Riley is scarring me!!!!!

[lovemyshiba]

Oh, this little bugger--I have scratches, scrapes and teeth marks all over me!! He gets excited beyond belief when I come home to let him out of his crate--jumping and biting (nipping), and barking and whining--I need some advice on settling him down a bit. My poor body can't take it anymore.
Another thing--he gets so wet in his crate--he doesn't pee, but he drools and works himself up so much, that he is soaked when I get home. My vet said he may have crate phobia (I had no idea that existed), and to try to leave him with Abbey--she stays in a pen, and Kito is free to roam (spoiled????)

Any advice on how to settle him down a bit?? I do enjoy the thought that someone loves me and misses me that much, but it can't be good for him, and I don't want him to get even more out of hand.

[wolfsoul]

Whenever Timber would play-bite with me, I would squeal like a puppy. Soon she realized that it was hurting me. Whenever she got excited, she would also jump all over and run around like crazy. If she jumped, I would bring my knee up to push her away, and when she ran around, I would just ignore her. She still has her moments, and I just look at her quietly, and tell her "What do you do?" in a warning voice. She will sit down in front of me and wait.

Hope I helped

[Byakko's Mom]

Oh my Emily.I am so sorry.Do you have a behaviorist that you can contact that could help.Sometimes trainers,vets or people like that can help you find a behaviorist.I have found great help from them.They have different training and can help in special behavior problems like this.This is hard to help in cyber space but maybe while you are waiting for help you could give him a kong filled with special goodies when you get home in a space away from you while he settles down and realizes that you are home instead of him tearing you up,maybe Abbeys pen, without her if they will fight over the kong, anything to calm him while you come home.Oh how I wish I could give you a quick fix.I am so sorry I can't > I am sorry
Laurie

[wolfsoul]

I also have a question - Do you feed him in the morning or when you get home??? It would be much better to feed him in the morning If you wait until you get home, it will make him anxious and excited. He would be much more bound to get excited all over you

[lovemyshiba]

He gets fed in the morning and evening. My schedule is always different, so the times I come home vary--sometimes (like today), it's just while I was out running a few errands, for about an hour or so. I don't think it has anything to do with food, but I hadn't ever thought about that before.
I'm trying my hardest to ignore him, but he's kinda hard to miss
Thanks for the replies!!

[KYS]

So sorry to hear about your and poor Riley.

You got some good suggestions about ignoring Riley when
you first get home until he settles down.
I feel for you, sounds like poor Riley is suffering from
anxiety being locked up in the crate.
(Sheba has that too)
Sheba loved her crate, but the door had been
removed, so she had the freedom of
going in and out as she pleased.
A few years ago, Sheba, and I attended
a Dog Camp, the dogs had to be crated when left
unattended in the room. I was gone for
less than 2 hours. And when I returned, she was soaking wet
with drool, and so was her bedding.
I never locked her up in her crate again.

Other than what was suggested about a dog behavorist
for the crate etc. and maybe trying to put him in his
crate for short periods of time and working towards longer
periods of time.
But if neither works,
I would not leave Reily in the crate locked up.
Imagine living through your worst nightmare, and that
is what poor Riley is going through when left in his crate.
JMHO

[lovemyshiba]

Thanks Karen

Well today I had to work, so I left Riley in the pen with Abbey and Kito out of it, and he was dry when I got home, and had no accidents!!!!
He was a little jumpy, but not nearly as bad as he had been in the past, so I think I have my solution!!
The only reason Kito isn't with them too, is because of Abbey's stitches--the last thing I want is for them to be playing and him get them out of her

[KYS]

Great!!!!

Sounds like you have your answer.

Good job!!!

[bnormal]

I'm not going to be much help here...but my wife gets so mad at me because I'll get on the floor with Mitchell and start rough housing with him.

Of course, him being a 90lb, 10 month old Doberman, he can play pretty rough. The harder I play the harder he plays. The harder he plays the harder he BITES! The harder he bites the madder I get. The madder I get the more he bites! Then I have to stop playing with him...

Of course, then I get yelled at by my wife!

[Cheshirekatt]

Wilma is a terrible jumper-upper. When I come home and she's jumpy I simply turn around and give her no attention until she has "four on the floor". It's taken a while, but she's learning.

[Tonya]

My australian shephard-husky, Dusty is like that. I turn my back on him and ignore him until he calms down. It's frustrating cause he is a huge dog, and he'll jump on my back when I turn around. But, it was taking 20 minutes for him to calm down and now we are down to only about 1-5 minutes until he mellows out. I guess it is working. Both Dusty and Roxy go hysterical in the crate. Personally, I didn't want to force them. Especially since they were introduced to crates as adults.

[AngelZoo]

You should teach your dog not to jump, not to bite and to have bite inhibition.

Here is a command which also might serve you well, called "settle". This site has a lot of other articles on it which might be helpful to you and training him.
http://www.doggiedoor.com/settle.shtml



Do you leave him any toys in his kennel while you are gone, do you leave a TV or radio on for him?
I know there are also things you can buy that can help calm dogs down, who have problems like this.

[lovemyshiba]

Thanks for the link AngelZoo!!
I will try to work on "settle" with him today. I also ignore him when he is bouncing all over me when I let him out--he usually calms down quickly when he gets no attention!!!
He does have toys in his kennel, and the radio is on--he's getting better!!