We are experienced dog owners (all rescues but GSDs or mixed) but we adopted a new little girl in July and could really use some guidance. The rescue sprung out Emma from the county shelter, where she was estimated to be a year old and had clearly birthed a litter. Honestly, I don’t think she was even a year old. We had a dna test done just to determine her breed and learn what to expect. While she is the sweetest little girl we have ever had, she has been a real challenge in the training department. She is still struggling with potty training despite using the same crate training methods we have with our GSDs. Although she is 40lbs smaller than out GSDs, she managed to destroy and escape from 3 different crates until we found one that resembles a steel cage from the zoo. The main issue that concerns us is her propensity to immediately chew up any object she can find and swallow the remnants. We try to keep a close eye on her every minute but she manages to get things regardless. I am so worried she will end up with a blockage. I did the peroxide first aid thing last weekend when I knew she swallows a neoprene can koozie and she threw up chunks of a plastic comb, pebbles and some plastic I could not identify. Please! Any guidance is appreciated!
Have you tried kongs filled with treats or other spreadable fillings, you can also freeze them after filling to make them last even longer, knotted rope toys are also good for keeping them occupied
Thanks for the freezing suggestion. She has 3 Kong’s that we fill with treats and 2 gigantic elk antlers that started out to be bigger than her legs. She loves to chew them and we try to keep her busy with those. I am hoping this is just a stage that she will grow out of and survive.
