Hi all, So I have two questions related to training. This us going to be of so I'm sorry!! First is the crate. I've had Cleo for two weeks now. She is being created during the day when I'm at work and again at night for now. She is being walked mid day so she's getting a crate break for 30-45 minutes during my work day. So into the crate at 8:30 am, break around 12:30/1 pm and then I'm home by 5 the latest. Then back into the crate between 10:30 and 11 when I go to bed. Cleo has no issue with her crate...no crying or whining and she naps in it even when I'm here since I will leave it open then. I of course feel like a bad doggy mom having her crated so much but the breeder I got her from suggested crating her like this for a month. She's not a chewer and hasn't touched anything she shouldn't yet. Should I wait a bit longer to start uncrating her since it's still a new environment - she's 6 so I don't think she'll start destructively chewing and she hasn't had any accidents in the house at all as she's given ample opportunity to go in the morning (walk upon waking up and another outing right before I crate her before work)? To add another wrench in this, she's scared of my stairs so she can't sleep upstairs with me until I can train her to not be scared and to walk them slowly as they are wood. But she's in heat so I don't want to train the stairs until she's done so only my floors downstairs need the constant cleaning. Even once that's done I feel like I'll need to gate the top of my stairs at night so she doesn't take a spill down my stairs but then I'm denying her access to her crate! Lol it never ends! And on an unrelated note I read about a wax you can rub into their paws for more traction? Does anyone have experience with this? So secondly, I'm ridiculously overwhelmed with different types of training. I plan on taking her to classes once she's out of heat but we are only on day 8 so if I'm waiting the full 28 days to be safe we still have a long way to go. I'm trying to train to pass the time since our walking is very limited now. We have only worked on sit so far. Cleo is very food motivated you'd think she never got fed! So when it's training time she's good. But if I ask her to sit to put her collar on before a walk or sit at the door before leaving then forget it. During training I'm pulling back from always giving treats but how do I transition to get her to listen during time that aren't our more structured training sessions? I've tried a clicker and tried charging it with her but she doesn't seem interested in the click! Thanks in advance for any advice!
Firstly, don't feel bad. You are doing your best. It doesn't seem she minds being alone? Maybe try leaving her for shorter periods out of the crate and see how she gets on before you leave her for a longer stretch. You could then just build up to her slowly being out of the crate? In the meantime does she like Kongs? You could leave her with a supply of those. Jessie often doesn't even notice I'm gone if she has a Kong! She's still at it when I come home and doesn't want to leave the crate! Jessie has always slept downstairs and always will, so don't worry that she can't manage stairs. Not everyone has the dog sleep with them, it is just a personal choice. You can work on that over time. I too was totally overwhelmed by training. But just start small and work up! I wouldn't hold back on food, we use it all the time and just take it out of her food allowance. As she's older you might need to use higher value food like cheese or chicken! Using food won't be forever. I'm sure some more experienced owners will be along with more advice, but you will get there! Good luck.
Hi there. If you have only had your pooch for a couple of weeks you are still in early days of her getting used to this new environment. And plus she is in heat, which might also affect her regular behaviour. So you might find that as she relaxes and gets more comfortable with you she might get less and less happy with being crated so much. So yes, I would work on slowly weaning her out of the crate to give her more freedom. It's not impossible to have a dog and work full time, many members here do it, but it means you have to make sure you are being fair to the dog. So having someone come in for walks mid-day is a good start, and then using the time you have with her in the evenings for training and exercise is also good. I'm not sure how you could charge the clicker and have her not interested in the click, as that means the clicker isn't charged! The idea is to click and then give her some incredibly tasty treat. Do this a few times and soon onc she hears the click she will be expecting a wonderful reward! At this stage she is not doing anything to "earn" the treat. Once knows click=tasty treat you can start "marking" the behaviour you want with a click. Followed by a treat. You can pair that behaviour with a word from the get-go or wait for a bit and then introduce the word. I tend to use the word right away, but remember at this stage she is not responding to the word, or the treat, she is just doing something and suddenly she hears the click followed by the magic treat. So for example as she is walking around and then sits, you immediately click (and say "sit") and praise and treat. However since sit is such a foundational command it can be easier to use the treat as a lure by having it in your hand (in a fist) holding it over her nose and then moving your hand slowly back over her head. To follow the treat she will naturally sit and then you click and treat. Anyhow there is loads of articles on the main site about clicker training, I would read through those and start working on the basics with her. And don't worry about fading out the treats right away. You only do that once the behaviour is firmly established and then you start to reduce frequency. However to be honest I'm not great at the fading out...I still give treats a lot. I just use pieces of kibble and reduce the amount my boy gets in his bowl. Anyhow good luck, I hope this gives you some answers to your questions. . Keep us posted!
