[HALP] So I got a 'puppy'

[Duhck]

On monday I decided after much deliberation I would adopt a dog. After doing a ton of research on what type of dog would best suit my lifestyle and walking a ton of dogs at the local SPCA, I decided on Ranger.

Ranger is a 90lb, 8 month old beast. He is part doberman part german shep.

Overall he is a very well mannered dog. He is both crate trained and house broken. He is easy to walk, and is quiet (never barks). Hes just a big mush who loves to play but usually sleeps the day away.

Heres the problem. He will sometimes grab stuff out of the garbage, and while this is certainly normal puppy/dog behavior, my issue is that once he realizes I caught him, he walks into his crate, and lies down.

Now some would say this is a good thing, and some say bad, but I am still unsure.

Its awesome that he recognizes he is doing something wrong, and while thats a step in the right direction, his willingness to go to his crate upon doing something bad hinders his 'want' to goto the crate when it is actually necessary.

Now obviously this is something the previous owner did, and they obviously didnt read a single book or article about crate training because everything I have read says not to send the puppy to its crate for bad behavior.

So how do I correct this, or how can I turn the crate into a positive place for him to be?

 

[Esteban_Villa]

I hear elephants are good pets.

 

[JodoFett]

So yeah, that's pretty much exactly what you don't want to do with crate training.

 

[Duhck]

So yeah, that's pretty much exactly what you don't want to do with crate training.

Right, now how do I correct it. He isnt a poorly behaved dog, so I will never send him to his crate for being bad. He only goes in the crate when I leave the house for long periods of time and he sleeps in my room at night

 

[Vlasic]

uhm....close the crate door when it's not in use?

 

[Wyrm]

I don't know anything about dogs or dog training but I'd guess put treats in the crate from time to time. Maybe close up the crate so he doesn't walk in there all the time. Once again, I know nothing of dogs and have never owned one.

 

[HomeSlice]

Sodomize him with a black fist dildo instead of sending him to his crate.

 

[sg]

i had this problem with my dog... i ended up buying dog proof garbage cans

 

[Vlasic]

I don't know anything about dogs or dog training but I'd guess put treats in the crate from time to time. Maybe close up the crate so he doesn't walk in there all the time. Once again, I know nothing of dogs and have never owned one.

That would help

The issue is that he was trained poorly from the very start as far as the crate is concerned.

First thing you want to do is dogproof the garbage can to take away that temptation.

Next, you need an actual punishment that doesn't involve the crate. If he's not in the crate keep it closed off. How well trained is he otherwise? Generally bad behavior can be redirected into something positive, but food scavaging is more difficult. The only way to solve that one is to dogproof the house.

 

[TseTse]

what a bad ass.

i just hope you get that guy a ton of exercise and steady routines.

get real training expertise. do it right, even if it's uncomfortable.


ps. do some research on what happened to him. if he's of that breed and so well mannered for an adopted dog, that's pretty amazing imo. he's likely very smart, and if he's sniffing around the garbage that's learned behavior.

he may have had a VERY rough life so far.

find out.

 

[absent]

another trophy dog

your badassness is directly related to your trophy dogs breed

 

[Vlasic]

a 'trophy dog' is a useless breed that people only get because it cost a lot but has little redeeming qualities at all. Or something with a pedigree people can brag about.

If you think that about dobermans or german shepherds, much less a mix, you're more ignorant than I ever imagined.

 

[TseTse]

and get that fucker off your bed.


btw, when he whimpers off to his crate when you see him poking around for garbage, it may not be that he "knows it's wrong" as much as he "knows it's not approved."

not the same thing.

again, he may have had a really hard life with abusive owners and that could be about survival instinct for him. he may not even be hungry...

 

[Putrid]

I would keep the crate closed till I wanted it used.


Each time the dog 'misbehaved' I would call them to me, tell them to sit then ignore them for a bit, no petting no talking to.

I would be training them to come to me and sit quiet till I release them.


It works with our dog, he often just comes over and sits quietly when he is about to do something he is not allowed to do before he does it.

It's funny to watch him, he will look at something, food on a plate or whatever, sniff the air a bit, look at us, look at the food again then come over and sit quietly. Then we give him praise for doing what he is supposed to do. He never gets into the garbage or our food, we can leave it sitting unattended on the table and he won't even go near it.

 

[Vlasic]

see putty has the right idea

 

[TseTse]

I would keep the crate closed till I wanted it used.


Each time the dog 'misbehaved' I would call them to me, tell them to sit then ignore them for a bit, no petting no talking to.

I would be training them to come to me and sit quiet till I release them.


It works with our dog, he often just comes over and sits quietly when he is about to do something he is not allowed to do before he does it.

It's funny to watch him, he will look at something, food on a plate or whatever, sniff the air a bit, look at us, look at the food again then come over and sit quietly. Then we give him praise for doing what he is supposed to do. He never gets into the garbage or our food, we can leave it sitting unattended on the table and he won't even go near it.

Nice

And if this dog had a rough time in the past, this also leads to positive reinforcement that things are OK... and all that shit. He's got a real fam now.

The crate might be a good thing, tho... for a while. Keep in mind he was adopted at 8 months old from the SPCA. That's a heavy adjustment for an animal with god knows what past. He prolly needs some type of safe spot.

 

[kicker]

i had this problem with my dog... i ended up buying dog proof garbage cans

same...

 

[Putrid]

Nice

And if this dog had a rough time in the past, this also leads to positive reinforcement that things are OK... and all that shit. He's got a real fam now.

The crate might be a good thing, tho... for a while. Keep in mind he was adopted at 8 months old from the SPCA. That's a heavy adjustment for an animal with god knows what past. He prolly needs some type of safe spot.

We got our dog from animal rescue, he was 7-8 month old. We were told he was crate trained but we didn't buy a crate, we used a cardboard box for awhile with his bedding in it till we could get him 'off' the crate, I don't like them personally. He just has his own bed near the front window where he goes now.


We had to do a lot of re-training on some things; he wasn't use to hand signal commands, think someone tried to clicker train him but it didn't take him long to understand our specific gestures and verbal commands. It wasn't hard and he got it pretty fast but it's a matter of patience, diligence, and consistency.


He's a great dog and understands his place in the 'pack'.

 

[Duhck]

Nice

And if this dog had a rough time in the past, this also leads to positive reinforcement that things are OK... and all that shit. He's got a real fam now.

The crate might be a good thing, tho... for a while. Keep in mind he was adopted at 8 months old from the SPCA. That's a heavy adjustment for an animal with god knows what past. He prolly needs some type of safe spot.

I will be moving in June, and plan on taking him off the crate after that move.

Like I said before, he is so well behaved, and is such a pleasure I am so lucky I got him for my first dog.

I am trying to stay positive with him but when I find paper towels he chewed up, I take him to the garbage, point and tell him no. He then waddles over to his crate and sits down in it.

I feel like I need to catch him in the act so that he understands its the grabbing stuff out of the garbage that I specifically dont want him to do.

 

[vulpecula]

If he's not in the middle of doing something bad and you yell at him he will not understand why you are yelling at him. He is probably retreating to his crate because it is his "safe place". If you want to keep it positive and you see him in the garbage pull him away and give him something else to keep him busy. For example, my pup loves to chew socks...Every time I catch him with a sock I replace it with a chew toy.

Also saying "no" is one of the worst things you can say for them to relate to poor behavior. We use "no", "know" way to much in our day-to-day language. When I catch my puppy in the act, I yell "Leave It" or "Bad".