New dog, won't stop barking...help!

[borzoimom]

She needs to be around " her people" to help her adjust to things. As far as wetting in her crate- she probably just held it too long.
Remember- its not easy to adopt to a dog - especially with one you have no history on at all. She needs love, time and patience.

[lizbud]

Please don't take my question as a put down, but can you say why you
adopted the dog ? What were your hopes & expectations for this dog? Thanks.

[GraceByDesign]

Thanks to all for your advice and replies. We are in Northern Kentucky, so I doubt you will be our trainer, catnapper!

Lizbud, no offence taken. We have had dogs off and on for years. We have been dogless for about a year and a half, are settled into our new home, and wanted a family pet. We were looking at a different dog last weekend that had been fostered for a couple of years, and was housebroken and crate trained already. (We were rejected by the agency, as we don't have a fenced yard.) The new dog knows nothing. I also did not realize she would have such an aversion to the crate. Must be some history there.

As to the size, the wire cage is a bit too large for her. However, we do have an airline crate that is abaout half a size too small (she can turn around and lay down, but has to duck to stand up) which we put in the kitchen, and she is doing very well in it, except she refuses to go in by herself.

She pottied in the basement, but that was our fault. We had just taken her out, and then bathed her (she stank... the spca is a pretty gross place) and took her back downstairs to dry a bit, and oops! should have taken her out again after the bath. She has wet nicely outside twice, and received praise, not too lavish... few pats and ear rubs and "go potty, good girl" s. She is so starved for attention that just looking at her seems to make her happy!

We just went on a nice walk around the block, and she is playing in the basement with my 10 year old daughter. She loves "bo-bo" (loofah dog from petsmart) and will play fetch, even brings is back and lets go!

You forget a lot of things in not having a dog for a while, and we have no experience with adopting a non-puppy stray!

Oh, and she will not always be in the basement. It is just unfinished, fairly empty, and a great place to run and play, and no carpeting to soil. (there is a large rug) We want a companion, but need to get her to learn some manners and housetraining before she can be loose in the house. Just like with training a puppy. She does seem to be smart, though she will not "work for cookies"...

thanks again!

[agilityk9trainer]

You are doing a few things wrong.

First, crate training is to be done slowly. Putting the dog in the crate, closing the door and leaving her alone for any stretch of time isn't the way to properly crate train. This will only cause her stress and more issues - including crate issues. Crate train slowly.

Bring the crate upstairs. Remember, the idea of crate training is that she won't pee in the crate - not that she's isolated from the family. When I potty train using the crate, I cart my crate around to where ever I'm going to be spending most of my time. So, in the mornings, the crate gets hauled out to the den, where my dogs can see me in the kitchen as well as the den. At night, the crates are hauled back to the bedroom where my dogs can sleep with me present. When they are potty trained, obviously, the crates go into the dog's room.

As you get an adult dog used to the crate, you must work in small increments of time and build on them. So say put your dog in the crate with a Kong with some peanut butter inside. Leave the dog there for a few minutes with you in the same room. Let the dog out. Later, repeat with maybe his breakfast. Five minutes later, let the dog out. Later, repeat, only increase the time to say, 10 minutes. Let the dog out. You slowly increase your dog's time in the crate until they are comfortable going in their crates. You never let the dog out when the dog is barking. Ever. If you do, you're rewarding the barking, and it will get worse.

Your dog's crate is it's bedroom. You never punish a dog by putting it in the crate. Then the crate becomes something to dislike. You want your dog to view the crate as "it's spot." It's the safe haven. The den of peace. If your dog goes in it's crate to escape kids, then kids need to know they cannot go get the dog out of the crate. Don't force your dog into the crate. I throw in a few kibbles to get my dogs in their crates. Then it's their idea to go in...not mine.

Go to Petsmart and ask the trainer there for a brocnure on crate training. It should be free and will give you some good tips on how to crate train properly. Also, they hava a book, "Potty Training Is Possible" that will tell you how to use the crate to properly potty train.

I'd also recommend you sign up for some obedience classes. Even if you've had dogs before, an obedience class will help you and the dog develop a tighter bond. They are always useful, even if you know how to train.

