SueMcGauley
Forum Replies Created
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Hi and thanks, yes she is very well exercised both by walks and playtime. I started crate training her at 8wks and fed her in the crate as well as treats. I put her in the crate every day regardless of whether I was home and she slept in a crate every night. The first few weeks were brutal, howling etc. but we got through it. I stopped feeding her meals in the crate at 4 months but she does get a kong or marrow bone. She is so well behaved in the house that recently on days when I’m home I haven’t been crating her. If i needed to I would tether her but truth be told she doesn’t really leave whatever room I’m in. On the days that I crated her, she was fine. It is only since I have allowed her to sleep outside the crate at night that she doesn’t want to be in it during the day. I can still lure her in with a kong but my husband tells me she howls for awhile when its finished, but then settles. She has never gone in her crate voluntarily to nap or anything else, in fact if she wants a bone from in there she will quickly grab it and run out as fast as possible lest someone shut the door on her!
On a good note, she is doing really really well sleeping out of the crate. -
J – sorry, I had a small crate in my bedroom which I’ve now done away with and she is doing very well at night without it, I confine her to a small area next to my bed. I have a large crate in the living area that I use during the day when I need to leave her alone. It seems that she believes that now that she sleeps at night without a crate she should not be confined during the day. Au Contraire my Bella! I was able to get her in today but I admit to giving a little push 🙂
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Sorry I just realized I wasn’t very clear. What I meant to say is that there are days when she is with one of us all day and I don’t need to crate her.
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Ok new twist, or maybe this is common. 3 nights crate free, very limited area right next to my side of bed. Now she doesn’t want to go in the crate ( which is a large one) during the day. Ultimately I win and she’s in but she’s never refused to go in before, today I tried every treat in the house and I actually had to give her a tiny push in….is this because she’s out at night? BTW she doesn’t go in the crate everyday.
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PS she doesn’t jump on the furniture because I have aluminum foil on it! but yes she will jump on the bed if I sit on it during the day. I tried to fit the larger crate in the room today but I couldn’t get it in. The 36L is rated for up to 70 lbs but she is long. Am I cruel to keep putting her in it at night? she can still turn around….
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Ok so last night didn’t go so well. At 3am she jumped on the bed and when I got her off I tried to put her back in the crate and she wouldn’t get in. Andy wanted to force her into the crate but I didn’t like that idea so we went downstairs where she willingly went into the larger crate and I slept on the couch. Typically I don’t have time to lie down during the day to test it out. But today I had 30 mins where I laid down and she laid on the blankets on the floor. she’s fine for an hour or so but ant make the whole night and tempers flare at 3am. The crate is 36long and she is fitting but has to duck her head when she sits. I’m going to crate her in it tonight to make up some list sleep while I plan my next move. I know it’s a bit small but if she can turn around I should be ok for another couple of nites
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lol, so here’s how last night worked out…..spend much time introducing her to her bed….bed meet bella, blah blah blah. praise, cookies etc. Bedtime she was looking for her crate so I left it there with the dog bed right outside of it (next to my bed) and I left the crate door ajar. All is well, everyone goes to sleep. 3AM Wham! I am awoken by 60 lbs of dog on my head estatically licking and kicking. Now I figure I have to take her out because she is wide awake, so we go for a moment, all business, i’m not happy or fussing over her I quietly lure her to her bed (husband has slept thru all this) and the second i get into bed, there she is – right next to me….ok Bella….back in the crate and we’ll try again tomorrow. Today I put some comfy blankets on the floor, the heck with the dog bed and I’ve been treating her on the blankets throughout the day….I’ll try that tonight. At least I’ll have somewhere to sleep if she gets the bed first!! (just kidding)
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I could do that she loves the car, as far as confidence goes even the rustle of leaves alarms her. Aside from o eciebce and above I do t know how to restore her confidence. With my bAck injury she has had no social interaction in a week
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Hi T,
The park and socialization in general seems to be out of the question right now. She enjoyed the park so much before but now in this fear phase she not walk there, I would have to forcibly drag her and if I drive there she ends the entire walk struggling to get back to the car. -
Ok I see. Yesterday morning sh didn’t even want to leave the driveway. I waited until after school buses were done and public services and had her walk about two blocks. The same 2 blocks we walked and enjoyed for 2 months until she suddenly became afraid to. I rained liver treats on her the entire 2 blocks, at first she tried to turn to go home but the treats became a motivator. We did encounter a loud truck a block away which captured her attention but I had her do sits and treats while watching it from afar. Very hard finding quiet streets where I live unless I drive to the park which will do nothing to help desensitize her.
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Thanks or your reply, puppy is defiantly goi g thru a very fearful phase as since my last post she has reacted fearfully to many things that have not bothered her before and is also a bit more wary with new people. In the last 3 days she has also lost 3 teeth – kinder if that might be adding to her stress.
