Jump to content

Going crazy! Any advice?


Recommended Posts

predhead33

Hello all, I am new to this forum but I thought it would be a great resource for me as my husband and I start on our journey of being parents to our little shih tzu! Just to give a background story so you understand our problem, we got Scully in early April and immediately starting crate training. She did so well that I should have known it was too good to be true! lol She hardly ever had an accident inside and she loved sleeping in her crate at night. She comes to work with me every day so the only time she spends in her crate is at night or if we have to leave the house for a couple hours to run errands.

Fast forward to about a month ago, when we made what was apparently a grave mistake by letting her start sleeping in the bed with us on weekend mornings. We didn't think it would really change anything. We were wrong, BIG TIME! It seems now that Scully is aware that there is a place much more comfy than her crate, that's all she wants. She will whine and cry for hours at night in her crate when she used to go right to sleep. She is also no longer content being in her while we are showering and getting ready in the morning. We have also tried an exercise pen and a soft playpen thinking that maybe she just wanted some more room to move around but she howls and shrieks no matter what until we get her out. I have tried pheromone releasing collars, pheromone spray, Kong toys stuffed with treats, and a Thundershirt trying to calm her down. The only thing that even makes a very small amount of difference is the Thundershirt, but she will still whimper and cry constantly, just not as much barking while wearing the Thundershirt. We don't know what to do! We have spent a lot of money trying to find ways to make her content with her crate once again, and even started trying to re-train her completely by feeding meals in crate, etc. but as soon as bedtime rolls around she flips out unless she's on our bed.

We are unsure if she is suffering from some kind of separation anxiety or if it is just a barking problem for attention. We don't know if we should start leaving her at home alone some days instead of her going to work with me every day or what should be done. Has anyone had a similar issue? How did you re-train your dog to love their crate and forget about wanting to sleep on the bed???

Link to post
Share on other sites

Where is her crate at bedtime? If it is not in the room with you, then perhaps you can move it in there where she can see you are in the room with her. If she stares too long at your bed in an effort to get you to put her up there, cause some sort of distraction or try to snap her out of it with a stern "no". You could also take her crate to work with you and have her stay in there when you are busy and take her out to play, poop or pee at scheduled times. That's all I have. I'm sure our Markella and or Pam will have some suggestions as well as all our other members,

Link to post
Share on other sites
Sweet as Taffy

Awww I'm sorry I don't have any advice..Taffy sleeps with me. But hopefully more folks will chime in.

Edited by Sweet as Taffy
Link to post
Share on other sites
Sophie's Haven

I don't have any of mine in a crate, depending on the mood they are in when it is bed time depends on where a few of them sleep. 4 of the 7 always sleep in the BIG BED every night. If you are going to want to train her to the crate you are just going to have to do TOUGH LOVE and ingnore her complaints. It might mean a couple of nights where you don't get to sleep sound but the more you give in to her the less she is going to stay in her crate.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
ChocoMom

Sorry, but I too don't have much advice for you. Choco was perfectly crate trained until we got him fixed. Then I felt bad for him, making him sleep in that confined crate with a cone on so I brought him into bed with us at night, and that was the night we inadvertenly kissed his crate good bye!

Hopefully you'll find helpful advice, good luck!

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites
Jo-Anne

My furbaby`s crate was downstairs, he was completely used to that. All of a sudden he started to be very unhappy in there. So I took the crate upstairs and put it beside my bed. Next day I put the crate away and created some lovely beds on the floor. I can tell you I don`t regret this decision at all. We are all fine now from that day on. Mind you my furbaby doesn`t jump! So maybe you shouldn`t teach her that :mellow: ? So the best I can say is to take Scully with you guys into the bedroom, first in her crate? open the door and create some nice little beds for her. I hope everything will be allright for you all.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...