Being quiet in the crate/shock collars? (Long!)

[Maverick]

Theresa -

I am really sorry to hear about how crate training is going! Dan's pup was also upset about being crated, but not quite as much as Leo. I'm going to start crate training on the remaining pups to see how consistent across the litter crate barking and fussing is. I have the little black female in a small crate right now. Barking and fussing when I leave the room, but quiets right down when I enter the room. It's been quite awhile since I have had a problem, but then it has also been quite awhile since I have had to do much crating. Sheba's pups never had a problem when they were crated to go to the vet's for shots, or being transported in or out of a crate. I have noticed that Gypsy doesn't like being confined, but she is a whiner, not a barker. My best guess is that it is Gypsy's dislike of confinement with Geronimo's vocal abilities coming together.

A bark collar seems like a reasonable solution. My experience is that it tends to calm them down, where being able to bark just seemed to increase their agitation.

You might also try draping a blanket or large towel over the crate. I seem to remember that worked on some problem dog 20 or so years ago.

A lot of exercise beforehand always helps.

How many hours per day is he being crated?

The little girl in the crate has quieted down now. I'm going to switch her out for the little brindle female. I'll let you know if I find the magic key!

- Pete

[Maverick]

The blanket appears to help quite a bit, but varies in effectiveness. I tried crating 3 pups, one at a time. Worked completely on the calmest, cut the barking on the worst by about 2/3s, and the middle to only an occasional outburst. Hope this helps!

- Pete

[hicntry]

"I tried tiring him out at 5 am - it didn't phase him, just got me more tired!"

Well, try to tire him out at 9 pm them and maybe you can sleep through it.

First, you want a good "bark" collar with different setting. Don't use a shock collar or he will only be quiet when you are there.

Theresa, welcome to the world of working bred dogs. I don't suppose you have ever heard that they are a tad bit different than run of the mill pet dogs........especially outbred with all that hybrid vigor. Wait till you witness his first cat demolition. Totally silent...all business. I am curious to know if he will want to wool the carcass. With airedales, once the fight is gone, they are through with it. Keep me posted on what he does with a dead cat would you. ;D ;D

Now, I won't say that the vocals didn't come Geronimo, but in 4 days, I never heard a sound from Sheba. Don't know if the dam to these pups is as quiet but......Yeh, it is Geromimo. I can hear him bayed up farther than most dogs but Odin may have him beat......and I am going to strangle that one some night.....if I could just catch him. They seem to know when I come out at 2am, I am POed and they stay away from me.

Anyway Theresa, find you a quiet little road off in the mountains somewhere, and road the heck out of him if you want him to sleep. Or, good bark collar is about $100 bucks. Innotec rechargeable. There other equipoment isn't worth a crap but the high end bark collars are good.

[Wolfer]

the blanket trick does wonders take the pup out and push him hard till he tires then place him in the crate and cover with a blaket........... do this when EVERYONE is awake or place him in the garage where his whing and crien and raisein hell doesnt bother anyone.. then IGNORE him..... he'll get the point soon enough...

Or ya can do like I do ...... "DOC, DOWN and 9 out of 10 times he is in the same place as i left him when my alram goes off at 4am. if for some reason he needs to go out he'll stick his face in the water bowl then pull the blankets off the bed and start playing with whatever bear skin becomes exposed....... COLD WET DOG WHISKERS get you up and Moving in a hurry.

[ed]

Problem starts here
_{We spent the first night with the crate next to the bed}

Cover the crate
Place where you are not disturbed
Return to let pup out in a few hours and repeat....works for us

[melanie]

theresa said:

An update:

I spent the weekend sleeping in - until 11:00am, infact. I kept to my hubby's sleep schedule. This is what I found out.

Leo is content to stay crated in the bedroom with ME until 11:00am, along with the rest of the pack. The long span of down time doesn't appear to be the issue. Its when I leave for work and he has to sleep with HUBBY that he pitches his morning fit!

This is problem is much, much worse than I first thought. Not only do I have to train the puppy to listen to the man, but I have to train the MAN to reinforce my training.

Sigh.....

I was going to tell you how effective the bark collars are when I have my dales in the shop with me. Susu can still get a bit stupid and not shut up, therefore getting more shocks, and her pain threshold is much higher than Iko's. I set his on 4 and hers on 6. Iko knows and is as quiet as a mouse. As he matures, he can get away with no bark collar these days. Susu is a mad dog. She bites at me when I close her crate! She doesn't like to be crated in the shop. She wants to see all the dogs. And she's not nice about it, she just comes on strong. But she wants to play.

When I pen them, they have to have the collars on, else they bark the neighborhood crazy.

But sounds like matters are chillin'. I also wanted to suggest to you a man training book, though you wouldn't think it, but it really really works! The book is Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor, the dolphin trainer. Most dog folks get it for dog training, but the techniques work equally well on men. (OK, and women and children too! ) I know, because I trained both my mom and dad! Alas, it was too late for the hubby!



[glow=red,2,300]Mel[/glow]

[melanie]

theresa said:

I did talk to my hubby about a bark collar - he says to wait and give it time. And, then I get calls at work when he is sleep deprived and irate, and I am powerless at work to do a dang thing, and arguing (or telling him that he is in control!) is useless at that point. For my own peace of mind, to NOT bear the guilt of my hubby not sleeping because he is unable to provide an effective correction, I may break down and spend the fifty bucks!

I remember with Iko and Susu, running around in circles in the yard about midnight, yelling "Tire the puppy out, tire the puppy out!" It basically just tired me out, but after, the pups were crated and quiet as a mouse. Tiring them out worked.

I use blankets and towels on crates of all barking dogs in my shop. It helps about half of them. the rest just keep barking. That's the major downfall of my job. The damn noise! I want to tell these people "Teach your dog to settle in a crate!" The excuses are laughable - "He doesn't like to be alone..." "He's never been crated before..." "He gets sick in a crate..."
Once I fired a customer because her screaming dog - left all day - absolutley made my day miserable. "But he doesn't like to be alone!" She cries. The damn dog isn't alone, I'm there and so are 3-5 more dogs.

It's not the dog, it's the reflection of the human's attitude. The human doesn't like to be alone... the human thinks crates are mean, the human can't bear to confine their dog, thinking it's cruel. Anthropomorphism, I do believe that's the word for it.

[melanie]

theresa said:

I did talk to my hubby about a bark collar -

For him?

Ducking and running... ;D



[glow=red,2,300]Mel[/glow]

[theresa]

At 4-1/2 months or so, Leo now crates quietly.. but he WILL fuss if he has to potty . He will take himself to his crate and lay in it during normal down times - so if I am home when I am not supposed to be and the dogs are all with me (rather than in bed with hubby), Leo knows the routine is off kilter but will adhere to his routine anyway and will lay (upside down!) in his crate, head hanging out! He is not so much of a sleeping on the bed dog - yet. I think he gets too hot on the mattress, so he will go lie on the floor. He is much less barky now that when he arrived- he has learned that rules are rules and has ceased barking back . He is now in the galomping stage, where when he runs his gait sound like "galomp-galomp". Yup, he's come a long way in the last 8 weeks, and has a long way to go still -but no shock collar, and hardly any crating now that he is growing, and the hubby is getting his rest!