Dog Community

Crate training woes...

Posted : 5/17/2006 3:44:48 PM

Hello all...
I've been lurking for a bit in anticipation of my new vizsla pup, Harper! I've had her for a week now and she's just about the cutest thing...
I'm a teacher and planned getting my pup right before school got out so that I could spend lots of time with her. The problem is that I still have four weeks of school left and I'm forced to crate her for a good portion of the day. I've been leaving her for 3.5 hours maximum and coming home at lunch to let her out. It's only been a few days, but she's urinated in her crate at least once per day so far. She's crated at night and hasn't had any accidents then, so I'm wondering if part of this could be due to anxiety. She howls bloody murder when I leave her, but is usually quiet and just waking from a nap when I get home, so I think that the howling is short-lived. I've read a TON and am doing all of the "good stuff" (not making a fuss, using the stuffed kongs, having her nap in her crate when I'm home with the door open, never letting her out when she's crying, praising her when quiet, etc.). Will this get better with age? I've changed the bedding completely after each "accident" and sprayed down the crate with Nature's Miracle. She's only 8.5 weeks, so maybe that has something to do with it? Unfortunately, this is my only option at the moment. As soon as school is out, I'll be home most of the day.

Also...she can get a "wild hair" and starts nipping (she seems to think that she's Kujo), I'm working hard on doing the yelping, then ignoring trick to encourage bite inhibition. It works when I can get away from her. How am I supposed to get her to pay attention to that while she's locked onto my skirt, growling and pulling? She seems to find me standing there as an excuse to continue to jump and nip.

On the other hand, most of the time she's adorable and sweet and SO smart. Of course, I'm not biased at all. I wanted to post a pic, but am having trouble uploading it from my Mac. Anyone out there have this same issue?
Thanks so much!

Minty_Pups

Posted : 5/17/2006 7:56:23 PM

Little puppies are exTREMELY attached to their humans...which I'm sure you know already. I think most of what you said will get better with time.

You can practice leaving her by just locking her in her crate, walk out for a minute or so, then come back in to show that you're not leaving her forever. You can also leave an old, worn t-shirt in with her so it smells like you. Make sure that you clean the crate with a special enzymatic cleaner for pets. And sometimes if the crate's too big, puppies will think it's okay to pee in it.

When my puppy went through the nipping stage, I would say a loud "OW" whenever he nips me, then get up and walk out of the room or lock myself in a bathroom. He usually ends up whimpering on the other side of the door. Then i'll get out after some time and paly with him again. Also if you feel that your puppy is about to want to chew on you, grab a toy and have her chew that instead, and praise her when she chews the toy. Some people advice against squeaky toys, because they say it encourages the dog to chew. But for me, he was going to chew anyways, and using the squeaky toys to stop him from chewing me really helped.

strictor

Posted : 5/17/2006 9:31:41 PM

For the nipping, I would try a loud shreaking "yipe, yipe yipe", which would freak my pup out. She was like "what the heck, I can hurt you", and she would back o ff. Then I would ignore in the same room, for no more than 2-3 minutes. If it happens again repeat. It seemed for my pup, a small "yelp" didn't work too good. But a good "yipe, yipe, yipe" and she knew what she did was playing rough. She's 5 months (got her at 8 weeks) now and never nips me, but she used to be a nipping/biting maniac. And of course as the previous post, always keep lots and lots of chew toys. Mix them up too. Hide them for a while then bring them back out again, it's like a new toy then and you know how dogs like new toys. I guess dogs and people for that matter.

Ang

Posted : 5/18/2006 8:05:18 AM

As I read on I wonder..will it ever end??? I myself have an 8 week puppy (his name is Keehlo) and when i seen you referred to him as Cujo, I started laughing... that is exactly how I feel at times...he's extremely playful, but when he gets his "super play" kick, he seriously reminds me of Cujo..LOL... It will get better with time and patience as well as training. I am a newby to puppies so I thought I was doing something wrong, plus my pup was taken from the litter too young (I've had him for 2 weeks)... definetly not his fault... hang in there!! and keep me updated as I think we are going through the same stage...

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Posted : 5/18/2006 1:52:49 PM

Woo hoo, the joy of training puppies, dontcha wish you could just be with him all day?
My first question is, do you exercise him before putting him in the crate? If not, let me say that it makes a pretty big difference. Especially if he is put in his crate in the morning after sleeping all night, he would eb bored out of his poor little mind. My sis takes the shirt she slept in the night before and puts it in the crate with her dog and that provides comfort too.
Your not leaving him in for a extremely long period of time either so thats good. Remember too when you take your summer break to let him nap in their after a long walk so he dosnt get out of the habit being crated.
My girl was a mouthy one too when she was younger. Puppies learn to not bite by biting their littermates and getting a negative reaction. When my girl used to bite down to hard I would let out a loud yelp. The first couple of times she looked at me like "what the heck is wrong with you"? Ina ddition to yelping I would turn away from her for several seconds like "you hurt my feelings, i dont wanna play now"
Also keepinga alternative chewing tool around is handy so if she bites you, you can yelp, say no and give them the rope and praise when they divert their attention to the rope! Good luck with your new fur baby!

Amber McLellan

Posted : 5/18/2006 5:29:38 PM

Thanks for all of the advice...
I must say that it's extremely comforting to know that her behavior is pretty normal, and that I'm not alone. I swear, there should be support groups for puppy owners! I guess I've found one here! I'm learning that the key to success with yelling "ouch" when she bites is all in the pitch. Sometimes, when I do it right, her ears go back and she backs right up. If I don't do it right, she looks at me like, "Now THAT was a poor attempt at speaking dog!"

