Dog Advice Needed

[RunDownHouse]

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How long did you try crating? They are stubborn as hell at first, until they realize they can't get their way. I have a new puppy, she was miserable in the crate for a bit, but eventually has settled down some.

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My biggest problem with that has been that, since I'm in an apartment, I can't just have the dog barking at 6am for hours for a couple weeks until she gets used to it. It's not fair to the neighbors.

[mntbikr15]

The only time our Husky tears up anything other then an odd piece of paper is when he needs to poop. Hes eaten holes in the wall, chewed a windowsill off, and shredded carpet all cause he needed to [censored].

Also your dog isnt getting enough exersise. "walks" dont cut it. Dogs need to run. If you dont jog or your wife doenst jog then its totally negligent, since you have no yard for the dog to run in, to not hire someone to run the dog at least a few times a week. You can find these people on craigslist among other places.

Does your wife feed her before she leaves? Does she take her out for more then 2 seconds?

[CrazyEyez]

It just sounds like she's getting fired up when your wife wakes up and she's ready to go. Is it possible for your wife to walk her before she leaves, then put her back in the crate? Does your wife feed her before she leaves? Maybe don't feed her until you get up. Somehow have to get her in the routine that wife leaving at 6 does not equal the start of the day.

[Victor]

she needs to poop and take a walk. youre proly not walking here enough anyway if thats all she pees and poops. esp for a puppy.

[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.

[quirkasaurus]

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How long did you try crating? They are stubborn as hell at first, until they realize they can't get their way. I have a new puppy, she was miserable in the crate for a bit, but eventually has settled down some.

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My biggest problem with that has been that, since I'm in an apartment, I can't just have the dog barking at 6am for hours for a couple weeks until she gets used to it. It's not fair to the neighbors.

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i would take her out of the cage once she started
barking... whack her with a rolled up section of newspaper...
stuff her back into cage. throw blanket over cage for no daylight.

if she continues to bark, usually, merely rustling
the newspaper will get her to be quiet.

if not, take her out, whack her a few more times with
newpaper, back in she goes... repeat til she gets the idea.

i recommend just whacking her on her back with the rolled
up newspaper. the noise and gesture is what gets 'em, not
the pain.

when you finally take her out after she's been quiet,
reward with treat.

i suppose the dog whisperer may have a different plan,
but i would bank on this one.

[Alobar]

these are both easy to fix

problem 1, wake up when your wife leaves, stay in bed while you are asleep, then wait for the dog to get into [censored], and catch her in the act and discipline her. shouldnt take more than a time or two and she wont do it anymore

problem 2, is pretty much do exactly what the dog whisperer does, which I guess is hard to explain, so DL some show clips or whatever, but when you are walking her, you keep her on a short leash and right next to your side so that you are leading and not her, when she comes in contact with other dogs or gets excited or whatever and starts to do anything other than walking forward like she should be doing, you correct her with a sharp tug on the leash (you need a choke collar for this) and a voice correction. Wont take long and this problem will be fixed too.