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Too late to Crate Train????

Posted : 6/20/2006 11:37:49 PM

I am not really sure where to post this as its kind of a mixture of everything. We have a 1 year old, Male Yorkie-poo, that we got from a puppy mill. I should not have gotten him, but I didn't know it was a puppy mill until I got there and then I HAD to save my little Duke.

Anyways, we have always had problems with Duke since the beginning. We got him too young, (the 'breeder' said that he was 8 weeks, but my Vet thinks that he was only 5 weeks!). He was never handled by the breeder. When we would pick him up he would yelp and cry, didn't want to be held. We have always had problems with house breaking, as a matter of fact to this day he is not house broken. He still poops in the house (he rarely poops outside, he will hold it in until he gets inside), and he still has the odd pee accident. OUR CARPETS ARE RUINED! I know that this is our fault. We never crate trained him. I had never owned a dog before and thought that it would be mean to crate him. I bought a crate, but he cried so hard... I couldn't bare it. I am wondering if it is too late to start crate training him????? We have another puppy now, and are doing EVERYTHING diferently. We have been Crating her, and it has been amazing! She hasn't had one single accident inside!!!!!

Now the other problem with Duke is that he is really dominant. It has been really hard for me to come to terms with the mistakes that I have made with Duke and to admit that he has control over us. I actually have not admitted to ANYONE the intesity of the problem. Duke will bite us if we try to move him, if I try to hold him back from running away or chasing something, or if we do anything that he doesn't like. It has gotten really bad in the last few months. (we got the new puppy almost 2 weeks ago, and you can imagine that it has gotten even worse now!). I know that I have been told to do the NILF program, but I just feel so bad that I have spoilt him for soooo long, how do you change everything? Isn't it mean to do that to him? Its my fault, I did this to him!

Anyways, I am sorry this is so long.... I just really need someone to point me in the right direction. I am really wanting to know if you guys think that it is too late for me to change everything that he is used to. I don't really think that it is fare that he should pay the price, when it is all my fault.

Thank you in advance. ANY advice is greatly appreciated!

Sydney

Posted : 6/21/2006 2:29:35 AM

I am not really sure where to post this as its kind of a mixture of everything. We have a 1 year old, Male Yorkie-poo, that we got from a puppy mill. I should not have gotten him, but I didn't know it was a puppy mill until I got there and then I HAD to save my little Duke.

Anyways, we have always had problems with Duke since the beginning. We got him too young, (the 'breeder' said that he was 8 weeks, but my Vet thinks that he was only 5 weeks!). He was never handled by the breeder. When we would pick him up he would yelp and cry, didn't want to be held. We have always had problems with house breaking, as a matter of fact to this day he is not house broken. He still poops in the house (he rarely poops outside, he will hold it in until he gets inside), and he still has the odd pee accident. OUR CARPETS ARE RUINED! I know that this is our fault. We never crate trained him. I had never owned a dog before and thought that it would be mean to crate him. I bought a crate, but he cried so hard... I couldn't bare it. I am wondering if it is too late to start crate training him????? We have another puppy now, and are doing EVERYTHING diferently. We have been Crating her, and it has been amazing! She hasn't had one single accident inside!!!!!

Now the other problem with Duke is that he is really dominant. It has been really hard for me to come to terms with the mistakes that I have made with Duke and to admit that he has control over us. I actually have not admitted to ANYONE the intesity of the problem. Duke will bite us if we try to move him, if I try to hold him back from running away or chasing something, or if we do anything that he doesn't like. It has gotten really bad in the last few months. (we got the new puppy almost 2 weeks ago, and you can imagine that it has gotten even worse now!). I know that I have been told to do the NILF program, but I just feel so bad that I have spoilt him for soooo long, how do you change everything? Isn't it mean to do that to him? Its my fault, I did this to him!

Anyways, I am sorry this is so long.... I just really need someone to point me in the right direction. I am really wanting to know if you guys think that it is too late for me to change everything that he is used to. I don't really think that it is fare that he should pay the price, when it is all my fault.

Thank you in advance. ANY advice is greatly appreciated!

ok ill try to help you out the best i can ill take it one step at a time

ok, the crate training issue. He is not too old..its never too late to learn somthing new. He most likely has seperation anxiety, it can be fixed. As hard as it might be for you you NEED to ignore him when he crys in his crate, if you let him out everytime he crys hes going to learn "hey if i cry bloody murder mom will pay attention to me and let me out!"..so try your best to ignore him. Also,when you get home, ignore him for a few minutes, then calmly pet him if hes setteled, never make a big deal about leaving him or coming home

As hard as it is for you, you need to remember, that cute little duke, is still a dog, not a human.. sounds harsh, but if you dont understand this hes going to continue to walk all over you. You need to enforce any commands you give, when you tell him to get off the couch, then he needs to do it! Some other things you need to do:
Whenever you are on walk, he needs to walk at your side never in front or pulling.. when you are leaving the house, you leave first, then he follows... When feeding him make him sit and stay for a minute or so before giving him the food, same when giving him attention, make him sit, then pet him. You need to ignore him when hes barking and jumping for attention. Don't allow him on the furniture or your bed unless invited to do so by you, because this is a privilege reserved for the "top dogs"...The biting is UNACCEPTABLE! Duke is going to continue to do this unless you take charge, he thinks hes alpha, in his mind he is thinking "Well, if you don't want to rule me, then perhaps I should rule you.".. You NEED to be "top dog" or, chances are, this will only get worse. A sad truth is that most puppies who were raised in puppy mills, with little human contact, most likely will grow up with issues like duke has. If duke hasnt been to a training class, you NEED to enroll him in one, if he already has been through a class i suggest you enroll him in another one..i strongly suggest bark busters..here is their website [linkhttp://www.barkbusters.com/[/link] >http://www.barkbusters.com/]http://www.barkbusters.com/[/link] they come to your home, you describe the problem with duke and they will help, i know a few people who have had them come to their home, and they do a great job..they have a written lifetime garuntee on any training they do with you dog..if you look on the left hand side of the web site theres a place to put your zip code and state, to see where the closest bark buster trainer is to you.

im sorry that i couldnt help you more, i think you really should get a professional trainer, Dukes issues are by no means uncommon and they can be fixed..the first step is getting him to know that YOU are the pack leader. GOOD LUCK, and please keep us updated on Dukes progress!!!

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Firestorm

Posted : 6/21/2006 5:34:33 AM

Don't feel that because he is cute and small and spoiled that the NILIF program is bad. It will teach him to respect you. As far as the crate training, I got a two year Shih Tzu I adopted who never was crated and he took to it in a week. I have the metal type of crate. He will actually go in there on his own.

jones

Posted : 6/21/2006 7:08:39 AM

It's not mean to take a spoiled dog off his pedestal - it's the most humane thing to do. It's more "mean" to make a tiny Yorkie to shoulder the burden of being the leader of a human pack in a human world. His biting to boss you around shows he is not confident or happy with his leadership role, he can't handle it, and the kindest thing you could do is relieve him of that frustration by taking the lead. Be firm, and good luck!