What can I do to stop this?!!

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

I used to leave Drake outside in the yard when I went to work everyday. He had a shaddy spot, his doggy house, food, and water. He got to play all day while I was gone. But it has gotten so hot now, that I can not leave him outside. Even the shaddy spot is too hot. So, I leave him inside now where it is nice and cool. I fix up the couch for him with all his toys, blankies, and good stuff. up untill a couple of days ago, all was well. When I got home, he was of course very hyper and we went outside and played and wore off some of that energy. Now, when I come home,my house is destroyed. trash all over the place. He shredded Andrew's running shorts, chewed up some candles, and picture frames. Yesterday, I came home to find the wooden arm rest of my coach chewed up! He hasn't chewed up things or destroyed anything for a while now. He grew out of his puppy habits and has become very mature. I am sure that he gets bored during the day. But what am I supposed to do? He will burn up outside. He is half wolf whick means he has an under coat and even though he has a summer haircut, he still gets very hot!
I need some advice!

[RachelJ]

Can you restrict him to a certain area, say the kitchen and then remove whatever things might be targets for his distruction? Also set aside some time in the morning to give him some exercise outside if it isn't too hot. A stuffed kong might divert his attention a little as well. Of course there is always the idea of a companion animal! I think you are on the right track keeping him inside in the really hot weather.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Thank you for your reply. The way my house is, the kitchen and living room are attached. The only thing that separateds the two is an island. I put the trash can up on the counter this morning to see if that will work. I doubt it though. Drake is so big that he can reach alomost anything on the counter.
Drake, Andrew, and I run 6 miles every morning. He is tired when we get back, but in a few hours, he is not tired and I guess that is when he gets busy.
I have been thinking of getting another pet to keep him company. Only problem is he thinks cats are a snack, and gets jealous of any dog that my husband and I even pet. He gets very mad and attacks the dog. Then he barks at Andrew and I as if he were telling us: How dare you give any other doggy some affection. Its all mine, you hear?!
I will make sure though to remove anything that I do not want him to lay his paws or teeth on. Maybe we should run more. He's part GSD and needs to be busy all the time. Do rhey have doggy nannies?!! Ha!ha!ha!

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Hi Souraya
When we go into the mountains to the cabin we always bring a flexible metal type fence we got from Petsmart. Our daughter-in-law also has one and we hook them together in the living room of the cabin so the dogs (4 of them) won't get out when someone opens the door. They come in many sizes and as tall as you need. Maybe if you got one or two of them and hooked them up in the largest area you have and put toys in with him? They just hook together and when you are not using them they fold up. Just a thought. Good luck, maybe a kong.
Jackie

[Dixieland Dancer]

This is the reason we crate our dogs. My one Golden suffers from separation anxiety and shreds paper to thousands of tiny pieces. Thank God she has never done anything else We breed her and kept one of her puppies. Now she has a companion so we don't crate her anymore but we still crate the pup for housetraining purposes. My suggestion would be to either crate your dog while you are out or get a doggie door that would enable the dog to come into the house when he gets over heated. Best of luck

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I am note sure the metal fence will hold him. He is so big!
Last summer we went to Paris on vacation and on the way back, our flight got delayed and we had to make an medical emergency stop at JFK. Then our flight had to wait about 2 hours for clearance to land in Atlanta. Drake was in the crate all that time and when we got home, he was so mad and angry. He growled at everyone, including Andrew and I, for two weeks. Would not let anyone near him. Ever since then, he will no come close to the crate. We wanted to take him wih us to Pennsylvania for 4th of July, but we couldn't fly coz he wouldn't get in his crate. We had to drive!
So, I do not think i will be able to crate him. I will try the doggy door though!

[carrie]

Am I right in thinking you have a very large GSD/Wolf cross?
If you have then nothing will contain him in the house and Kongs will not hold his attention for long (if they last long!) Have you thought of a putting a water pool in the yard for him to cool off in? A plastic pool will probably not last long but a stone or cement trough large enough for him to lay in might work.

