Couple of issues... Wall chewing and Problem Listenting

We have a 5 month German Shepherd pup we've been crate training her but last night my fiance fell asleep on the couch in the living room and she was left out normally she's fine she'll just lay on the other couch and fall asleep but he woke up to her chewing on the baseboard and the dry wall. he quickly pulled her away told her No and put her in the crate. today she went at it again he told her a firm no and put her in the crate and she laid right down and did not get up even when he returned to let her out she did not leave until he said okay. She has toys out of different textures and a bone and she gets lots of play time outside... why all of a sudden is she eating the wall?

The second problem I'm having is getting her to come when I call her. SHE WONT LISTEN! we have a large front yard which is gated off but not on one side... in any case sometimes I'll play fetch with her or I'll hide a toy and get her to find it so she wont have the long leach on her and if people walk by or another dog come along she'll run after them I know she just wants to play but its to the point she will run off even when I'm calling her to come. or I'll be on the porch and say COME and she'll just look at me turn around and continue playing. I try going into the house she wont come I try walking closer to her she just runs around and thinks I'm playing with her. Its REALLY annoying and I'm very worried for her safety. HOW CAN I GET HER TO LISTEN!?!?!?!?!?! She's very smart she's proven that many times I don't know why she doesn't understand to come when she hears her name or the word...

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Originally Posted by Dee and Mikey

We have a 5 month German Shepherd pup we've been crate training her but last night my fiance fell asleep on the couch in the living room and she was left out normally she's fine she'll just lay on the other couch and fall asleep but he woke up to her chewing on the baseboard and the dry wall. he quickly pulled her away told her No and put her in the crate. today she went at it again he told her a firm no and put her in the crate and she laid right down and did not get up even when he returned to let her out she did not leave until he said okay. She has toys out of different textures and a bone and she gets lots of play time outside... why all of a sudden is she eating the wall?

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She's doing it because she is a puppy exploring her world. She is also at the teething stage and that may be the problem. If you don't catch her in the act, there is not much you can do. The secret is to watch her like a hawk and when she does it, go to her, remove her from the wall while saying, "no no, don't chew that, here chew this" in a normal tone of voice and while putting one of her toys in her mouth. Don't yell or use a harsh tone of voice. You are teaching her and if you get her upset, her learning ability goes down. You could also roll up a wet wash rag and put it in the freezer for her to chew on. If she's teething this will ease her pain. You can also get some Alum from your drug store or health food store. Take a small amount in spoon and add a few drops of water to make a paste. Spread this paste around the area she is chewing and she will only chew it one more time. It dries into a white crusty substance and is pretty ugly but after a few weeks, you can wash it off and be ok.

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The second problem I'm having is getting her to come when I call her. SHE WONT LISTEN! we have a large front yard which is gated off but not on one side... in any case sometimes I'll play fetch with her or I'll hide a toy and get her to find it so she wont have the long leach on her and if people walk by or another dog come along she'll run after them I know she just wants to play but its to the point she will run off even when I'm calling her to come. or I'll be on the porch and say COME and she'll just look at me turn around and continue playing. I try going into the house she wont come I try walking closer to her she just runs around and thinks I'm playing with her. Its REALLY annoying and I'm very worried for her safety. HOW CAN I GET HER TO LISTEN!?!?!?!?!?! She's very smart she's proven that many times I don't know why she doesn't understand to come when she hears her name or the word...

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My guess is that she's never been taught what "come" means. Start off calling her from a short distance like say 6'. Call her and when she comes to you praise lavishly and give a SMALL treat. Gradually increase the distance but only increase distance when she gets proficient at the distance you are working on. Once she is good at 6', move to 10' then 15' then 20' ect. Always be upbeat and excited when you call her to you. Give her a reason to come to you. Never fuss at her for not coming. If it takes 10 minutes to get her to come to you, still praise lavishly and treat just like she had come innocently. Don't just call her to you to come in or do other things she won't like such as a bath, nail clipping. It would be fun for you and your fiance stand 6' apart and call her back and forth between you. It gets more fun as you increase distance. Remember wait until she is proficient at a distance before you move up. Begin with no distractions. After you get a good distance built up, increase distractions and start over at 6'. After you get her built up again, increase distractions again and start back at 6' again. I am saying it may take a couple of months or more to get her proficient at 20'.

We caught her in the act the first two times and corrected her just the way you said so far she's stayed away from the wall :) I'm pretty sure all her adult teeth are in (I check them every other day) but I also read somewhere that even though her adult teeth may all be in they are still loose and they need to chew to set them in... is this true? We have toys for her a stuffed animal, a puppy kong, a kong tennis ball and a hard rubber chicken leg... we also give her bones to chew on; is this sufficient? We're definitely going to try that method when we practice calling her, do you recommend using her name ie: Hurley Come. to get her more familiar with her name or should we just say Come. ? Thanks for the Advice!