My dog ate my homework...

[Trek420]

I'm very concerned about the chain/leash indoors thing. This can get caught on something, anything in your home while you're away. I'm sure you'd feel very bad to come home to dead or injured doggie.

Dogs in the wild nest in dens, once trained your dog will like the crate. My mutt heads there to rest, or any time there are stresses, noise like 4th of July. It's restful, like a doggie samadie (sp?) tank. When I want her to go to the crate a simple command of "into your box" is about all it takes, sometimes a cookie

All dog need and deserve safe comfortable places to rest.

At last count Mae has 4 indoor beds including the crate and a nice set up in the patio for her to wait for the dog walker when I'm at work.

I'm not a dog trainer, and my mutt is by no means perfect (eg: she has issues with other dogs, but oddly she likes almost any other animal even many cats) I took her to obedience classes, consulted a trainer, and work with her every day.

Yes, you have to "child proof" your home like having a 2 year old in the house. Chewing the Sidis is a drag but could be worse. Once Mae got into a whole box of TJ's chocolate Jo Jos. Luckily she was ok. Some things (like chocolate) are deadly to dogs so we have to be the adults and "puppy proof" the home.

To our dogs everything is about rank in the pack. And sounds like your dog thinks s/he's alpha. You need to be the leader of the pack, actually all people need to be alpha. Sigh, now I'm hearing 50's music in the background.

Doesn't mean being mean, punitive in anyway. But little things add up.

I eat first, I'm not talking about a full meal and then she eats. It's as simple as Mae sees me eat a bite of something then I feed her.

I go out the door first, all doors. Dog gets in the car last (well that's not possible if I'm driving alone).

Bottom line the dog has to earn everything she gets. But trust me she is "well paid" for all that good behavior, too well maybe.

Lastly you wrote "Today I go for a bike ride, I'm only gone for two hours". Remember we have our jobs, lives, our bikes .... our dogs only have us. And to a dog two hours is literally 7 times that.

That doesn't mean you can never leave but sounds like your dog needs a "job" while you're away.

Does your dog have toys to play with while you're away like Kongs or other puzzles? We have to give our dogs a job to do....or they will make one up

[Tuckervill]

Doesn't mean being mean, punitive in anyway. But little things add up.

I eat first, I'm not talking about a full meal and then she eats. It's as simple as Mae sees me eat a bite of something then I feed her.

I go out the door first, all doors. Dog gets in the car last (well that's not possible if I'm driving alone).

+1.

If she gives you a hard time while she's in the crate, leave the room and don't listen to her. When she gets quiet, let her out. Don't talk to her if she's really loud, just leave her in there long enough to give up. The point is not to reward her for the bad behavior by talking to her or looking at her or giving her any attention. It can be heartbreaking until she adjusts so that's why you ignore her, but the crate is the best solution for her and for you in this situation.

I also question the use of the chain in the house. Chaining is harmful to dogs. http://www.unchainyourdog.org/Facts.htm Although this website refers to dogs chained for long hours (or permanently) outside, some of the psychological damage they note could be inflicted on a dog chained indoors.

Karen

[TrekJeni]

I'll second what Trek420 said. In addition to racing/riding bikes, I am an AKC hunt test and field trial judge. I'm also the secretary for the Greater Cincinnati Weimaraner Club and have devoted countless hours to fostering rescues while they were waiting for new homes.

I won't rehash what Trek420 said but she's right. This needs to be curbed now before she tests the waters again, to see what else she can get away with. Good luck.

I have a wonderful article I give all the new adoptive parents on how to re-crate train dogs. PM me if you're interested.

Jeni

[Trek420]

Thanks gals. Again, no professional anything or expertise like TrekJeni. Mae's a rescue and she's taught me everything I know that and I read a lot.

I just think if you "win" the little battles now you may not have the big ones. So start now while it's easy to fix with simple things.

What will your dog "work" for? Praise, squeeky toys, favorite treat? All three?

All dogs are great but a well trained dog is a joy. Your dog's a learning machine, s/he wants to learn. It's fun to see the progress, the new trick, better behaviour.

Hey we have an advantage here over others with dogs in that we like to walk, run, get outside so combine the two. Learning or reinforcing how to heal, walk on a loose leash that can all be combined with a workout.

And with a trained dog you'll be able to leave them with someone when you want to go on that loooooong ride.

[TrekJeni]

[QUOTE=Trek420;206663]Thanks gals. Again, no professional anything or expertise like TrekJeni. [QUOTE]

Thanks Trek420. I'm a professional by definition but my usual asking price for judging assigments is some good beer!

