So a few weeks back we started having real troubles with Kayla's behavior in her crate...She hates it, and getting her in there in the morning was becoming more & more difficult...She was also peeing inside in the afternoon when the kids came home from school and she could hear them (we could not let them have her out by themselves due to our current training regiment)...We only wanted to use the crate as a potty training tool anyway, and never wanted her to be in there as an adult dog if we could help it....So little by little we would leave the house to run a few errands and leave Kayla out..Now this is a huge thing due ti her early seperation anxiety she was suffering during the summer...We would come back to see her sleeping on the couch, or her favorite spot on the floor, with little sign of any trouble...So two weeks ago we shut all doors, and left her out for the first time during the day and returned to her sound asleep, house intact...Next day, same thing no damage or any chewing or accidents...Third day, not so lucky, we had an oil delivery and she ended up chewing up an unplugged plastic Christmas candle that was in the window where she would have been looking out to see what was going on...No other damage until this Friday where she somehow got up onto the fireplace mantle and ate some potted plants (non-toxic) and we came home to basically a dirt field on the floor...We had taken the plants out of the window and we were suprised how she managed to get to them...Well we are happy so far, and there have been just a couple of minor incidents...What is also great is once we take her out she pees instantly on the front yard for quite a while, so she is able to hold it in...So we have really dog proofed any low lying areas (and in her case high areas as well) and hope she can continue to be free to roam the house.
Jay |
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Jay, I'm sorry to hear your little trouble. I bet she was really anxious to get out of the crate when she heard people come home. It is hard to be separated from the loved ones.
About crate training. I would leave the door open for her and throw treats in there. Don't close the gate, don't do anything. Just throw the treats and let her go in there to eat it and let her come out. When she is in the crate, praise her and you can even throw more treats to her. By doing this she will learn that she can always find treats in there and if not, you will give her some.
A couple of days later, when you see her becoming more confident and relaxed around the crate do the same things as above but close the gate. Don't lock it, just close it for 3 seconds. Praise her and give her treats. Again, when she is becoming more relaxed, close the door for 10 seconds, 30 seconds, etc. soon you will be able to lock her in.
Give her a Kong in the crate while you guys are at home but make sure the house is quite. If you have guests coming over, that's not the best time to train her. So, you can give her a Kong in the crate. The crate should become a safe place for her, where she can rest and chew on her Kong. You don't need to lock her in when you are not at home but it's nice to have a place for yourself when everybody is at home and you want to get away from them for a while.  |
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