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Post by tdesign709 on Mar 13, 2014 8:00:01 GMT -5
Hi Guys Thanks for the tips.. We have tried some of these suggestions already with some success but we will try them again. Andreina, he does cry when we put him in, and I assume he cries for a bit after we are gone but cannot be sure, sometimes we come home and he is sleeping. But sometimes if we come home and dont get him right away he gets excited when he hears noise. I think I have a bit of involvement into this because most times, as soon as I get into the door I usually leave my jacket on and go straight to him, because we let him outside before we leave and when we get home. So one thing to work on I guess is make sure the energy is not high before we leave and when we come home. Vicki, we do have a durable chew toy for him but it is just a toy that he has all the time. We will look into getting him a crate only toy. He gets yogurt and bananas on a regular basis but we sometimes give him his kong tire filled with peanut butter. That 15 min of non attention before and after I will have to try but its gonna feel like murder to me ... We let enzo sleep in our bed with us. I know its not recommended but I like some late night dober cuddles.
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Post by Andreina on Mar 13, 2014 8:25:50 GMT -5
Uh oh lol....that's one of your problems... put him in the crate at night. He may be viewing his crate as somewhere negative. That's where he goes and mommy and daddy leave. U gotta get him more familiar with it.... have naps in it, meals, and over nights!! Dogs are allowed to cuddle in our bed but when its sleep the in the crate they go.
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Post by tdesign709 on Mar 13, 2014 8:53:03 GMT -5
We will work on that.
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Post by tdesign709 on Mar 14, 2014 6:46:55 GMT -5
Put enzo in his crate last night at 11:00 did not stop whining until 3:00am which is when I gave in, mainly because I live in a town house and do not wish to disturb my neighbors with doberwhines and barks. He is just waaaaay to anxious in there yet so we are going to get back to day time crate training with him, like we did when he was first brought home. If we lived in a detached house and no worries of waking up neighbors 3 doors down then I would just simply put ear buds in and just tell him have at it, whine all you like.
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Post by Andreina on Mar 14, 2014 15:27:33 GMT -5
Put enzo in his crate last night at 11:00 did not stop whining until 3:00am which is when I gave in, mainly because I live in a town house and do not wish to disturb my neighbors with doberwhines and barks. He is just waaaaay to anxious in there yet so we are going to get back to day time crate training with him, like we did when he was first brought home. If we lived in a detached house and no worries of waking up neighbors 3 doors down then I would just simply put ear buds in and just tell him have at it, whine all you like. I think you should still crate him when you are home. Otherwise he will see the crate as a punishment for when you leave. Do it in small sessions, feed him in there too and make him chill in there for another half hour after he is finished. He will get the hang of it, it's just new to him and scary. Also a good point from Vicki, do not let him out when he is howling. When you come home from work, ignore him... Let him out a couple mins after you come in, and especially if he is crying, don't pay attention, let him settle himself down and then let him out. I know it feels like torture but it's going to pay off for the next 10+ years, trust me!!!! Even though Scarlet is 100% trustworthy and has free roam of the house when we go to work, etc... Some days she still will go in her crate when I go to work just so she knows it's not all the time she's allowed out. When I see she is pushing her freedom a little too much - oops, back to the crate and restrictions. Give these dogs too many privileges they can walk all over you. Perfect example, She hasn't been in her crate day or night for 3 days now and there she goes testing us. This morning she opened our bedroom door with her nose which is a pocket door and tried to snuggle in bed. As much as I love her cuddles, it's not acceptable, so she got kicked out and had to go back to the living room and sleep on the couch. ( I KNOW, what a hard life she has.. cant sleep in bed so gets to go on our couch...) Anyways, I got up half hour later, Julian still in bed I said Ok Scarlet you can go cuddle with daddy now... LOL She wouldn't move off the couch, just sat there and sulked. Finally an hour later she trotted into the bed when she was invited. These dogs are too smart for their/our own good lol
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Post by tdesign709 on Mar 17, 2014 14:13:16 GMT -5
Its a work in progress and I agree with that last statement... I love the fact that they are like that too... Makes for some interesting lovable moments, because I cant help but hug Enzo when I realize what he is doing and gets caught
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Post by dobermoms on Mar 18, 2014 20:04:47 GMT -5
These are some great ideas to help you train Enzo. The crate is, and should be a safe place where he feels comfortable. As Andreina said, don't let him out of his crate when he is whining, don't let him outside if he's barking or being bad. Our dogs don't get to go outside until 1) they are sitting quietly not only as the door is being opened but after it has been opened. If they move prior to being "freed", then it gets closed and we start the process from the beginning. It really doesn't take them long to realize that they have to behave before they can get what they want. And it takes patience...lots and lots of patience. When Dante was a little guy, he didn't like to be in his crate thru the day either when we went to work. So, we set up a safe area where he was left thru the day. He had a dog-walker who came in the house after 3 hours to take him for a walk, do his business, and to just basically break up his day for an hour. It also made us feel better knowing that someone was walking him/playing with him in the yard. Perhaps an idea there.....