Jeni

[HappyAnika]

We crate trained our lab for over a year from when she was about 5 months old. We had the luxury of my husband being able to go home at lunch to let her out on the days I was away for more than 6 hours (I was in grad school with a very flexible schedule and lots of working from home).

Before we started the crate training she chewed up hundreds of dollars in books and shoes.

She balked at the crate at first but definitely came to see it as her space. We started by feeding her in it, so she would associate the crate with a good thing, FOOD. Then she'd go in there for naps on her comfy blanket on her own while we were home. Soon it was no problem for her to run in there when we left the house. She began to associate keys with her crate so that if one of us picked up our keys, she'd run right into her crate, happy as a clam. All of this while our other, older, perfectly behaved dog got to wander the house and yard freely. The lab didn't seem to mind, she loved her crate.

[CyclChyk]

Have you gotten your baby rawhides or something similiar for her to "teethe" on?

Your post makes me laugh cuz last year I posted something similiar. We had recently gotten a boxer who has an affinity for clothing and shoes and my husband would always leave his bikes shorts etc laying on the floor where ever they fell. Or he'd leave the closet door open which basically told my new pup (I have 4 dogs) that the shoes where his for the taking (or should I say chewing?)

Rawhides and bones did not make my boxer want the clothing items less, but it did give him something to chew on so that he was not so adament about getting to our stuff. Socks and undies however are still a beacon to him tho.

I am a firm believer in crate training. Especially for potty training. Good luck!

[Aggie_Ama]

Hammer- I know you have gotten sound advice but I just wanted to say crate training is nerve racking but worth it. One of our dogs is a rescue and has a lot of trust issues. We trained her to stay behind a baby gate in her doggie bed in the laundry room. At first she would cry, throw the water everywhere and just be destructive of anything she could. Finally she learned it was not punishment and now I often find Maggie asleep in her "room".

She still whines and acts like she hates being in there before retreating to her bed. I know it is frustrating, but maybe you could try one more time before losing more expensive cycling gear?

[Hammer]

Dogs in the wild nest in dens, once trained your dog will like the crate.

I do think she'd adapt to something like this... She loves tucking underneath our computer desk.

I eat first, I'm not talking about a full meal and then she eats. It's as simple as Mae sees me eat a bite of something then I feed her.

I try to do this. But I want to reduce her begging... Though she is good, she just sits and watches you with her puppy eyes. She doesn't get forceful and waits until we offer.

I go out the door first, all doors. Dog gets in the car last (well that's not possible if I'm driving alone).

I usually hold the doors open for her so that I can keep the cats inside. But my fiance and I need to be better about keeping her in the car until we get out. She gets quite excited and bounds over us. I didn't really think about it as much of a problem until I was presented it as an alpha creature problem.

Lastly you wrote "Today I go for a bike ride, I'm only gone for two hours". Remember we have our jobs, lives, our bikes .... our dogs only have us. And to a dog two hours is literally 7 times that.

I understand this too... I let her out for an hour to play in the yard. I went out too to play fetch. I had thought that she would come in to nap, that's what often happens even when we are around. I did make sure that her favorite toys were near by to chew on.

I do agree that we need to figure out a better solution. Thanks for your advice.

Actually, if I could get her to ride in a pull behind trailer. But, I'll wait until I have children for that workout.

[KnottedYet]

A dog crate is a beautiful thing.

My dog was a rescue, and had major panic attacks over a crate that I guess felt too much like the cage at the pound. So no crate until he was about a year old.

He won't tolerate being shut into it when he's alone in the house, but if I leave the door open he's happy as a clam. It's his safe hiding spot, his little doggie cave, and he'll hang out in there for hours. Just having his own dog-sized space calmed him down a lot.

He also gets lots of good jobs when I leave the house. Kongs with treats trapped in them, a puzzle ball that dispenses treats when he rolls it along the floor, squeaky toys inside another squeaky toy (cloth cube with "x" cut into each side, you put the toys inthe cube and the dog has to work to get them out. Great toy! They also have ones shaped like logs with squeaky squirrels the dog can pull out, but it was kinda gross...)

He has the run of the living room and kitchen when we're not home, but the rest of the house is closed off with doors.

Edit: a dog bounding out of a car isn't just an alpha problem, it's a safety problem. A dog jumping out of a car before it's people could easily get hit by another car pulling into the parking lot. One of the most valuable things I taught my dog was "wait". It has come in handy MANY times!

