argh, Jacks not in my good books this morning! i took him for his morning walk, it did not go well. Lots of pulling, especially when he saw another dog, hes so strong it takes everything ive got to hold him back on the lead, yet he'll walk a lot better when hubbys got him grrrr! then i went out on the school run, come back and hes eaten/attacked/shredded - 1 felt pen, a bag of avon samples including piercing a sample of perfume! and a full box of tissues. THe crate is in the room, door open, we have thrown treats in over the last few days, he goes in gets item and straight back out, today ill put his food in there and build up from there. Now another problem is although ive been told to make the crate a positive place by hiding treats in it, hes had an upset tummy so im reluctant to use too many treats but at the same time for his safety and my sanity i need to get the crate training sorted pronto! What treats do you suggest i use to get him in there? im planning on getting him in, shutting the door and leaving the room also shutting the living room door, ill wait in the hall for a minute or so before coming in releasing him and praising up, is this a good plan? i need to build up so he can be crated for up to 1hour and a half. How long is it fair to crate for and is this a long term thing or something he wont need after a while? please help, we love him we really do, but im wondering now if it was a good idea getting a dog, things are getting trashed all low value but still, my house smells of dog and now i cant go out :'( Maggie - owner of Jack with us for 1 week and 1 day - early days so much to train
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! oh my .....make the house puppy friendly, move any thing that he can damage,.......as for the crate i have no advice, only had jasper in for 2 month, that was only for bed time,./....i have been lucky very limited damage,,,,,,still a cushion muncher....i now just leave one out, a burst one of course, i blame myself for this, as i have given him soft toys, he never touches them why i am around,.....the house will smell of dog ??? you have a dog living there......a pup is very very hard work , the hardest thing i have ever done,.....i am sorry it will get worse before it gets better he will get there, may be he as not settled in yet , ........how old is he ?
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! thanks for your reply. Hes 8 months, theres not much more i can take out the room! hes got the lounge and dining room to be in when im out as its a lounge diner. However we bought some doors at the weekend to seperate the 2 rooms giving him the dining end once its done, ive moved all the kids toys out of the room and check it for things to be moved out before i leave him.
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! Oh dear. I know how you feel. I can't offer any crate training advice, as we don't use them, sorry. But just wanted to say it does get better, honest. We move everything that dogs aren't allowed. Easier than training them to have this, but don't have that, sort of thing. I can understand with a busy household like yours that involves training the kids more than the dog probably, best of luck with that! Would Jack take his regular food as treats? That way it might not aggrivate his sore tummy perhaps? For the doggy smell I swear by yankee candles! Out of reach of course, including huge labrador 'otter' tails! I have 3 dogs and a very rude best friend. She'd soon tell me if it were doggy smelling!! Having the windows open for a through draft as long as doors won't slam on little tails and paws. And it's sorted. Stick at it, you're doing great. It's early days for Jack and you all. x
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! Oh Maggie, what a difficult day! I've only had one dog so don't have much experience but I'll add what I can. I'm sure others will help more. Apologies if I'm repeating stuff you've already heard or has been posted elsewhere. You could try a front attaching harness for walks while you do your heelwork training on and off lead in a safe environment like your garden. This means the lead doesn't get associated with pulling and a front attaching harness basically turns the dog round to face you when it pulls, my brother uses one on his Spitz type dog that's pretty much bred to pull with great success. In the meantime do your heelwork training just looking for a few steps at a time gradually building up distance. Once you're good in the garden try other locations but back with shorter distances and build up again. If the crate isn't working can you use baby gates or a playpen to section off a safe area. Riley was crated and then confined to the utility and then the kitchen when we were out and he still is even though he'd probably be fine in the rest of the house. I can't honestly remember how long we'd leave him crated for, not that long because we changed to gates at about 4/5 months. Do you use kongs at all? They're safe to leave with your pup whilst unattended and can be filled with yummy things, you can also freeze stuff in them which would be nice in this heat. As for treats....depends on his stomach. Chicken is always a winner in our house and generally pretty good on sensitive tums.
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! so sorry i thought you meant a new puppy ........when i said it will get worse before it gets better , i was thinking he had to go through all the biting stage.....mine is 7 month old and is just settling with my routines ......i have read on the forum that candles can irritate there eyes...i use them and jasper is fine, ......just stick with it,...... he will settle into your routine
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! Oh, I'd not heard that about the candles. Will definitely use with caution. This is about crate training from the main site: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/?p=1144
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! Oh, big hug. You are having a rough day there. With the crate training, I'd use bits of his normal kibble and little cubes of toast. Those things should be reasonably tummy friendly. Honey kongs are probably worth a try. Put toys in the crate and hide bits of kibble in toilet roll inserts. Shut him in the crate with some things to keep him busy and just start with a few seconds while you step out of the room. If he's quiet step back, praise, treat and release. Then lure him back in the crate but leave him a bit longer. Maybe 10 seconds. Then half a minute. Then a few minutes. Only return to release him if he's quiet. Have a break for a while. Then do 5, then 10, then 20 (with breaks in between). You should be able to work up to an hour within a couple of days. That's much quicker than the ideal - but it can be done. If you can leave him for an hour you can leave him for two. As another option, is there someone who can mind him for half a day to give you a break? It really will get better It really will. They are a heap of work at first but eventually you will have a fabulous family member who fits in perfectly. Take heart
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! ps. As you may know we got Obi at 9 months and at first he was a nut. The first week had us questioning our sanity daily. I'd say it took him about 3 weeks to calm down. 6 months have passed now and he's a different dog - actually really easy and a lovely boy all round. You will get there!!