I'm trying to exercise her as much as is possible before I leave for work, when I come home at lunch, and at night. I can't wait until she's had all of her shots so that I can take her somewhere to really RUN! I just hope that the hems of my skirts and pants can survive that long!

I put her in her crate anytime she falls asleep for a nap and I'm home, and I only give her a stuffed kong in her crate, so it seems like a special treat. I think that I just need to keep repeating "Give it time, give it time, give it time." I hope I survive that long! When do they get rid of those razor teeth, again?

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Posted : 5/18/2006 6:06:21 PM

Oh the razor teeth, I forgot all about that, ha ha! My sister actually bit her puppy back a couple of times. I dont know if thats the best idea but he yelped at her and stopped biting her. I hope thats not puppy abuse, her deffense was that his littermates would bite him too, I guess its laughable. Can you imagine someone walking in on you while you bite your poor lil puppy? "but he bit me first" ha ha! Don't give up on your little guy, he's testing his boundaries. The more you discipline him now the better his life will be. If you don't feed him human food he'll be less likely to beg and a better companion to you. If you take the time to take him to puppy classes he'll be able to roam off leash and enjoy life more. It really hurts when you see someone raise a puppy poorly and then the dog suffers for it because the owner was lazy.....sorry just a rant. Anways summer's almost here and you and your pup are gonna have a blast!

Minty_Pups

Posted : 5/18/2006 11:53:13 PM

Perhaps you can roll up your pants before you play? Or have an outfit just for playing with your puppy that you can quickly change into. I used to put on an old sweatshirt whenever I played with our pup, before he was trained not to bite anymore, because it really hurt when he bit!

janobonano

Posted : 5/25/2006 8:25:20 PM

ORIGINAL: amberm
On the other hand, most of the time she's adorable and sweet and SO smart. Of course, I'm not biased at all. I wanted to post a pic, but am having trouble uploading it from my Mac. Anyone out there have this same issue?

I'm on a Mac, too. [sm=wink2.gif] Just make sure your file (jpg) is under 200 k. And click the "Embed picture in post" box at the bottom.
Post lots of pics! We can't wait to see that wrinkly lil puppy butt! [sm=happy.gif]

Suzi

Posted : 5/26/2006 10:02:23 AM

For the yelping, leaving room and ouch thing, it works sometimes. Though I would stay still, kneel down to her level, look into her eyes, look serious and a little upset and the dog might slowly let loose and let go of whatever she's biting on. Do not move until your dog stop what she's doing. It's going to take a few times but it worked for me and JJ don't bite no more, she know's the unhappy look on my face if she does. [

]

Amber McLellan

Posted : 5/26/2006 1:32:09 PM

Hey everyone!
Thanks so much for all of your advice. Harper's doing a little better. I built her a 6' x 6' kennel in the garage and have put her crate in there, leaving the door open. For the first few days, she still urinated IN the crate! Grrr. But, yesterday I transferred the bedding from her "nighttime" crate (the one she has never had an accident in) to her "day" crate, along with a towel. Well...she still peed in the crate, but on the towel, not the bedding. AND, she peed OUTSIDE of the crate, too! So...though somewhat halted, I feel like progress is coming. She's doing pretty well inside the house. I own a three story townhouse, and her only accident yesterday was on the stairs (when I wasn't looking), which lets me know that she's at least thinking in the right direction!

I'm working hard to get her good and tired on a regular basis before leaving her, but living in Oregon (where it rains a lot), plus not having all of her shots yet, it's hard to let her really go crazy. Hopefully, we'll dry out soon!

We'll be starting a training class soon, so hopefully I'll learn some good ways to deal with the nipping, though she seems to be a little gentler these days, except when she's really excited!

I'm trying to upload pictures, but as soon as I've chosen the pics and click "ok", I get the message, "There was an error saving file to disk." The pictures are in .jpg format and are only 40-50kb. Any ideas about what the problem could be? I wanna show off my girl!! [:@]

Luvntzus

Posted : 5/26/2006 1:59:57 PM

ORIGINAL: amberm

Also...she can get a "wild hair" and starts nipping (she seems to think that she's Kujo), I'm working hard on doing the yelping, then ignoring trick to encourage bite inhibition. It works when I can get away from her. How am I supposed to get her to pay attention to that while she's locked onto my skirt, growling and pulling? She seems to find me standing there as an excuse to continue to jump and nip.

The best thing to do in that case is to practice by tethering her to a door or something stable. Then you can do the yelp and walk away, it keeps her from having access to you and sends her the message that nipping and pulling on clothes gets her no attention and isn't acceptable.

Another thing you could try is spraying bitter apple on your hands and clothes, should work as a deterrant... Good luck with the puppy stage, thankfully it doesn't last forever and you're doing a great job!

janobonano

Posted : 5/26/2006 3:24:17 PM

ORIGINAL: amberm
I'm trying to upload pictures, but as soon as I've chosen the pics and click "ok", I get the message, "There was an error saving file to disk." The pictures are in .jpg format and are only 40-50kb. Any ideas about what the problem could be? I wanna show off my girl!! [:@]

I would ask Jaime about this. She's the board moderator. Sounds like you're doing everything right.
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