isnt getting enough attention or interaction with you. If dogs arent getting their required attention they will seek it, even if they get negative attention its better than no attention. Id suggests trying to find more time to work with the dog. Teach him/her verbal commands is a good way to interact with your dog with good positive results. And in the case of potty issues take a few more pit stops with the pup and be very positive when they go outside. Treats and pets as and right after they finish doing their business works wonders. Remember dogs live in the moment, so you need to reward immediately for good behavior and discourage immediately when you see bad behavior. If you take too long you will reward/punish the wrong thing and confuse your dog.

A lot of times repeatedly negative behavior is a sign the dog isnt getting enough attention or interaction with you. If dogs arent getting their required attention they will seek it, even if they get negative attention its better than no attention. Id suggests trying to find more time to work with the dog. Teach him/her verbal commands is a good way to interact with your dog with good positive results. And in the case of potty issues take a few more pit stops with the pup and be very positive when they go outside. Treats and pets as and right after they finish doing their business works wonders. Remember dogs live in the moment, so you need to reward immediately for good behavior and discourage immediately when you see bad behavior. If you take too long you will reward/punish the wrong thing and confuse your dog.

Spot on Matthew.

I should also say, form routines. Take the dog out to pee, then give them water back in the truck. I feed my dog half her food I, the am, the other half at night around the same time every day. So I can expect her digestive cycle to produce piles twice a day near the feeding times. This helps to track when its time to get them outside to do their business, and the routine helps them learn when to take care of it. Also my pup pretty much jumps up out of her sleep whenever I set brakes, she knows this is when we het out and do our business outside.

I asked my dog, Moocho Poocho, about this issue. He thinks the problem is not with the dog, but with the trucking lifestyle. I believe he's prejudiced because he's too big to ride in a truck and didn't like it when I was gone. So please disregard his opinion.