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! Maggie,I'm on my way out so will reply properly later.Some days it can feel like nothing is going to plan. Dexter is 9.5 months old,I had a major wobble last week about pulling.cant remember what my post was called....will direct you later.I use a front fastening harness which restricts the pulling but doesnt correct it....but it had rubbed him last week so I put the lead on him and OMG...the pulling was horrendous....I could not believe it.I got all Pippa's articles together....and have used 2 religiously this week. Clicker Training your Lab to walk to Heel and how to stop your Labrador pulling on the lead.I also invested in a Halti/gentle leader.i started from scratch as if he was a new puppy and our first day together and have taken my time,changed my commands and upped the value of my rewards( dexter has a really dicky tummy too basically anything but kibble upsets him.... But .he gets bored of it for training )so I have been using steamed chicken and toast cubes....sometimes spread with sardine oil in the toast to increase their value....the actual sardines were a step too far.I say this tentatively but we are having great results.I drive to his walks and if I don't he is on the halti ,you've got to break the association of it being ok to pull,on the collar and lead.Sorry,bet this is garbled but I cried last week when I got in I was so shocked by how bad the pulling was and a felt defeated to be honest so wanted to give you a chin up post that it is fixable....although we are a long way off fixed.... Ill drop you a line later. X
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! thanks Dexter and the others ive managed to get him in the crate! shut the door, left the room went outside dropped some recylcing in the box, back in the room and let him out - a small step! he was quiet and unpeturbed yay! ok chicken is good will try that, is it the breast chunks you can buy in the deli isle that your using? and is the toast buttered or dry? will try a short halti assisted walk in a bit, also used the kong wobbler with a few treats in when i popped out and no distruction upon my return was gone for about 30 mins
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! that's great news small steps and planning ahead is clearly working for you, good luck with your walk!
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! Really good progress , thats great I buy cheap frozen chicken drumsticks , thaw some out and boil them, take the skin off, remove bone and there you are ;D
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! All that sounds really great I reckon I'd try breast meat. I buy a whole roast or bbq'd chook and de-bone it and chop it up. Kinda greasy though and maybe not perfect for a delicate tum. That's our #1, top ranking, King of All Time treat though. With the toast cubes - unbuttered.
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! brilliant thanks rachel, next time we do a roast chicken ill save him some for training! in the meantime ill get some precooked stuff from the supermarket and toast i can do! small steps
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! I buy a packet of uncooked chicken breast ,cook it off in the steamer and dice it up the size of peas...this doesn't upset Dex. The toast is dry or to upgrade it I spread the oil out of a can of sardines on it.....the day I gave him the sardines he had a terrible upset tum,so no more sardines.....simultaneously though I've been using roast chicken with Total Recall ,Rachael has a point,could have been that as it is greasy.he'll work for a little while for his kibble but because its a gastro intestinal diet one the actual 'pebbles' are the size of ice chips so its a bit ineffective as a treat.....he gets bored really quickly. Maggie it was your post last week zig zagging on the lead which has got all my tribulations poured into it....the halti improvement was instant in my case,he doesn't love it but was never truly averse to it and he walks lovely on it.The most powerful thing I read in Pippa's articles was to go 'cold turkey' on the pulling,just decide that's it....no more pulling( I'm considering the grass skiing incident as something totally seperate and there were mitigating circumstances) and Ive re educated my mind to realize that walking aids are there to help this situation while you are training to prevent it.I totally made the mistake of relying on the harness to control something that I wasn't working to fix.You also need the support and commitment of anyone else who is walking Jack.Ive had a few bumps with my Husband Chris which I've joked about on here but were actually a nuisance as it was sabotaging progress.....we are both on the same page now and that must be less confusing for the four legged one. Others have answered you regarding the crate and even since I've been out and come back you've made progress with that,so well done.You will get there...your day has ended better than it started,rotten when you get fed up with the antics....bye for now Angela x
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! Hi Maggie, I think I must have missed your Hello post while I was on holiday. Lilly is a 3 year old black lab. We got her at around 11 weeks. Glad you have made some progress over the course of the day. Small persistent steps is how we did it. Put her in her crate with a small stuffed kong - always willing to follow it Close the door, gradually increase the time. Maybe we had the attitude of "you are going in whether you like it or not". It was an essential for us, and we only had a short time to aclimatise her to her crating over the summer holidays before work and school intervened. She loved her crate. We only dispensed with it a few months back as we needed the space. Missed it for a few weeks but adapted now. A lot of posts recently have been about pups not liking to go in crates. I must be a hard mum :-\ Persevere, and have a positive attitude about it and you won't regret it. And I would opt for a kong stuffed with her normal food, moistened and frozen if you are worrying about upset tums. jac
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! Hi Maggie, Sending you sympathy from here...my pup was an 8 month old barely trained hooligan when I first got him, and believe me, I understand your second-guessing. I still have those days!! : The others are right about putting things out of reach. It's the only way to make sure things aren't destroyed. And it is hard when you have kids around - mine are basically young adults and they STILL leave things where the dog can get it. Small steps are the way it goes with dog training. It can be incredibly challenging but at the same time incredibly rewarding as well. It's mentally stressful too - this forum has been a real sanity saver for me! Drop us a line to vent when you need to - it really makes a difference! We are here for you!! The articles on the main site are very helpful, and there is lots of advice to be found if you look around the different threads on the forum. And if you are making progress with the crate, great!! That's more than I've been able to do in the two months since I've had the pooch!! :
Re: feeling like i cant go out help! very well done made small steps today , i guess he is just getting to know you .....keep it up
