Q:

I just adopted a 5 month old lab mix. I don't think he's had good experiences with crating. He doesn't want to go in and I hate to trick him by tossing in treats and then shutting the door. Is there a way to change the way he feels about his crate? Right now I have to crate him because I don't know if I can trust leaving him in the house while I'm away. I work at home but I have to leave to run errands.

A:

If you must leave him before he's had a chance to learn to accept being crated, put him in the crate 20 minutes prior to leaving the house. Give him his dinner or a chew toy like an Everlasting Treat Ball. Don't just leave him with a tennis ball or a tug toy. What fun is that?

Remember he's not going to learn to like this crating business unless you de-sensitize him to the separation and confinement. So, you'll have to start doing this in gradual steps. It may take weeks to get him to accept the crate.

Desensitizing Exercises

1. Put your dog in the crate with a treat and leave the door open. Sit down on the floor in front of the door and make a phone call, read a book, do some work on your laptop. Scratch or massage the dog.

2. Put him in his crate when you're prepared to stay home so the time in the crate is limited. Don't flood him with the experience unless you absolutely have to. Think of the crate as a "play pen".

3. Vary how long he's in the crate during your exercises. Put him in there when you have just a 10 minute errand. The next time, put him in there while your taking a shower. Short intervals are best at first.

4. When you're home, always leave the door open. Place treats in the crate and let him discover them on his own. Don't alert him to the fact that they're there. It's a treasure hunt!

Toys are Important for Your Dog's Peace of Mind and for Yours!
Start collecting a bunch of toys for him. To make the toys valuable and desirable to the dogs, you must only give them access to about 1/3 of the collection at a time. Rotate the bunch of toys every week or so. That way, they don’t have so many toys in their play area that they stop caring about them and every time you bring out a “new” batch, the dogs will be excited.

I recommend the following things in the collection of toys:
Several stuffed soft toys, some of them with squeakers!
A few different kinds of hard rubber chew toys
Raw “soup” bones from the supermarket meat department. These are very healthy for them and keeps them busy licking, chewing, gnawing and scraping out the marrow for hours. Eventually you’ll have several and that’s good.

There is a category of toys that I really like for times when you need the dogs to be occupied with an appropriate activity. These are toys that are never left in the general population of toys, This is what makes them so valuable!!! They are all meant to keep the dog engaged.

It’s just as important to exercise your dog’s mind as their body!

Some Specific Recommendations:
Bully Sticks: All natural dog chews...dogs love them

Changing Aggressive and Inappropriate Behaviors

Good Family Dog changed this Aggressive Dog’s Life... Forever

Pepper came to me from Safe Harbor Lab Rescue. She was a typical lab; high energy, sweet and loving companion and absolutely no impulse control.

What had made her unwanted by several potential adopters was her aggressive reactivity to other dogs. Using desensitization I was able to significantly reduce her reactive behavior in about 6 weeks. She had a whole new set of skills AND wonderful new owners in 12 weeks.

Click here for information about private in-home problem solving sessions.

Don’t Give Up On Your Dog!

Pepper was aggressive and out of control with other dogs.

Pepper couldn’t walk politely on leash.

Ask Yourself these questions:

• Have I been focusing on what I DON’T want my dog to do instead of what I DO want?


• Has everyone in this household been consistent with rules and expectations?


• Have I been flooding the dog with experiences that are above his or her “pay-grade”?


• Am I rewarding small steps of progress with something that the DOG VALUES?

What Kids and Friends May Be Doing to Ruin Your Dog

If your dog is repeating behaviors you are trying to eliminate, there is still a reinforcement somewhere in your dog's environment.

Some times that reinforcement is family and friends. Your kids need to learn how to interact with the dog to encourage good behavior, not bad. Running, screaming, flailing hands and feet are all ways your kids trigger normal but unwanted reactions in your dog or puppy. They need to learn what they are doing that is causing the dog to be wild and out of control.

Tell your friends what good manners skills you are working on and how they can help. Don't let them motivate and reinforce your dog to repeat unwanted behaviors like jumping and nipping.

Learn how to set your dog up to succeed with our Practical Obedience class. Click here for our list of group classes and here for our class schedule.

WHO ELSE RUINS YOUR DOG?

“Oh, I love dogs. I don’t mind if she jumps on me...”

Don’t you just cringe when you hear those words. And these people are supposed to be your friends! Here’s an idea. Post Dog Instructions on your front door so your guests know what to do when they come in. Make it light and sweet and everyone will be willing to help. Here’s an example we did for one of our clients...

A New Way To Teach Loose Leash Walking

Short and Long Distance Calls – a new way to interrupt behaviors and teach loose leash walking:

• Every 10 yards or so, call your dog's name. When they turn around to look at you, say, "come" and reward with very valuable food treats when they get there.


• Build up to longer intervals or whenever your dog starts to pull on the leash. Stop. Say the dog's name, when you have their attention, say, "come". Reward.


• Use this when they start to "target" dogs or other distractions.


• If they won't turn around to you, move away to a distance where they will respond correctly.


• Don't yank on the leash, screaming "NO". This isn't telling your dog what you WANT THEM TO DO. You want them to interrupt their behavior and give you their attention. But you must condition them that turning back to you is by far the best call!

Managing Barking

There’s so much more to ending unwanted barking than telling your dog to stop. In fact, most people discover quite quickly that commanding your dog to be quiet isn’t a permanent solution.

All behavior happens in a context. It is usually necessary to change the environment and circumstances that cause the dog to bark.

I’m sure there are many dogs who would benefit from an innovation like the one pictured. If your dog is easily visually stimulated and has made a habit of barking at everything that moves past your property, this would be a very bad idea.

I have clients who complain that their dogs wait at the windows and bark at everything that goes by.

It’s critical that you prevent your dog from practicing the same unwanted behavior over and over again.

If you’re not home your dog will be rehearsing his favorite past-time.

• Do not let your dog have access to areas where he is stimulated to bark repeatedly with nothing to stop him.


• Create visual barriers in your yard. Gate off rooms where the dog can see outside.


• Give your dog a valuable chew toy that he only has when you are away. Keep him busy.


• If all else fails to stop the barking, get a citronella bark collar. This kind of self-correcting technique sprays a mist of citronella at the dog’s face when they bark. Unlike shock bark collars, your dog is less likely to learn to connect the stimulus with the shock correction. This kind of association can create fear reactivity in some dogs.