unhappy and whining Raja...what to do???

ORIGINAL: Raja19

I have tried doing that, she will not let me, she will pull and jump and sit down and at 85 pounds I can't make her budge. I decided to put her crate in the living room and she actually did go in it when I put treats in there. I also am feeding her in there now. I think she felt secluded in the crate in the other room.
Also, I have always heard to not force a dog in the crate, so I thought that by pulling her into she would like it even less....am I wrong. But, it would have been better then leaving her out because I am afraid next time she will hurt herself.

I don't know, I'm only 115 pounds, but I'm able to handle an 85 pound dog. Yes, ideally you would have the dog go in their crate willingly, but sometimes it's not an option. You can't just let your house get destroyed and risk your dog's safety...

I don't like halti head collars because as you've found, dogs can definitely slip out of them. Have you tried an Easy Walk harness? I think it's really good that you contacted a behaviorist. There are definitely a lot of issues going on and Raja is using her strength against you.

Are these rabbits domestic ones that have been let loose? If so, you need to get rid of them NOW. They are very, very destructive. They will dig right under the foundation of your house, no kidding. I spent an entire year getting rid of feral rabbits at the last place I lived. They eat EVERYTHING, you'll never have any garden again....and they multiply, the stereotype is real!

In many places rabbits carry tularemia, which is fatal to dogs and cats. It is passed by body fluids. If Raja does get the rabbits, be sure to keep the body and have the liver tested for tularemia. Treatment right away can save a life.

I suspect that Raja had bad experiences in confined areas, including crates. You are going to have to do some major behavior modifications to help her learn that it's okay.

How about hiding treats in an OPEN crate, and letting her find them on her own time? So that going in the crate means she might find something good? And of course treat her when she goes in. But leaving the door open all the time so that it's her choice to go in there. YOu could try some smelly treats that she'll find right away, and graduate to other things. Then eventually you could close the door and then open it right away. Do that for a week or so. Then close it and leave it closed for a 30 seconds, then open it again. Don't even give her a chance to bark. As she gets more comfortable with it you can leave the door closed longer.

I think if you have to physically drag the dog into the crate, then he's not comfortable enough with crating for that to be a good idea.  It should be a safe haven for him, not an ordeal. 
 
I agree you need to do some more behavior work to get him happy about the crate . . . . While you are working on that, how about confining him in an ex-pen, small dogproof room, or a baby gated area instead? 

Kate- That harness sounds like a great idea, are they just called No-Pull harness, does it tighten if she pulls?? I've been trying to take her to the dog park about twice a week and walks every other day, but I was worried she would slip out of the Halti again.
 
Acesmom- Yes I started last night to feed her in the crate and this morning she went and ate fine in it, with the door open, I also threw a treat in there and she went in the crate on her own.
We tried an Ex-pen and she found a way to egt out of it, and the baby-gate as well. she jumped over a very tall baby-gate. I think if I keep working with her to like the carte more slowly things should work out better and I don't have anywhere to go today, so she does not have to be crated, and I can work with her on it. So I am hoping things inprove!
 
Luvntzus - Well we have some progress today she ate willingly in her crate, so hopefully I will not have to pull her into it, since I think she is already getting better.
Also is the Easy Walk Harness the same as Kate suggested above, the No-Pull Harness?? I will look at petsmart online and check them out!
 
Jeano- The Rabbits are feral, we have had them in the neighborhood since last year, but they have made a burrow about a foot away from our front door, we have a square planter box type of a thing inbetween the other duplex door, and they have dug a huge hole and it goes under our house. We did not notice it untill about a week ago, and we thought there was only one, nope there are about 4 baby bunnies and two adults. They already ate the sprinkler system wires[:@]
And have never heard of  Tularemia....I am waiting for Raja to get one, because whenever we get our mail or go out the front door she tries to bolt out because she can see them and hear them aslo. Thanks for warning me I was thinking maybe I should try setting traps and taking them to our SPCA, I know they take in stray bunnies.
And yes I have started tossing treats in there today and everytime she has gone in there, her crate was also in my bedroom, I moved it to the living room which she will like more because she can be with the other dogs and us when we are here.
 
Thanks everyone for all your replies and help, and I will keep you posted on how the crate training goes!

The one I have does tighten if he pulls - it tightens around his ribcage and, if he pulls too much, lifts his front paws off the ground temporarily until he stops pulling.  The one I have isn't available in the US, but I do know that there are several on the market there.  Let me see if I can find some links for you,
 
Kate

[linkhttp://www.xtremepetproducts.com/index.php?action=category&id=5]http://www.xtremepetproducts.com/index.php?action=category&id=5[/link]  this one is by far the most similar to the one I found here in the UK, which works like a dream. 

I think there is also one called a Sporn, but I don't know how well it works, and more if you google them.

Kate

Kate is it like this onehttp://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441775214&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302032961&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&bmUID=1170363091348&itemNo=0&In=Dog&N=2032961&Ne=2

well the link I gave did not work anyways, but it looked alot like that one. That looks like it would definetly be better then the Halti. The Petsmart website has a few very simialar too. Did Ben get used to it pretty fast?

I copied and pasted the URL and looked at the Petsmart one.  It's really similar to the one I linked to...basically same design theory, 2 different manufacturers, so the one from Petsmart would work just as well.
 
We tried it on Ben in the store and he spent a few minutes twisting around and biting the strap that the leash attaches to.  Left it on him while we paid, got in the car and drove to the park. By about 90 seconds into his walk at the park, he was used to it...and after about 5 minutes it was like he'd been wearing it forever.  Ben can pull like a steam train when he wants to, but we've had the harness for a few weeks and he hasn't pulled me once since the day we bought it. 
 
Even better, he is now so used to the beautiful thing that walks can be when he is not pulling that if I DO take him for a short walk just with his collar and leash, he doesn't pull then either.  So the harness has actually TAUGHT him not to pull.  I don't know if that's a normal result, but it's great.  I have more control, he knows it, and the harness provides for much better non-verbal communication between us. 
 
With all the money I have spent on Ben since we got him, I can say without a doubt that the harness was the best 25 bucks I ever spent.
 
Kate
 
 

Wow that sounds great, I will meaure her tonight and take her to Petsmart tommarow. Beacuause the Halti just isn't working thanks for the suggeestion!