u/Abject-Panda-7413

Hey all, I have a 13 week old male shepherd (aka land shark) puppy (not my first shepherd, but I haven’t had a puppy in 13 years). We are working with a trainer twice weekly and he is doing well overall. My biggest question in all of this is how much should I worry about him eating literally *everything* on the ground outside? I work in veterinary medicine, so I understand the answer is to try to keep him from chewing sticks/leaves/earthworms (ew), etc. but giving advice is vastly different than being able to execute it. I have tried bringing toys out with us, letting him chase a ball, bringing treats to keep him focused on me, etc. but he is ADAMANT about trying to chew/eat every single stick, leaf, bug, etc. in sight. We are already working on basket muzzle training (because I think it’s valuable for a variety of reasons) but I’m really struggling to figure out how much to worry about him eating everything.

What crate are people using for their vehicles to keep their dogs safe on car rides? I may need to be taking a 10 hour car ride this summer and would be bringing my dog along with me. I would absolutely be stopping every couple of hours to let him out to stretch his legs and move around. I work in veterinary medicine (in an ER) and have seen too many dogs come in with significant injuries after their owners were in an accident with the dog in the car and not secured, so I would like him to be in a crate that keeps him safe but am struggling to figure out what the best option is. I have considered RuffLand but it seems that it will take months for it to be shipped to me (which I may still do for the future but would likely need something sooner).