If you do have a wolf cross that is showing this dominant behaviour towards you (growling when he's been crated and when you touch other dogs) I would seriously urge you to get some experienced help to get this under control. The more he grows and matures emotionally the more sure he will be of himself and the more difficult it will be to control. I'm not saying all wolf crosses are bad BUT they do need special handling and understanding.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Yes, you are correct! Drake is a GSD/Wolf mix. He is only 14 months old and is 85 lbs. He is very gentle and extremely sweet, though. I understand why he wouldn't like his crate after being stuck in it for alomost 20 hours. I would be growling too if I was stuck in a crate for that long with no exercise, no love or attention, and having to sit in my own urine and feces. I know him getting jealous if we pet other dog is a problem. But he has never hurt us. He is just very spoiled and that can be blamed on us. The pool sounds like a great idea though.

[carrie]

I'm sorry to go on at you but a 14 month old wolf mix is going to take advantage of your "spoiling" him and you are running out of time to be able to control his behaviour. He is coming up to the teenager stage of life and will begin to take the "spoiling" as his right in life. If he has these rights he will begin to see how many more rights he can get from you. If you allow him to continue then he will feel obliged to discipline you in the future, there are signs that this is already happening.
Please get in touch with others that have wolf mixes, there are many sites on the web, get some advice and get this under control. Ignore those that insist there are NO PROBLEMS as they are either lying or do not have true wolf mixes.

[Dixieland Dancer]

I have to agree with Carrie that you are already showing signs that this dog will be uncontrollable in a few short months. He may be okay with you but is he okay around other people? Do you want to take the chance? There are professionals who can help you train this dog at this point but if you wait to much longer you may lose the edge (or the willingness of anyone who can help). I would never tolorate my dog growling at anyone for any reason. You need to be the ALPHA in the house and take control of the dogs behavior problems with either a specialist training the dog and/or you

It is a task worth taking for the love your dog will show in return Best of Luck

[RachelJ]

Is Drake neutered?

[TollSettFK]

What about a play pen? Or, here is another idea.Take his crate (Does he have a crate?) and set it up with the door open. Surronding the door, use baby gates, boxes, crates, or whatever, and close in a small area that he can play in, and go in and out of his crate when ever he wants. In the play area( o.k, I know this is discusting) , put sheets of news papers and when you take him out to the bath room, take a cotton ball with you, and a plastic bag. When he urinates, soak the cottan ball in it, and put it in the plastic bag. Dab the cotton ball on the newspaper, and he'll be attracted to the smell, and he'll go there.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

I appreciate all your advice. Drake is not out of control. He is very friendly and social. He loves playing with other dogs and loves people so much. He only gets jealous and growls and barks if I play with another dog. I will try and see what we can do about that. He is not mean.

[carrie]

He sounds fantastic and please don't think I'm saying that you have a devil dog or anything as ridiculous as that.
I am, however, worried that you are underestimating the potential of this dog and would much rather here you say in two years time that you were glad that you got the right training but it wasn't needed than the dog had to be given up as he was far too dominant for you to handle.

[yorkster]

Yup, I hate to say it but Carrie is correct. I once had to give up a G. Shepherd mix because of aggressive behavior. It was THE MOST difficult thing I have ever done! I loved him sooooo much. It made it even more difficult because for the most part he was being protective of me. He too, was fine until he was about 18 months old. It got really bad though. Friends were afraid of him, I could not take him out in public, the neighbors complained, etc. We tried everything: obedience training, behavior modification. We even took him to a really pricey place that he had to stay at for 3 months before he came home. It helped for a short time is all. What it came down to is we had to find another home for him. It was not fair to him to have to live like that, and not good for us either. It worked out for the best though: he went to a couple of people who live in the country and specialized in this type of behavior. They just fell in love with him. We got lucky and so did he. We were told that if we had started STRICT obedience when he was a puppy (under 3 months), and socialized him a lot, it would not have been a problem. Live and learn I guess. With certain breeds and certain mixes, there absolutely has to be a pack leader- YOU! It's hard to not be lovey and spoil a dog you love him so much, but it is the only way. Please at least talk to a really good dog-trainer, because it is difficult to do on your own. I don't want what happened to me, to happen to you.