Dog Advice Needed

[4 High]

I guess not for too long, her crate is near our bed as our APPT. is small and she would wake me up instantly with all the noise. So after a week or so we stopped.

[BretWeir]

Try putting a blanket or towel over the crate. She may be waking up when your wife turns on the light. If she still thinks it's night outside because it's dark inside the crate, she may be more likely to stay relaxed.

[Bostaevski]

+1 for clicker training

At first you'll think "this can't possibly be as effective as these people are saying". Then after you try it for a few days you'll be like "holy [censored] this is the holy grail of teaching tricks to dogs".

Just make sure you understand when to click and when not to (i.e. click after your dog comes to you, but you never click to 'call' your dog to you)

Also if she's not tearing things up at any other time of the day then it sounds like she's probably got some energy/anxiety in the morning... probably nervous about shatting inside.

[4 High]

My wife attempts to take her for a "long" walk at 6am but she never goes number two then no matter how long the walk is for. Also we walk her a lot more then 2x a day. She gets at the least 6-8 walks outside. When i say walks it includes playing outside, letting her run around, jumping around etc. Its not just a short walk and thats it.

When i wake up at 8am she calms down right away and usually lays down right next to me for a few hours. Then around 10 or so she basically gets up and tells me she has to go. Maybe i need to take her for the long walk at 6am? Maybe i just need to take her at 8 even if she doesnt "ask" me? But how would that prevent the two hour window?

Her crate is covered with towels and blankets so once shes in shes quiet, except for when we tried the 6am-8am thing.

Whats odd is, there are times when due to delays or whatever i don't get home until 8pm instead of 6 and the house is fine. I walk her right away, she goes no problem, but the house is untouched.

[SamIAm]

I'm all for more exercise. It cures so many dog problems. I saw that dog whisperer guy teach a couple dogs to run on treadmills. It was pretty awesome.

As for the excitement, what the problem exactly? Is she pulling on the leash too hard? Or barking too much? Or just being overly happy? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Desensitization will help some; she can't be excited all the time and eventually it'll lose its appeal. But giving her a new focus is great, too. She'll love learning new tricks (sit, down, stay, etc.) and working on those in high stress situations will help her chill out.