A Friday @ 6pm probably isn't a great time to post a new thread - but anyway...
I got my pup at the end of June. He was about 2 months old at the time and he's now just over 7 months. He's a Golden - which is what my first was (he sadly passed away a year ago) - so, I have a full life cycles' experience raising/caring for one of these guys, but the new one is more of a challenge.
I have two crates for this one. There's one in my living room and also one in my bedroom. This guy is spoiled because I work remotely and he's with me most days - which is, why I suspect I am having this issue to begin with.
I put him in the crate downstairs any time I need to go out during the day. The longest I've left him alone was about 5 hours and that was Thanksgiving since I had to go to a family thing and couldn't bring him.
He willingly goes into both crates. I don't have to coerce him at all. He sleeps in the crate in my bedroom and has blankets and toys in there, etc. He's got some stuff in the downstairs crate as well. He's definitely comfortable in both... until I leave.
The second I leave the room, he starts barking. This isn't even really limited to his crate. If I go outside to get the mail or walk out the front door and he thinks I'm leaving, he'll start barking.
Middle of the night, if I get up just to get water, he hears me every single time. No matter how quiet I think I am - it's like he sleeps with one eye open. As soon as I leave the room, he barks. As soon as I walk back in he stops. It's automatic.
I try not to even pay attention to it. I don't make eye contact or make it an ordeal when I leave like "it's okay! I'll be right back! Don't worry!" because I know that just makes it worse. I am totally nonchalant about it but he's just not adjusting for whatever reason.
This isn't full-fledged separation anxiety. If I leave him in his crate and go out for a few hours, he won't go to the bathroom in there or anything. From what I understand, dogs with true separation anxiety will just totally lose control of themselves in their crates.. they'll go to the bathroom in there, shake, drool, etc. He doesn't do any of that... he just barks. And barks some more. And some more on top of that.
He's wonderful in every other way and I have had very few problems with him. I just need to figure out how to get him to cool it with the non stop barking every time I leave the room. He's obviously just super used to me being around because he's with me every day but I don't seem to be making much progress in correcting this.
My first golden was one of the quietest dogs I've ever met. He would literally only bark if someone was at my door. Otherwise, nothing. Presumably because when I got him I was only 20 and I was still a full time student so I was out of the house a lot and he had to get used to being alone pretty early on.
So, needless to say - this is a new challenge for me. Any advice would be appreciated! Sorry for the super long post.
(FWIW, I know there are dog forums that might be more helpful but I usually find that people on those boards are super "judgey" and a lot of them raise show dogs/hunting dogs, etc. so they just don't get it - I figure there are a ton of dog owners here so maybe some of you have dealt with similar)
I have had large dogs for many years the best thing I have ever done was crate training
I have a Boerboel puppy who is 135 lbs , he would create havoc in our house if he was able to run free unattended
We make the crate as enticing as possible
Our dog loves to go into the crate, he asociates it with rest and treats
We also have a shroud that encases the cage
The shroud is essential It closes off the cage and makes it feel like a den
As a result our dog feels safe and secure in the cages
The benefit is that our house is clean, Bruce our puppy, has limited access to thd house
His shedding is limited
But most importantly as he is a puppy and has unlimited energy the crate is his sanctuary and his rest place
Always - he has things to chew on in both crates. Whenever I leave for more than a few minutes, I leave a frozen stuffed Kong in there with him which he goes nuts for when I'm here, but if I leave, he's so focused on the fact I've left that sometimes he won't even touch it until I get back.
The crate in the bedroom has a sheet over the top, sides, and the back (the front is uncovered, so he can see out and the TV is in front of there - he seems to enjoy watching games with me) so it's like a little den for him. He has a fleece blanket in there, lots of stuff to chew, etc.
Like I said in the OP - he is super comfortable in his crates. The caveat is that I have to be within sight otherwise he's not a happy camper. I never have to drag him into either one - in fact, he can't get up in to the bedroom crate quickly enough when it's bed time. He loves it in there.
But he won't go to sleep for the night until I'm home and in bed. If I go out around 7 and don't get home until past midnight, he will still be awake.
It's hard because he obviously has to get used to being away from me more - but it's hard to do that if I'm always working during the week with him near me.
What you have now is an "older" puppy that you have trained to your presence.
Wean him off slowly to your absence as suggested above with his blankee, a Kong filled with whatever, and what ever his favorite toy is.
Going to take time now.
Good luck and patience, lots of patience.
I'd be worried or more concerned if he was trying to chew through the crate bars or going to the bathroom in the crate, etc... but he hasn't done any of that. He's very clever and manipulative so I think part of it is also that he knows I'm a sucker and it might get him attention faster.
