Training Tips??

Rock_N_Roll_Queen90 · June 2013

I could -really- use some help with real life dog training. Honestly, I'm kind of embarrassed that I'm even having a problem since it seems so...basic

I've never really left Boss home alone. Either I'd take him with me in the car, or my mom would be home to watch him. Our other two dogs are trained to stay home. Jacoby goes in my bedroom and Stormy goes in my mom's room. My mom and I wanted to go shopping together but didn't want to leave Boss in the car (it was way too hot). So I put him in the hallway with some toys, and put a baby gate up. He jumped over it. So then I raised it some, and he jumped it again >.> Then I left it raised and pushed the portable dishwasher in front of it, and locked the wheels. He...jumped on top of the dishwasher >.< Mom thinks we should just let him have run of the house, but I'm afraid he'll chew stuff (such as the couch). I figured I could exercise him until he gets tired, then he'll just sleep while we're gone, but right now we're having a heatwave, so I don't want him to get over heated outside. I've tried crate training him with both a plastic crate and one of the hard wire crates. He chewed the plastic one, and tried chewing the wire one which resulted in a chipped tooth. So, does anybody have any suggestions? I'm thinking that mom is right, we should just let him have run of the house. Maybe (hopefully) if we leave toys out he won't chew stuff up.

MrClean · June 2013

I used to have a pit mix named Ginger, she had extreme separation anxiety. It was my fault, since I also took her everywhere for the first few months I had her, but it became a problem when I took her to visit my mom and she chewed off the door frame when we went to the store! I had to gradually get her used to my leaving. I put her in my room and closed the door, and of course she would whine and scratch the door. I waited until she stopped whining, and opened the door as soon as she did, praising her lavishly. I slowly increased the amount of time I'd wait before opening the door, and in a week I could leave her alone for an hour with no issues. She also learned that not whining got her out sooner! As far as crate training, try teaching Boss to go into his crate and lie down on command. By using a command you don't have to push him in and close the gate to keep him in. Tell him "crate" and let him go in and lie for a few seconds with the gate open, gently telling him no if he tries to get up. Then say "ok" and let him out. Get him used to being in his crate and being comfortable with the gate open so it's more like his own personal space than a prison cell. Then start closing the gate. Make sure it's comfy and he has a toy and he'll stop hating the crate. My dogs will voluntarily go in their crates just to nap or get away from the other dogs lol

Rock_N_Roll_Queen90 · June 2013

bryson wrote:

I waited until she stopped whining, and opened the door as soon as she did, praising her lavishly. I slowly increased the amount of time I'd wait before opening the door, and in a week I could leave her alone for an hour with no issues. She also learned that not whining got her out sooner!

That's good idea! I'll try that

As far as the crate goes, I had the hard wire one set up, and put a thick bed of blankets and pillows in there and it was used as the dog bed. Now that I kind of think about it, maybe I shouldn't have allowed all of the dogs to use it? I'm assuming that then Boss wouldn't think of it as just his, of course. So maybe that made him feel uncomfortable? I'll put it back up and only allow Boss to go in (I'll just keep it shut until I'm ready to do as you suggested with the laying down). Thank you for the tips Bryson

Trianna · June 2013

I rescued an American Bulldog with the worst separation anxiety I've ever seen, he would literally start screaming as soon as he couldn't see people, not just whining - it sounded like someone was trying to murder him. He also wasn't very good with his crate, and even though it was a metal one he could easily force his way out of it. We did pretty much the same thing Bryson did to start getting rid of the anxiety, just with a bit slower of a start. I had to start by just walking out of the room, then right back in. As for the crate training, we just tried to make his crate a special place for him, with his favorite blanket, a toy, and lots of treats when he went in to lay down in there by himself. At first we also put it in a place he already liked to be, my room. It took a while, because he'd been left in a crate almost 24/7 before we got him, but he did warm up to it and stop trying to force his way out after a few weeks. As for the chewing, the best thing you can do is just put anything you don't want chewed out of his reach, and give him a toy to keep him busy. Try leaving him for short periods of time, and see what he does when he's alone- maybe he won't have a chewing problem at all.

Rock_N_Roll_Queen90 · June 2013

Thanks for the advice Trianna

I had some success tonight with him being home alone. I blocked off the kitchen and shut the bedroom doors and the bathroom door,so he had the hallway and the living room all to himself. Then I took his Kong Wobbler and put a pig ear in it. I left for about 45 minutes, and when I got home he was just sitting in the recliner looking out the window

Only bad thing was that he pooped on the floor >.> That could've been caused by a change in dog food though. Granted he did have a distraction since there's a guy working on our septic system outside. I'm not sure if he was just too interested in watching the guy, but either way I feel it's progress.

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