The wife and I have this little dog that is weirdly in love with her. He listens to me but is obsessed with her. In fact, one of the issues she’s working on is getting him to listen to her as well.
We have him in his crate when we’re away. He doesn’t mind the crate. He’ll hang out in it all day when we have the door open. If she’s at work and I put him in the crate when I go to school he is completely quiet.
But, if we go somewhere on the weekend and put him in his crate he will bark his head off as soon as we leave the apartment. How do I get that to stop?
1: Make sure he’s getting enough exercise (two walks a day where he isn’t sniffing, obsessing over things in the distance, stopping every 5 seconds to mark, etc.-- she said if they do any of this, just keep walking and they will, too.). Knowing your Jetpuff, I suggest maybe even getting him a backpack to wear-- you can fill it with frozen water bottles so he’ll stay cool, but also have a “job.” Anyway, if he’s exhausted, he’ll definitely pop right in and lie down.
2: Everything is about him being calm. So, if he’s acting up in the crate, perhaps the answer is to walk him, make him lay on his bed for 20 minutes and not get up, then-- when he’s calm-- stick him in the crate.
3: If he’s not completely calm— ie: submissive with his ears relaxed and staying still-- don’t stick him in there. You should make him lay completely down on his side. If he’s not calming down fast enough, you can give him a little massage on his joints/ behind his ears/ etc.
I think what you left out is that your dog is crazy hyper active— when you guys were here visiting, he was bouncing around non stop the entire time. Now, I clearly don’t mind this of course, but it shows a few things-- 1: he has a lot of energy to burn through and 2: he doesn’t have many boundaries. (I mean, not that my dogs are much better, but that’s what I’m paying a professional for! :D). I think you can’t just “treat” the barking without addressing the general bad behavior. For instance, him not listening to the wife and constantly invading her space is a definitely bad thing and a major sign that there’s work that needs to be done.
Also, knowing this board, you’re going to get way more responses if you post puppy pictures. Just sayin’.
That’s very good advice and it’s something we’re working on. And you’re right, he is crazy hyperactive.
What’s weird is, he’s in his crate right now and he’s completely ok. If the wife were gone and then I put him in his crate he’d be ok as well. He only barks when she and I leave together. It’s weird.
Our Sadie used to act out when we left her alone. She didn’t bark (she’s not a barker at all) but she’d grab something off the counter and leave it on the floor or tip over a trash bin. She was fine as long as one of us was around, but as soon as she was left all by herself, she had to show her displeasure, or her anxiety. Since we’re both retired, one of us was almost always at home, so she was rarely alone.
She’s three now, and did this for a couple years. Now she’s okay. Maybe it took two years for her to believe that we were coming back?
My trainer was also really big on how you use your words. For instance, if you’re telling Jetpuff to sit, you say it once firmly and if he doesn’t, don’t repeat it over and over (just push his butt down)— you want your words to have meaning. But if they are barking in the crate, you can’t yell at them— because then they’ll think you’re joining them in being loud.
Her rationale behind not speaking much is that the dog can tell the tone of your voice better than you can. So, it’s easier just to have your shoulders back and to direct the dog firmly. I know with Mia (my dog) this is absolutely true-- she can tell if I feel bad for her or think her terrible behavior is funny if I speak too much. It’s easier to fake serious posture :).
She also said to not use their name if you’re yelling at them or mad. Their name should only be used for happy things, like a reward.
Sounds like the dog has some separation anxiety between the dog and your wife. What’s the routine like before you crate him ? If your wife is talking to the dog trying to sooth it with “don’t worry mommy will be back soon” that sort of thing. Your wife maybe the one feeding the dogs anxiety, rewarding the behaviour. The dog has to be totally calm before you crate it, and say nothing before and after. Just leave.
I dated a professional dog trainer and rescuer. People brought her lot of “fix this behavior it’s the back to the shelter or the vet to put him down” dogs. She was very effective.
Oddly, while she really loved and cared for dogs she was not all that touchy feely or sentimental about compulsive behaviors. Her go to for continuous whining and compulsive barking was the shock collar.
The unearthly screech and howl the first few times dog got zapped was hair raising, but most quickly got the message and the behaviors stopped dead. How well that discipline was maintained when the owners got the dogs back and it was up to them to enforce and reinforce the corrective measures I have no clue.
And as counter to astro’s story, my dad has recently acquired a little Jack Russell from some flakey woman he was dating on and off before the woman disappeared. This dog is a mess– she runs and hides, violently shakes, screams. etc. One day, I picked her up and realized that the collar she was wearing (from the previous owner) was a shock collar. We immediately threw this collar away.
My dog trainer is also working with my dad on his dogs and it’s been a huge uphill battle trying to teach that little dog that she is safe and doesn’t need to be afraid of being abused. All of the bad behaviors she has now are completely grounded in the fear of being shocked, so we’re having to fix her, then train her. It’s very, very sad to see that tiny dog so scared.
I would encourage you guys to pay for a few sessions with a professional trainer before you even consider a shock collar. And hey, maybe the trainer will be astro’s ex and then you can get one anyway ;) (honestly though, I think there’s a difference between these tools being used by a licensed professional and a normal person— that said, I personally wouldn’t use a trainer who says to use shock collars, hitting, nor massive amounts of negative reinforcement like that, but that’s me).
These were last resort dogs. Whatever their history before they had gotten to the point their frustrated owners handed them over to her for correction, their next trip in a car was going to be their last if the problem could not be fixed. For the record these were people paying her hundreds of dollars (or more) to fix the issue so they could keep the dogs, so I kind of doubt these dogs were being abused by the current owners. Some of these were rescue dogs so there may have been underlying issues, and time was not luxury they had re long term behavioral therapies.
What breed(s) of dog is he? Is he an only dog? I have a Yorkie mix that had similar separation issues whenever I left the house, even if my husband was home with her. This is something I never encountered with my other dogs. She “sang” and ran desperately around looking for me and my husband couldn’t comfort her. In our case this is because I rarely leave the house, so it’s a major change in our routine when I do. She now goes into the crate with my chihuahua, an elderly dog who doesn’t get too excited about anything, and her “singing” has virtually ceased.
In the case of your little guy, it could be that he sees you as stealing “his” person. Have you experimented with having your wife leave first, then you put him in his crate and leave 10 minutes later? If he’ll fall for that, you should be able to progressively move your departure times closer together until he can tolerate you leaving together.
Another thing worth mentioning is that your wife shouldn’t pay attention to the dog when she returns home, especially if he’s jumping or barking. She should just come in and go about her normal routine, talking to you, changing her clothes, and only acknowledging him once he has completely settled down. You should do the same so he doesn’t just transfer his dependence to you.
We have a shock collar for our border collie because her behavior was endangering her and passing drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians and horses. (Even with that disincentive, she just needs to herd them :D). I would never suggest using a shock collar unless the behavior you are trying to correct is truly dangerous to the animal or its human companions, and I would never use it on a toy breed without discussing it first with the vet. Careless breeding practices have created a lot of little dogs with major heart issues.
We have yippy little dogs. So we quickly realized we couldn’t do it ourselves. We needed pros! So we signed up for Patricia McConnell’s “Dog’s Best Friend” training. The training was mostly of the owners, not the dogs.
(honestly though, I think there’s a difference between these tools being used by a licensed professional and a normal person— that said, I personally wouldn’t use a trainer who says to use shock collars, hitting, nor massive amounts of negative reinforcement like that, but that’s me).