crate training a dog, not a puppy
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Anonymous
| We crate trained our puppy when we first brought him home from the breeder, and he never really liked it even though we consistently used it as his "bedroom" at nighttime and when we left him alone in the house. We stopped using the crate at about 8 months because he outgrew the crate and he seemed well behaved. Four months or so went by with no problems, but then he started "counter surfing" when weleft alone in the house and causing a lot of trouble - he'll chew anything he finds - newspapers, books, crayons, bowls, etc. Our solution was to put baby gates up so he has to stay in the kitchen, and clearing off all the countertops in that room, but it gets very time consuming to do this every time we are in and out of the house throughout the day. (I could create a separate post looking for tips to break our dog of the counter surfing habit, but what makes it really tough to break him of the habit is that he only does it when we are not at home so we can't catch him in the act.) I think we just need to start putting the dog into a crate when we leave him alone in the house, but DH thinks it will be very stressful for the dog because he doesn't think of a crate as a nice place anymore, and he'll just think of it as restricting his movement. Also, we don't want to make him sleep in the crate at night, as he nicely sleeps on the floor of one of our bedrooms each night with no trouble. The dog is now about 1 and 1/2 yrs old. Has anyone crate trained a dog of roughly this age, and if so, do you have any tips? Thanks. |
Anonymous
| Why do people think it is fun to live with dogs like this?? |
Anonymous
|
Hmmmm....I have crate trained many dogs but always kept them in their crate past that age, until they were really trustworthy. Is there another location you can put him when you are gone? Bathroom? Mudroom? A more confined space? It doesn't mean he has to be in there at night.
Do not under any circumstance leave him in the kitchen any longer. You are setting him up to fail with the counter surfing by leaving him alone there. And on that point-- I don't know how he started it but you need to stop it. Totally annoying but: 1. When you are home he should wear a lead which you are holding at all times. He can't be alone so even when you are in the kitchen he is with you properly behaved. 2. This means when you are gone he needs to be in the crate or confined to a space that isn't the kitchen. If you set him up to fail he will-- still a puppy. So make it easier for him to have better behavior. |
Anonymous
This is OP. I know I'm going to sound very defensive in response to 19:56, but our dog is a joy - he is loving and playful and protective of us, and if having him means that I need to clear off the counters before I leave the house, then that is a small price to pay for having him in our family. Okay, so rant over, back to the problem  To the next poster, when the counter surfing first started, we tried leaving him on a lead but he doesn't do this when we are at home, so there is no behavior to correct. We do not have a smaller spot in our house to keep the dog when we are not home - no mudroom and the bathrooms are minscule and it would be cruel to leave him there. A crate would be a nicer environment for him than being kept in our tiny bathroom, IMO. I think he only counter surfs for the first few minutes after we leave the house, then he just goes to sleep. So if we've cleared the counters, there is no problem. But if we've accidentally left a dish towel or napkins on the counter, he will grab it and chew it up. So crating him should take care of the issue- I'm just concerned about crating a dog who wasn't trained to like the crate since being a pup. But surely people must adopt older dogs and crate train them, right? Would still love to hear any first hand experiences, thanks!
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Anonymous
| I can't imagine a crate is larger than your bathroom. |
Anonymous
|
Sounds like he's bored and disappointed to be left behind so he clears the counters to make that point. We crate trained our dogs and then kept the crates around, doors open, to be used as a "den" for privacy and sleeping. Before the dogs were ready to have the run of the house, we left them gated in a room with the open crate and tossed toys and a filled Kong (usually low-fat, frozen peanut butter) to keep them busy.
If your dog has outgrown the crate you may need to buy a bigger one and leave it in the kitchen. Entice him to use it as a den when you are home - treats or chews inside, doors open - so he sees it as a happy place. Do not use it for punishment. When you leave, close him in. It will be different for him at first, but far better to keep him safe and not eating something missed in your counter sweep than having him get hurt or have you begin to resent him. |
Anonymous
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I am no expert and have two ill-behaved dogs, both rescues. One we could never crate train as I feel that the crate might have been used for punishment before we adopted him.
If you can trust him everywhere but the kitchen, then is it possible to just use a gate to keep him out of the kitchen? Good Luck!!! |
Anonymous
Oh, just shut the hell up. |
Anonymous
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I've crate trained a bazillion rescues before I placed them, and it isn't any big deal. Do you have a Kong? Google frozen Kongs and fix a few, or pack them with kibble and peanut butter or cream cheese. Pop one in the crate with your dog when he goes in there and then leave. If he was crated as a pup he should be fine.
Most dogs are happier crated than they are loose, if they are eating/tearing up things/fussing when left alone. In my experience, they need to be 2 and a bit before you can really leave them alone loose for more than a few hours. So much better for the dog and you than coming home and being exasperated on a frequent basis. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks for the tips. We do give our dog frozen treat filled kongs but unfortunately he is not a very "food motivated" dog - but I will make sure to put toys and long lasting goodies for him in the crate. I guess I just need to go buy a bigger crate and hunker down and do this. Thanks! |
Anonymous
Having a dog is not just all about "fun" it is a responsibility. I'm guessing you are the type that fills the shelters with unwanted pets that you are too lazy to train. |
Anonymous
Actually it's the fact that the bathroom is bigger that is the problem. The confinement (low ceiling, den-like setting) of a crate is more natural and comforting to a dog that is left alone. open spaces inspire nervous pacing and patrolling in many dogs. |
Anonymous
| Actually the OP said the bathroom is minuscule and it would be cruel to leave the dog in there. Just pointing out that a crate would actually be smaller so if the dog isn't crate trained the first step may be confine in a smaller (rather than kitchen) type space. |
Anonymous
| OP here. I've gotten the info I needed, thanks. To answer the Q re confining our dog in the bathroom, I appreciate the suggestion, but my point was that the actual floor space in each of our two tiny bathrooms is actually less than a rectangular crate. So yes technically a BR is bigger than a dog crate, but not when you take into account the toilet, sink and shower stall - to stay in a BR, our dog would need to sleep curled around the base of the toilet. So I'd rather invest in the crate as I think that would be a pretty crummy space for the dog to stay in ... |
Anonymous
You guess wrong, sweetheart. We can't stand dogs. Wouldn't get near them with a 10-foot pole. |