Almost Lost Our Boy

[Buster2003]

Buster is 15 months old and has never stayed alone. We lived in an apartment up until a week ago, and they said we can have a dog as long as he doesn't bark. Well Buster's first day alone we put him in his crate and went to work. He cried and my neighbor called the police. We were not getting rid of our little boy, so from then on my in-laws would take him everyday, and they loved it(so did he).

We just bought our first home and decided that it was time to leave Buster alone. His first day he was alone for 5 hours and my brother went to see him all was well, so the next day he was alone all day, not so good. My BF and i get home and we hear him barking in the house, he goes to get him and walks in to a house full of blood. We both grab Buster to see were he's cut, we check him everywhere no sign of any cuts, we check in his mouth no cuts. I looked at all the blood and realized that we almost lost our baby boy. I called his vet and she said to keep an eye on him, if we see that he's not himself. Even though he lost all that blood( we could see he was thinner from all the blood he lost) he was still jumping around when we walked in the door, he drank almost two bowls of water in one sitting and he ate his supper,he was still our Buster.

This weekend we saw were he hurt himself. He must of banged his paw up against the window in the livingroom to see out the window(if Mom& Dad are home) and the nail all but fell off. He must have banged it again cause when we first checked him he had nothing, now you can see that his nail is no longer attached to the vein. The good news is our Boy is doing great. I don't want to think about what might have happened.

Just one question. How can i get Buster used to his crate???

 

[MerryB923]

ohh poor Buster- they really do lose a lot of blood when their nails get cut too short, but luckily, it usually clots before it can cause any real damage... still, be careful!!!
He won't like his crate at first, they never do- but keep putting him in there anyways... do this every once in awhile, not only when he is bad or when you leave, so that he doesnt associate the crate with something bad. Make it as nice as you can in there, and make sure its comfy and he has some toys. You can even throw a treat in there to get him to go in by himself.
I know its tough to make him go somewhere that he doesnt want to go, but its for the best, as you have seen. Soon enough he might go in on his own to get some privacy!!

Anyway, hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[Buster2003]

Thanks MerryB923 for the info. We have a week before we go back to work, hopefully Buster will be used to his new home by then. As for the crate we'll keep trying out in there for a an hour a day and see how that goes. My fear is that he'll hurt himself on the bars trying to get out. Any more little tricks would be of help.

 

[mancin]

Do a search on "crate training" and you'll find a lot of posts with good information.
A crate is really the safest place for him.
Good luck!

 

[Buster2003]

Can't find info on crate training. I found lots of info on crate training puppies but nothing on crate training a 15 month old puppy/big boy. I think this is going to be a difficult one, wish us luck.

 

[owen's mum]

I rescued my dog at 1 year (he is nearing 2 now.) Owen didn't care for his create at first, so I incorporated it into his daily training.

Each time he eats, I split his food in two parts. He eats the first half when he sits nicely. The second half, we train with (sit, down, stay, shake, crawl , etc.) I started bringing some of the food in the house and I crated a hand signal for "kennel." (He has a wire kennel.) I put some food in my hand, and when he knew I had it, I passed my closed hand over the crate while saying kennel. Once he went inside, I told him "Kennel, Good Boy! Kennel! and gave him 2-3 pieces of food.

We had some set backs after using the kennel for time out, so I resorted to small pieces of Milkbones until he was OK again. When I put him in the kennel when I'm home, I periodically tell him "Good Boy!" and give him treats.

Oh, and toys, toys, toys! Owen chews, so he can only have his Kong or a durable Nylabone.

Sorry, I type alot ! Hope it helps.

 

[Marybeth18]

It will be tough at first (lots of howling and crying) but he will get used to it. I always make sure Daisy has either a kong or her bully stick and some toys. I also have a fleece pad with a bumper around the side for comfort. You've got the right idea, leave him for a little while at a time and eventually he'll be ok. This way you'll also have peace of mind that he's not getting into trouble!

 

[Gus's Teah]

Make crate time happy

We had the same issue at first when we started leaving Gus in his crate; he dreaded going in, we hated putting him in his crate, and I think he picked up on it. We started making happy exclamations like "happy crate time" and telling him he was such a good boy and giving him treats when he went in and this helped tons! We also moved the crate to a spot where he can see outside which keeps him occupied. He now goes in his crate to take naps with the crate door open when we're in the kitchen (where the crate is). I don't know if our situation is exactly the same though... we've never left Gus alone for more than 4 hours since my husband works from home. When dh's out of town, I come home at lunch to take him for a walk. I know, he has us wrapped around his little toe

Anyways, try making crate time happy with treats and make sure it's comfy.