If I didn’t know any better, I’d say someone snuck into the house in the middle of the night last week and replaced our sweet-tempered Shadow with a crazy dog for a few days… but then early this week brought our easygoing guy back.
By Friday, Shadow’s separation anxiety, constant accidents, nipping, outright refusal to be guided by a leash, and inability to sleep more than an hour at a time had taken a toll on me and Chris. On Saturday, as I reported earlier this week, we began full-on crate training, meaning he would spend a majority of time in his “room.”
Since then, we’ve had TWO completely accident-free days, he still loves the crate, and I’ve been able to leave him for 45 minutes at a time without worry that he’ll cry his cute little head off. For me, it has made all the difference, allowing me to get things done without fear of a soiled floor and enabling him to rest or play safely and happily on his own.
Accidents still happen (one actually occurred as I was taking a break from typing this), but compared to last week (4-5 a day), but they are FAR less frequent.
For anyone interested in crate training – which is named everywhere but rarely explained in detail – this is what we do:
Shadow now sleeps in his crate in the living room (no longer in the bedroom). Last night, in an unprecedented achievement, he actually slept from 11:30-5:30 a.m. straight.
When he wakes up, he goes outside. About 10-15 minutes after he eats or drinks, he goes outside. After waking up from a nap, he goes outside. If he won’t go outside or he falls asleep but I know he just drank a half-bottle of water, I can either watch him like a chained up hawk like I did last week or I can carry him to the crate. (Guess which one I choose.) When he wakes up or decides he wants out, he goes outside. Crisis averted. It makes for a happy puppy and a happy owner.
When he’s out he’s either eating, playing under my or Chris’ supervision, resting after having emptied himself, or training. He’s been doing the latter (sit/stay, anti-nipping, leash etiquette, fetch) 3-4 times a day for 10-15 minutes, and has shown marked improvement in all categories.
A final note on crate training: By not always closing the door, Shadow has come to see the crate as his bed, often going in or staying there voluntarily. Almost daily, he simply plops down, chews his bully stick and hums to himself (see video on YouTube or below) while I write on the other side of the room, or even in another room. He is never placed in the crate as a punishment.
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