Keep at the crate training as it's still a great tool to use even down the road. Put him into the crate for 10-15 minutes at a time, even when you're home. Just don't let him out when he's whining. We also do a little cuddling in the bed, but when it's sleep time they go to their own beds. Our dogs sleep on dog beds beside the bed, which is a kuranda bed with a dog bed ontop of that. They are not allowed on our bed during sleep time, and in the morning are invited onto the bed after I leave for work. You really don't want to start that habit of letting him sleep in the bed as it could lead to issues down the road. It is best to stop that now while he is still a puppy. You should really discuss this with Monica as she knows this breed and it's quirks as no other. Take it from us: getting your boy to be comfortable in his crate will allow your family the luxury of travelling on vacation ... worry free.
Stick with a set of rules which both you and your wife adhere to. If you both have the same ground rules then Enzo will learn quicker and respect both of you equally.
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Post by tdesign709 on May 20, 2014 12:27:32 GMT -5
Hi Guys Only a few days and the v litter will be 11 months old... As mentioned on the fb page I have some photos below of Enzo... First Trip Downtown to see the Harbour and the Boats. Everyone Loved Him!!! Happy Boy Lazy Tug PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!! Family Photo 2nd East Coast Trail: Cape Spear 2nd East Coast Trail: Were going the right way, Right?
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Post by susanw on May 20, 2014 17:14:43 GMT -5
Lovely pictures of Enzo, TJ. He's gotten so big.
How is he making out with the crate these days? You were struggling with this in your previous posts. Still doing his Houdini act?
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Post by hooligan on May 20, 2014 21:09:37 GMT -5
I see that Enzo has been taking pay-attention-to-me-me-me lessons from Jack the Lad! Ha, ha!
Lovely photos of a handsome boy. Easy to see why he gets his way.
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Post by tdesign709 on May 21, 2014 7:20:21 GMT -5
Hi Susan He is still Houdini in training... Although lately he seems more like a master. The issue with the crate training now is that he has separation anxiety. As for the crate when we are home and when we closes the door he is fine, he goes in and if the door is closed on the outside he tries as hard as he can to open it so he can go in to the crate. So he has come a long way... But the issue we are trying to correct now is separation anxiety. So we have done quite a bit and I am open to suggestions... This is what we have done for him: We have set boundaries for him now, so no sleeping in the bed with us any more (first night we got no sleep as Enzo was barking and crying quite loudly from 10:30 until 6:00 am the following morning until we got up with him). He is also not allowed up on furniture or people. We have started to tether him to us at certain points of the day so he is forced to follow us. As usual we are taking him to parks, walks, hikes. But we have been trying to do this maybe a hour before we know we have to leave him. We also have a thunder shirt for him for when we are gone which we put on him about a hour before we leave so he does not associate it with us leaving. We have been hand feeding some of his meals so he associates that "All good things" comes from us which includes food, treats and toys... We have made sure if we leave that there is a source of audio playing in the background for him, whether its a movie or music etc. There are a few other things that we have done and I have been looking into a sonic egg and we need to find yet another crate or something that we can be sure that he cannot break out of. As his houdini acts are getting quite expensive... He has torn into our king size mattress (ripped one corner out one time), last night he started chewing on my wooden dresser, we have gone through countless numbers of sheets and blankets (king size sheets and blankets are not cheap and the cost adds up ) All the material loss is not as important as his safety. I have searched the forums, google, cesar milan, as well as had our local dog trainer give us some tips and assess the situation in person. So that is the status update for us. Any information or improvements on what I have mentioned above would be great! If anyone wishes to pm me or we can move this topic to the client section, I am all game.
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Post by susanw on May 21, 2014 19:23:19 GMT -5
Wow . . .I can see now why you need to get a handle on this asap before he really hurts himself to say nothing of wrecking the house. Not funny. I have never used this product and maybe someone else on the forum and/or Monica can comment on it, but I was recently told about an holistic supplement called Rescue Remedy that may be effective for reducing stress in dogs/cats. It comes in liquid form and a couple of drops in water or food should be sufficient. May be available in some Superstores and health food stores. It contains floral extracts but no alcohol.
One thing I have tried is 100% pure essential lavender oil. My boy Quin drives me nuts in the car especially on long trips, whining for miles before he settles down. So the last time we had a long drive, I placed a couple of drops on an edge of the crate liner he sleeps on in the back of the car. Presto . . . whined for about 5 mins then just settled right down. The drive was a lot more enjoyable.(car smelled good too..lol) Just use it sparingly - a couple of drops should be enough as it is very concentrated. NOT for ingesting!! Lavender has been used for centuries to calm nerves and as a sleep aid.
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Post by tdesign709 on May 22, 2014 7:00:13 GMT -5
Hi Susan
I will look into the lavender oil. The trainer recommended some form of supplement meant for dogs. I dont have it in front of me but I think it just makes him a bit drowsy or less anxious. But again I think he fights through what ever we do for him before we leave, because of his anxiety.
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Post by susanw on May 22, 2014 7:21:53 GMT -5
Well it sounds like you are working hard to do everything else right.Good luck and keep us posted.
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Post by tdesign709 on May 22, 2014 8:38:46 GMT -5
Will do, but in the meantime I am still open to suggestions to help both Enzo and ourselves.
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