Hi All, Rolo seems to be 'fairly' content in his crate, he doesn't cry of a night time, he goes in there for hours when I'm at work. Granted he is next to me but he goes asleep, plays with his toys, eats chews etc. I've done short bursts of click for quiet with him and he responded well. This morning We had to put him in and leave the house for maximum 2 hours. I prepared several Kongs, and two chews for him. let him out to make sure he was empty. He cried for a good 20/30 minutes whilst we got ready, as we left he calmed down. seen us getting our coats and started again. We had to leave as we had a hospital appointment - and knew we wouldn't be long, we Don't know if he has settled or not. Is there something I'm missing? He wasn't screaming the place down when we got back He made me feel terrible when going x
If you think it's your 'getting ready to go' routine that is making him cry, then you can associate that routine with very good things - and then not leave. You can do that lots, so when he sees you go through that routine it makes him happy, then you can leave for just 10 seconds. And so on. I did this with Charlie when he was a puppy, and now if I pick up my work bag, he's delighted and will run to his bed expecting a kong - it really does work very well. I didn't have to do this with Betsy, because she was just so very chilled, and wasn't even remotely bothered about being left. She has still formed the association between me getting ready to leave and good things though, it's just she never had any negative associations to overcome so it was dead easy.
Everything Julie has said. Also, there's a big difference between training a puppy/dog to be happy in their crate when you're in the house, and you leaving him in there when you go out. So, certainly do what Julie has suggested above, but, once you've done this, you may also benefit from popping out the door for a few seconds, then coming back in, and building the time of you actually being away.
Yes, it's a good idea to keep leaving the house, keys rattling etc, then come back lots of times with no comment. They get used to it and it becomes a non-event. Bruce was the same when he came to us, we are getting there now. My bins and recycling have never been so sorted!!
Stanley used to be the same. Now when he sees me get the Kong out he sits in his crate giving little whines which I imagine say "hurry up woman".
Same here. My spaniel hates being left out of anything and was quite shouty when younger. Now if I get a Kong or bonio out he rushes to his bed and looks at me expectantly. If I take too long to actually leave you can practically see him willing me to go
Charlie can do this to the extent I can feel unloved. He starts when I'm in the shower - poking his head round the bathroom door then running pointedly to his bed. Ditto while I dry my hair.....he is practically jumping up and down shouting 'JUST GO WILL YOU!' by the time I'm putting on my shoes....
Thanks Everyone for your advice, Do you only give them kongs when using the crate as a special treat? Thanks
Stanley only gets his Kong in his crate. And he always gets good stuff in them - cheese/ham/sausages/tuna/chicken/peanut butter are all big hits. He's not a huge fan of frozen one, we're still building up to that. When he initially didn't take to his crate he used to ignore the kong until he was allowed out - so I got him to love them by just giving him them randomly. Now he'll happily go in a crate with one and its defs his favourite treat. When I'm getting him to settle out of his crate he gets a dentastick/rawhide etc. Not as high value - seems to like them though
Charlie and Betsy get kongs throughout the day, but they never really know when they might get them - apart from when I'm leaving, then they ALWAYS get kongs. You can build up the value of kongs and I think you really need to do this if you are trying to use them to overcome a dog that has a problem - on their own they won't do it, because a distressed dog won't eat, so you also need the desensitisation to the leaving routine.
Quinn only gets kongs when she goes into her crate or very rarely when we are out somewhere and we want her to settle. Once I started making her gourmet kong fillings, she was a much more willing crate goer. She also paces around as I get ready in the morning and runs to her crate when I go to the freezer for her kong, looking back to see if I'm following her haha. She's only home a couple mornings a week so on the days OH is home, she almost looks dejected (what, no kong!?).
My two get kongs for their lunch, or any time I go out for dinner or somesuch. I don't think they need to be reserved to make them special, if that's what you mean. Kongs are special anyway, once you've got your puppy hooked on them. It's a dinner and game in one. What's not to love?