[Torrilin]

Crates are great. Your dog needs her own space, just like a kid. And just like a little kid, she's gonna think her own room sucks at first. It's amazing how much a 6 month old puppy in a crate sounds like a 2 year old in their own room for the first time. Maybe she needs an old worn out shirt of yours in there, so she doesn't feel as alone. Or maybe put a favorite toy in the crate. A Lab or Lab mix probably would want a chew toy. Once the dog understands the crate is *their* space, they think it's great. My family's dog would hang out in his crate when he wanted to be left alone for naps, or when the kids were trying to play rougher than he wanted.

It is possible (and for some breeds a really good idea) to train your dog to walk on a lead with you on a bike. A greyhound really needs to go fast, and a lot of times bike training them is the only way you can safely let them go all out the way they need. It does take training, and isn't a good idea for every dog. But for a high energy dog, the longer and faster distances are good.

Some dogs btw are nearly incurable beggars. They tend to be *very* food motivated hungry critters. For that kind of dog, any treats outside of mealtime will reinforce the begging. If everyone in the household sticks to "no treats", you can get such a dog to stop begging. If there's even one soft touch, the dog will hit up anyone with food and beg. If you're having a family meal, the dog will hit people up in dominance order, starting with the least dominant person and moving up the food chain. If they strike out on everyone, they go back around.

[Python]

Worst thing I ever lost to a dog was my specs. Our dogs have always slept in their own beds in our bedroom and we'd just got this new GSD rescue (this was about 20 years ago). She thought it was a good idea to munch my specs while we slept. All that was left in the morning were the lenses and the very chewed up frames They were my new specs too and I really liked the frames. Guess what. I couldn't get another pair of frames like them.

We had to give that dog back to the rescue centre because she had other serious issues that we just couldn't seem to overcome, like weeing all over the house, even in front of us and doing the other as well. What was the final straw was our other GSD and this dog took a dislike to each other. It was almost as if our Tara didn't like Sheba's misbehaviour. She got a good home with a farmer who's GSD has passed away through old-age. I heard a few weeks after we returned her to the rescue centre that she was she was enjoying the big outdoors and was a very happy doggie.

[Jacki]

[QUOTE=KnottedYet;206684]A dog crate is a beautiful thing.

My dog was a rescue, and had major panic attacks over a crate that I guess felt too much like the cage at the pound. So no crate until he was about a year old. QUOTE]


I agree 100% with Knotted - my dog is a rescue too and had the same fear of crates - the vet said she even noticed metal scraping stains on his teeth from probably trying to bite his way out of whatever cage he was in - so we did the same thing, left the crate door open for him to go in and out as he pleased. Then when he became comfortable with being in it, we started shutting the door when we had to leave or when he goes to sleep at night. And now he's fine with it. If something scares him (like the smoke alarm etc) the first place he runs is into his crate. When he's not in his crate, i usually find him in other parts of the house laying in similar den like spots like under a table or inbetween the table and the couch etc. . . It seems our dogs have only gotten destructive when they feel insecure like when we're gone, so the crate gives them security.

j.

[Trek420]

I usually hold the doors open for her so that I can keep the cats inside. But my fiance and I need to be better about keeping her in the car until we get out. She gets quite excited and bounds over us. I didn't really think about it as much of a problem until I was presented it as an alpha creature problem.

Or the dog dashes off gets hit by a car problem, or the dog dashes off gets into trouble with another dog or if you ever travel with the dog....lost.

Again, Mae's far from a perfect pet but this is one of her many good behaviors she doesn't dash in or out of the car. Into the car is directly on command "let's go" or "let's go shopping " and dog hops in.

Out of the car is more important.

Regardless of how eager she is to get going at her favorite park she does a sit for me, I open the door, dog still sits, and hops out on my "let's go" as I get her leash in one fluid (yeah right) motion.

It's really just three basic commands; sit, stay, then "let's go". Followed if I miss her leash by another "sit".

Does your dog sit and stay? Then you're there.

Your dog can do amazing stuff. Knotts dog is a mixed breed rescue pet and he has his Canine Good Citizen papers That dog's a jeenious like his Mom

Now, if I could ONLY get Mae to stay in the back seat of the car....

[KnottedYet]

Just a quick plug for the Canine Good Citizen classes: they are great! Lots of fun, dogs have a great time, and the training is basic stuff that you can really use later.

They also teach how to train the dog, so if you have a specific task you want the dog to learn later, you can figure out how to train it. (I trained my dog to run with me and stay where I want him, and to turn left or right when I call it out as we run, and to slow to a walk when I call it out. Keeps me from tripping over the dog or over the leash.)