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Hey Mike, thanks for the response. Shortly after I posted this my girlfriend and I decided to put the crate downstairs in the living room. This really helped a lot. The first couple of nights he would pant and bark a little bit but he has gotten a lot better. In fact he even will go to his crate now just to rest during the day and plays with his Kong toy in the crate. It was clearly an issue with our room. If we bring him in the room and close the door he paces and pants and won’t settle until about an hour. He also will still pant a little bit if you close the crate door. However if you put him in the crate and give him the “stay” command he just plops down no problem. We’ve been working with him by closing the door and giving him a treat, then opening it and giving him some love inside the crate. It’s helped.
Per your questions, we never allow Rolfe on the furniture. When we are away he has tried to get on the couch but playing “God” has helped stop that. Thankfully there is a little window in the kitchen so I can hang back there, spy and then stop as soon as the bad behavior starts. We also have kept his toys out of reach with only two special toys being for the crate. Another thing we’ve done is played with the toys ourselves for a few minutes, put them away and then play with him to try to convey that the toys are for play only when he wants them. We also practice the “release” and make him sit before he releases. He’s been doing excellent. We also give him the sit command before leaving and entering the house and only allow him to come and go when he sits and stays.
The one other issue we are having is with him wanting to follow my girlfriend and I. For instance if I am sitting on the couch and she gets up, Rolfe will get up to follow her. Same thing with me, when one of us gets up he wants to follow. We’ve set up barriers and he’s been very stubborn about it. Currently we put the training collar (pinch) back on him and are working to correct it but old habits are hard to break.
