So disappointed - am I expecting too much?

[gmacleod]

Well, there's not much point in making a fuss about it. You really have to catch them in the act - with candle in jaws - for that to be effective.

Best thing to do is pointedly ignore her while you clear it up. The chances that she'd associate being told off with something she did more than a minute ago are extremely slim - but just in case there's any chance at all, your pointed ignoring would get the message across just as well as any punishment (and without the risk of her being punished but not understanding why).

 

[wnt2adpt]

Thanks gmacleod - I will try this later & see how she does, starting with 5 minutes. Hopefully I will see progress soon!

 

[MyMoose]

To crate or not to crate

Crating a dog is a humane. Think of all of the bad things the dog could get into.

Pantyhose will be eaten and get clogged into the stomach and twist the intestines.

Socks the same way. Plants are dangers too. Other things that may seem not too bad, may have a horrible outcome.

Let's say one day you come home after keeping your dog inside one room all day. I have seen Boxers actrually eat through walls!!!

Why should your dog enjoy himself with distroying your house only for you to come home and have a bad mood that the dog can sense?

Other alternatives is to take your dog to doggie daycare, or find a person who is wiling to come over during the day and take your baby out to the play park, so your dog is less in the crate, and keeping up with his exercise.

Because it is summer now, there are many kids who would love to have a part time job, and chances are, you would save money as well.

If you choose to recruit a kid, make sure the child is old enough and strong enough and understands about your dog's needs.

You might check as well in your local Boxer rescue. they may have stay at home people who would love to allow your dog to come over for visits.

I hope this helps

 

[tesster]

I feel your pain!

Tess is 2 years old and has been crated since she tore up the linoleum in the bathroom at 5 months. We just got my rescue, Conner, who was said not to need crating.

WELL...We went through the first two days without incident, but I was home most of the day. Today, when I came home (after being gone for about 3 hours), I cam home to quite a scene.

They had knocked over my torcherie lamp which broke the glass, but not the light bulb. They could have burned the entire place down, not to mention there was glass everywhere for who knows how long! I never could have imagined in my wildest dreams that they would or even could knock that over. It was behind a set of nested end tables (2 of which, I've had to re-build the legs). It really took some work and could have turned out very, very, very bad.

I've been stressed out to the point of nausea thinking of what could happen to them each day that they are free. Apparently, I had something to worry about. At least the hole in my stomach wasn't over nothing!!!

Don't look at crating as something that must be overcome quickly. There is too much that could happen if your dog isn't ready. We just don't have the imagination that they do. I bought Conner his very own crate today. He's not terribly fond of it yet, but we worked on it all evening and he's coming around.

Good luck! Don't rush it.

Julie

 

[KonaKoffe]

On thing I never do is use the crate for punishment of timeouts. Since you want them to spend time in there when you are not home I wouldn't use it for timeouts.

I close all the bedroom doors in the hall area and make them sit atthe end of the hall for timeouts. After 5 oor 10 minutes I call them back into the living room. This way they do not associate the crate with punishments

 

[wnt2adpt]

tesster - I'm sorry about that! I got Greta as a rescue, and for the first 4 or 5 days, she was a serious angel!!! She had the entire reign on the house & didn't touch a thing. Until....I came home one day & she'd eaten part of a couch cushion & a down comforter. Oh yeah, and a couple of CANDLES!! I came home to see her atop a HUGE pile of down feathers & couch foam. It was pretty funny, I must say, but I was not happy. From then on she's been in the crate. I guess I feel like I'm locking her up in a 'prison' but she's much safer in there than out free & getting into goodness knows what! I would really feel terrible if she got choked up on something or ate something toxic.

I think the guilt of leaving her in the crate is much better than the worry of what she could be doing while I'm gone. Not to mention having to come home to whatever she's done.

You're right though, I don't need to rush it. I guess I AM expecting too much. I wonder if she had a playmate if it would be better/worse?

On thing I never do is use the crate for punishment of timeouts. Since you want them to spend time in there when you are not home I wouldn't use it for timeouts.

My condo is very small, and her crate is the only place where I can contain her. She LOVES her crate so putting her in there isn't really a punishment. I don't want to leave her anywhere out of sight for fear she might get into something else. So, I put her in the crate & just ignore her. I don't yell & scream or anything, I just tell her to go in & shut the door. She gets all comfy & goes to sleep after a couple of minutes, so I know she doesn't associate it with something negative.

I close all the bedroom doors in the hall area and make them sit atthe end of the hall for timeouts.

That would be great if I had a hall.

 

[Shanz]

Cinnamon hates her crate when the door is shut, other times shell go and lie down in it and sleep. But once that door shuts she freaks out. She cant be left along because she destroys stuff. We left her alone in the crate about 5 times, then we started pushing the crate into the doorway of our living room (so she couldnt get into the living room) put a gate up at our kitchen and one up at the stairs so she had the whole hallway to herself. She behaves in there as long as theres nothing in there she can rip up (IE cases of pop). We also have to put our GSD in the hallway with her, if shes not in there with her Cinnamon freak sout.

She's been especially behaved these last few weeks, so we are going to gradually start leaving her out and see how she does.

If you dont want to crate Greta, you can just gate her in a room or a hallway like I do.

 

[wnt2adpt]

Cinnamon hates her crate when the door is shut, other times shell go and lie down in it and sleep. But once that door shuts she freaks out.

I wish I had some advice for you. I consider myself lucky when it comes to the crate. Greta *LOVES* it - we sometimes have to call her out because she's in there all the time! Sometimes she gets under the coffee table (which is barely a foot off the ground), the kitchen table, or even a chair! She absolutely loves the 'den' feel, so that's a good thing. She's never freaked out about the crate.

I don't really have a big enough place to section her off anywhere. I might as well just leave her in the crate. The two things that confuse me are:

1 - she does not do this at Austin's house, and
2 - she does not so much as even TOUCH anything that's not hers when I'm there.

For now, I'm just going to keep her crated. I planned on trying some more last night, but I think I'm going to give it some more time & try again.

Thanks everyone!!
Erin

 

[MyMoose]

Crate

When I first got Moose, I found it very hard to crate him.

What I decided to do, was to make it a fun time. First, I would put a soft dog cushion in it. Then I placed great tasting doggie treats underneith the cushion.

I then closed the door without the dog in.

The dog would go nuts to go inside and find those treats. Once He shows he wants it, I go slowly to the cage door and open it. Once he goes inside, I praise him with high pitched voices. I do this for 3 times. Then, the next day, I do the same, but I close the door. Only for 20 seconds. then I open it and praise him.

Everyday, you increase the time, until he is comfortable with an hour. Once you reach an hour, stop putting treats in the cage. It is very important at this stage, to never leave him. He needs to know that he is safe.

When you get to the hour level, leave for a short time. 5 minutes. then come back, let him out and give him a treat and praise him. Increase the time by 5 minutes until you reach an hour.

Each time letting him out and giving him treats.

Then, make sure you have two days off. (incase he wants to whine and cry, it won't disturb your rest for work) This will be the day you decide to leave him in there for several hours. First for 3 hours. then let him play outside or at a park, so he can forget about the time he had.

Increase this by one hour. Remember to praise him. He needs to be reminded that this is a fun place to be. go with him to a pet store and get him a toy that only goes with him when he is in the crate. (squeekie toys is not advisable)
After the two days, you should have him completely crate trained.

This should only take a total of 1 week.

 

[wnt2adpt]

Thanks - Greta is already crate trained. I want to get her out of the crate!