[borzoimom]

One more point- I start crate training alias " the dinner box". First I put dinner in front of the crate door ( with the door unable to close quickly etc- usually I tie the door open .) Then- we have dinners ( that means breakfast or dinner btw) in the box- door open. I do this for like 2 days. Then I close the door behind then gently as they eat. Increasing when I let them out from 2-5 minutes. Then let out casual- do something else to change the subject- then we go out. ( usually I wash bowls). Then this way the dog doesn't associate getting out as any big event..When the dog flies into the crate for dinner, and doesn't even flinch when I shut the door, and waits quietly for me to come back. Then I start with longer times- . I put a cookie in at night, and the the dogs spends the night in there. ( in our room of course). No activity in the house, and no reason to get up obviously. )
Until the dog understands the crate is safe, except for the ride home in the car, I do not use the crate for any long term. Adults- or pups.. Its easier to take it slow and end up with a dog that will easily crate with no anxiety, then to rush it and end up having to fix problems.
I was told femka was crate trained by the way. Well I watched her in a crate- and she was anxious. I went back like I would a "untrained dog", and soon she will curl up in a crate right away and go to sleep. With the shepherds, I had a few I bought as adults, that were crate " possesive". I solved it the same way..

[GraceByDesign]

Agility, I am aware not to use the crate to punish. I also did not plan to use the crate-in-the-basement as isolation. It was just a nice place to put it, where all her stuff can be and a play area. I have never had a dog that would not go into a crate willingly, and stay by itself. Just lucky to this point, I guess

There are obviously issues with Dottie that we do not know. She is eager to please, and seems to be intellingent. We are successfully and consistently ignoring her jumping, and already we can see a difference. She has a tendency to play very rough if we don't watch it.

We do have her in a crate in the kitchen now. She is happy if she can see and hear us. If we go upstairs, she gets anxious after a few minutes. When she quiets down, we then speak to her.

Borzoi, Not sure how well the crate as a dinner box will work right now, as she is off her food. I take her to vet Wednesday. What do you do with them when they are not in the crate? I am unwilling (no flack please) to let her be loose to potentially potty in the house... then we will have to undo THAT. We don't have a fenced yard, so I cannot just turn her out.

Right now we are trying to get some sort of schedule. Since she is not a puppy, with the puppy-bladder, I was thinking I would not to have to take her out as often... maybe I was wrong?

1. Take outside until she potties; if after 10-15 minute walk she has not gone, back into upstairs crate (we have always used "Go in your house" so we think of it as house, not cage or jail.) Take out again in 30 minutes.
2. Play in basement, fetch, water, food if that time (though as I said she is off her food)
3. walk for about 10 minutes or until she goes
4. back into upstairs crate. She gets pup-peroni (yay we found a treat she loves) when she goes into the crate, and at various random times when she is being quiet, to reinforce the good behavior.
5. repeat in a couple of hours. (I now realize I should maybe take her out more often?)

We are also taking a couple of longer (about a mile each) walks a day for exercise. (great for me, too!!)

I thought when crate training, you remove dog from crate and immediately go to the potty area (ie outside for us) If she potties you play a while, eat, or etc, in the house, then walk again and put her back in crate. If she does not potty, she goes back into crate. Then they eventually get that the whole house is the crate. If they don't soil their house, and you don't give them opportunity to soil yours, they learn to go where you want them to go. At least this is how I have always done and read about this in the past, though we were dealing with puppies, and not 1+ year old dogs.

I have hopes for her, but we all have some learning to do! I also a) tend to want 'my mother's perfectly behaved cocker spaniel behavior' immediately, and b) forget that we have had her for less than 48 hours, and we are all still in shock from all the changes!

Thanks again everyone for all the advice! Even though I have had pets for years, it is always good to have info so I don't make the same mistakes!

[gwen]

Oh my gosh!!! I'm from england and I am in a state of shock, I only recently found out that you can actually get a cat de-clawed??? and now I read you can get a dog de-barked. I am totally gobsmacked. Both of these things are absolutely unbelievable, I thought I seen and heard of everyhting but obviously not