Just trying to figure out how to manage this since I am still going to be around him most days. It's difficult to ween him.
I work remote most of the time as well, and any time I do go into the office I get the world's greatest guilt trip.
A couple of suggestions:
Whenever you crate him or let him out of the crate do not immediately pay attention to him. You don’t want you leaving and returning to seem like a big deal. If you don’t get worked up when you come and go, he will start to understand it isn’t a big deal.
Try crating him in the bedroom while you are downstairs working to get him more used to separation. Start with small periods of time and gradually make them longer and let him get used to you being gone more often.
When he is crated put on some music or leave the tv on so he hears sounds and is not an anxious about being alone. We leave soft music on for our dogs when they are crated.
It will take some time and it will be hard to listen to him be stressed for a while, but you should notice it starts becoming shorter and less severe.
Good luck!
I will admit that I'm not a fan of crating dogs at all. I can't imagine boxing someone that I love into a small space for hours at a time, only to be released at my pleasure.
I will admit that I'm not a fan of crating dogs at all. I can't imagine boxing someone that I love into a small space for hours at a time, only to be released at my pleasure.
There were some solid reasons behind the crating that I read at the time, I just felt the same way you did and caved. The poor guy would sit in the cage and whine at night, and occasionally bark. The whole thing reminded me of when my kids were little, and people I knew were pushing the Dr. Spock methodology of letting them cry it out. I didn't have the heart to do that to them either, and ended up with three kids hogging up my bed for about 10 years.
Like anything, if you don’t spend the time doing the training it won’t work. You can’t force them in or use it for punishment. Put toys in it and give them a treat when they go in. Leave them in while you are home and let them out a few minutes later and praise them. Over time the crate will reduce anxiety for both of you.
Your first mistake is thinking that's the reasoning behind crating.
Your second mistake is thinking that a dog is like a person, instead of a den animal.
I had a yellow lab for the last 15 years, and she spent her days sniffing around the house and napping by the door waiting for us to come home, not cramped in a 2'x3' box.
If it makes you feel better to think that the dog likes incarceration, so be it. To each his own.
I had a yellow lab for the last 15 years, and she spent her days sniffing around the house and napping by the door waiting for us to come home, not cramped in a 2'x3' box.
If it makes you feel better to think that the dog likes incarceration, so be it. To each his own.
If you think crating a dog after proper crate training is like “incarceration” then you are just poorly informed. Don’t crate your dog if you don’t want to but don’t make it sound like crating a dog is something people do when they don’t give a shit about their dog. That is just ignorant.
I had a yellow lab for the last 15 years, and she spent her days sniffing around the house and napping by the door waiting for us to come home, not cramped in a 2'x3' box.
If it makes you feel better to think that the dog likes incarceration, so be it. To each his own.
You don't seem to understand that crating a dog is about their own safety. 7 month old puppies are not old enough to be left alone, unsupervised for long periods of time. It's not "incarceration" - it's safety. If you leave a dog that young alone, unsupervised, you are putting THEM at risk because they don't always know what they should or shouldn't eat.
You can think you've puppy-proofed everything in the home, but it's very difficult to make a home 100% safe for an unsupervised puppy and it's borderline negligent to leave a dog this young alone in a house like that with no one looking after him/her.
You also don't seem to have read my post because you were too anxious to criticize anyone who crate trains a puppy. I don't crate him when I'm here. I crate him at night and I crate him when I leave the house because he's still very young and it's too dangerous.
Again. It is a matter of safety. I would be a terrible dog parent if I left him alone unsupervised for 3-5 hours at a time. He's 7 months old.
My last Golden eventually had free reign and so will this one. But they have to learn boundaries first and understand which things are okay to have and what is off-limits.
His crates have blankets and toys in them and I always leave him with treats and water. He's fucking spoiled. The idea that I am somehow treating this dog unfairly, imprisoning him or in any way being even remotely cruel is absolutely absurd. Half the reason I am having this problem to begin with is because I have been giving him consistent care and attention since the day he came home.
If you do it right, and it sounds like Arc 100% has, the crate will be dark and have things in it that makes the dog happy.
Of course when their owner leaves they'll want to go to or see their owner, that's natural.
today my dog is 5 and I do not crate her during the day, but we leave the crate open and many times I'll come home and find her curled up in her crate.
I think Arc is doing the right thing and I suspect over time your dog will stop or cut down on barking. Maybe leave an old shirt of yours in the crate, if the dog is surrounded by your scent maybe they will be more calm.